Brash and punky, the Audi RS Q3 Sportback shows the difference design and colour can make

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SINGAPORE – This is the Audi RS Q3 Sportback, and no; Despite the looks, it’s certainly not faster or louder than its brother. 

Earlier this year, we drove the RS Q3 ‘non-Sportback’ and declared it a riotous, fun, mini-monster which is all the car you could sanely need. 

With that in mind, the Audi RS Q3 Sportback is a riotous, fun, mini-monster, which is all the ‘loudly’ sporty car you could sanely need. 

The regular Q3 and Q3 Sportback are the same, slightly differently shaped peas in Audi’s small SUV pod – only as a coupe-SUV, the Sportback has a lower, more sloping roofline that’s most obvious from the rear.

So to no one’s surprise, the RS Q3 and RS Q3 Sportback drive almost identically. Drive them back to back and you’ll feel them as 95 percent the same.

Mechanically they’re almost twins too: Audi’s fabulous 2.5-litre turbo inline five-cylinder engine is the centre of the experience – its most unique powerplant and one it really should chuck into all of its RS cars just for the hell of it. Then there’s uptuned suspension, brakes, chassis, more go-faster bits all over. 

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Just like bigger RS cars, the RS Q3 SB can summon up a huge amount of pace at a touch of the ‘RS’ button on the wheel – you can select one of two presets from it. 400hp and bespoke running gear turn the small SUV into a road rally style experience, ripping from corner to corner with glee and lots of grip. 

Like most RS cars, it can handle going slow too. Sling all of the settings into snail mode, and it’s just a little louder and slightly stiffer than a normal Q3 Sportback. 

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But is there a real difference between the two? There’s less headroom in the Sportback, since it’s 45mm lower, but Audi claims the boot space is almost identical – both have 530-litres, though the Sportback has 1,400 litres with the seats folded down, compared to 1,525-litres on the SUV. 

It’s a real ball, Audi Sport has successfully compressed the RS experience into a small SUV that is the opposite of boring. 

If after reading all that you still feel the RS Q3 Sportback is sportier/faster/grungier/louder than its non-coupe sibling, well that’s your eyes doing the hearing.

The Sportback in (very similar to Porsche Lizard Green) Kyalami Green catches eyes in a way its sibling – in more understated Daytona Grey – never did, and probably wouldn’t even in the same shade. 

Audi RS Q3 Sportback

Engine	2,498cc, inline 5, turbocharged
Power	400hp at 5850-7000rpm
Torque	480Nm at 1950-5850rpm
Gearbox	7-speed dual-clutch
0-100km/h	4.5 seconds
Top Speed	250km/h
Fuel Efficiency	9.0L/100km
VES Band / CO2	C2 / 207g/km
Agent	Premium Automobiles
Price	S$309,390 with COE (sans options)
Availability	Now
Verdict	See RS Q3 verdict but with less headroom, more coupe-ness

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