As you would expect, the S3 Sportback is one mightily effective cross-country performer. But it’s also one that feels confused, perhaps because our car lacked the adaptive dampers that form such an essential part of the chassis’ new trick: the Modular Dynamic Handling Control.
On the passive dampers, the ride is firm. You’ll notice this immediately. The suspension labours sharper ridges at low speeds and can feel unnecessarily alert on the move. The hardware is capable of delivering excellent levels of control once you’re up at the national speed limit on challenging B-roads, but we’d trade some composure and resistance to roll for greater fluidity and comfort.
Our car’s large 19in wheels almost certainly don’t help matters, and overall there’s an edge to proceedings that matches poorly with the S3’s calling in life.
What the S3 does better than ever before – and every bit as well as its direct rivals – is change direction. A truly communicative helm you’ll not find in this class of car, but the weighting of the motion and gearing of this Audi rack breeds some confidence, and it is confidence underwritten by a chassis that feels less inclined to push its nose wide than ever before. As with Audi the previous-generation S3, this chassis is also keen to send plenty of drive to the rear, though on the road this manifests as unflappable neutrality when exiting bends, rather than anything approaching oversteer.
