2017 S3 vs 2020 S3: Is Newer Actually Better?
Newer S3 breathes through a gasoline particulate filter, older one lacks it. Yet, the new S3 bests the older in every test given.
If there’s a finer way to haul the groceries and some things from the department store than the S3 Sportback, we don’t know about it. After all, you’ve got a more luxurious interior than most compact hatchbacks, plus 310 horses 295 lb-ft of torque to the corners to make those trips to and from the store a blast. Alas, U.S. fans will have to do with the S3 sedan, as the sportback isn’t available on our shores.
The S3 Sportback is available in England, though. Recently, Mat Watson of carwow paired up the 2020 version with a 2017 version found in a classified. Both are nearly evenly matched, so it’s a matter of determining if newer is, indeed, better.
“I’m sat in the new Audi S3,” said Watson. “And next to me is the old Audi S3. We’re going to have a drag race because I wanna find out if Audi has made this car any faster with this very latest version (or maybe they haven’t.). We shall see.”
One of the newest pieces to the 2020 S3 puzzle is a gasoline particulate filter attached to the 2.0-liter turbo-four. Yet, all 310 horses still easily go through the gate via a seven-speed dual-clutch. Meanwhile, the 2017 S3 doesn’t have such a filter to keep those ponies’ emissions down. Or the sound.
“Before we get into drag race, let’s just do a little sound check on these cars,” said Watson. “Do they sound any different? No petrol particulate filter [with the 2017], a petrol particulate filter [in the 2020]. Let’s see.”
The 2020 S3’s turbohorses are certainly quiet through the new filter. Meanwhile, the 2017 example roars freely without. Watson even asks the driver if it had modded exhaust. He says the guy who sold it to carwow said nothing was changed on the older S3 at all. Well, let’s just think of the 2020 as the stealthier version of the previous S4, then.
On the first run between the old and the new, both S3s were neck-and-neck through most of the run. In the end, though, the newer, yellower S3 beat out the older, silver model by a tenth of a second (13.1 seconds vs 13.2 seconds). On the first roll in Comfort mode with the seven-speed doing the shifting, it was more of the same. However, the 2020 transmission was slower compared to the 2017, likely due to updated electronics. The second roll, meanwhile, left the shifting to the drivers in Dynamic mode. There, the 2020 model pulled away from the 2017 better than in auto.
“It’s a clean sweep for the new S3,” said Watson at the end of the incredibly close brake test. “Not much in it in the brake test, but quite a bit on it in terms of the drag race and the rolling races once you’re up to speed.”
Though the new one did beat the old, Watson says in real-world driving, the 2017 S3 is more responsive compared to the 2020. In the end, it’s a matter of what you can afford, and what you want out of the S3 Sportback.
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