2025 Audi S3 Is All The Car You'll Ever Need

It doesn't matter how we feel about it; the simple fact of the matter is that sports sedans these days are only getting bigger and bigger. With each new generation, they get a little bit longer, a little bit wider and a little bit heavier. It can make some of us yearn for the days of smaller, more compact sport sedans that were lighter, easier to maneuver and more nimble. Luckily for those of us who want this type of vehicle, Audi builds the perfect car: the 2025 Audi S3.

The updated S3 is made specifically for folks who want a lot of the power and luxury of a bigger vehicle within the footprint of a small one. I've never been one to complain about the size of a car — in a lot of ways, I think the issue is overblown — but it is certainly refreshing to drive a bona fide sport sedan that can fit in a compact car parking spot.

Full Disclosure: Audi lent me a 2025 S3 with a full tank of gas to do with as I pleased for a week.

The first thing I noticed when I walked up to the S3 is how damn small it is. Even though this car is 25 years newer than my old B5 Volkswagen Passat, it's actually 6.4 inches shorter, with just a 177.4-inch overall length. That makes it about three inches shorter than something like a Honda Civic, and no one is going to tell you that's a big car.

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Still, that doesn't mean the S3 is cramped on the inside. The front two passengers have more than enough room to get comfortable, and the rear bench, while tight, can theoretically hold three additional passengers. They've just either got to be really good friends or really, really small. Out back, you get an 8cubic-foot trunk, which isn't anything to write home about, but it's more than enough for a weekend trip. Plus, if the passengers utilize the rear seats for cargo room, there's nothing to worry about. The S3's small size doesn't mean the driver has to give up on performance, though.

Powering the S3 is Volkswagen's tried and true EA888 turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four motor. In this application, it puts out a very beefy 328 horsepower (up 22 hp from 2024) and 295 lb-ft of torque. All of that power is routed to all four wheels through a seven-speed DSG gearbox that can rocket off some seriously snappy shifts, aiding in the sporty demeanor of the car. It's a combo that'll push the 3,500-pound sedan from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds, according to Audi. That's not too shabby at all.

For 2025, Audi also updated the S3's throttle response to make it a bit sharper and added a new preload feature that'll keep its turbo spooled in lower-demand situations so it's quicker to spin up when you hit the throttle. Those aren't the only changes, though. Audi also stole the RS3's torque-splitting differential that can seamlessly send all of the car's 328 horses to a single rear wheel. That means this little missile is even faster and more satisfying in the corners — and far less likely to understeer. I was absolutely able to feel it pulling me closer to the apex through the leather-wrapped steering wheel. To be fair, there wasn't too much feeling being communicated through that wheel, but that's par for the course in cars these days.

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A handful of driving modes, from Comfort to Dynamic, make sure the S3 feels right at home no matter the driving scenario. In Dynamic, some of the electronic nannies are disengaged, and I was able to feel the little car rotate a bit on entry. Once I fed in a bit more power, it snapped out of the corner with typical Quattro steadiness.

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In less-sporty modes, the S3 becomes a wonderful long-distance cruiser or around-town transport pod. The well-tuned suspension seems set up to be a bit soft, which is super welcome when considering the fact a lot of performance cars ride very harshly these days. Sure, the 19-inch wheels created a bit more road noise than I would have liked, but no car is perfect. All in all, the S3 is a great place to eat up miles, no matter the driving environment.

Adding to the S3's do-anything ability is the fact that it has a lovely interior — not just for its price, but for any price. A lot of that has to do with the implementation of the car's tech. It has a 10.1-inch infotainment screen and Audi's 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster. I'm not joking around when I say this cluster could be the best in the industry. It's crisp, clear and highly customizable. There's no shortage of gauge designs or information you can put right in front of your face. In all honesty, it's better than the digital cluster Audi is fitting to its newer cars when it comes to customization and breadth of information available. The infotainment screen is also very good, doing everything you could ever want it to do as easily as possible. Luddites will also praise the S3's physical climate control buttons.

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Aside from the tech, the interior is just a nice, well-thought-out place to be. The seats would be welcome and fantastic in any car, comfy on long trips and bolstered enough to hold you in place when you're doing some spirited driving. The quality of those seats matches the quality of the rest of the interior, which feels very well put together. The overall design is typical subtle Audi, but there are a few fun design elements that set it apart from the competition. I especially like the fun geometric shapes Audi is playing with on the dashboard. At first, it looks a little bit mismatched to the car's smooth exterior, but it adds a visual flair. The two air vents flanking the Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster also give me a slide fight jet feeling, which I know is a bit silly, but it's okay to be silly sometimes. There's also plenty of real metal and carbon fiber for those who are serious about being serious.

There are a few small changes for 2025, including a new ambient lighting option and a reworked shifter, which is now a weird toggle thing that is appearing on other Audi models as well. It's a bit funky, but it's fine.

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On the outside, the changes are equally mild. It has reworked front and rear fascias with a more pronounced rear diffuser. I'm not really upset about that, though. The whole A3 family has been good-looking since it was redesigned in 2022, and these updates don't change that fact.

All cars are expensive these days, and the 2025 S3 is no different. However, you do get a lot of bang for your buck. The car I drove had a starting price of $49,995, including destination. For that price, you get all sorts of nice features like those two screens I talked about earlier (though the base gauge cluster is 10.1 inches), 18-inch wheels, heated leatherette seats with diamond stitching, LED lights all around, a panoramic sunroof, a six-speaker sound system, three-zone climate control and a suite of safety tech, among other things.

Stepping up to the $6,200 Prestige Package adds adaptive cruise control, navigation, that 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit, a head-up display, ambient lighting and a Sonos audio system, which is quite lovely sounding.

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When you add in my tester's $1,650 Black Optic package, which includes 19-inch wheels on summer tires and some blacked-out exterior trim, as well as the $1,000 S Sport package that adds red brake calipers and a different suspension with damper control, plus $1,000 for Nappa leather seats and $300 for a black roof, you get an as-tested price of $60,840.

I will admit that it is not cheap, especially for a small car like this, but it's right on par with its main competition, the BMW M235i which starts at $50,675 and the Mercedes-AMG CLA35, which will cost you $57,250. This is just the going rate for today's compact sports sedans. You can either deal with it or not buy one.

It's really hard to find fault with the 2025 Audi S3. It delivers on things that a lot of bigger luxury sports sedans struggle with, like a feeling of being connected to the driver and the overall sense that the car is massively heavy. In the S3, which is actually 6.7 inches shorter than a Honda Civic, I felt wrapped up in the car. I'm not much for the whole "small cars are better" thing, but there's something to be said for a car that's this fun to drive, but is still easy to park on the streets of Manhattan. For my money, this is a more fun car to hurl around than Audi's bigger, more powerful offerings like the S5 and S6. Sure, you give up a bit when it comes to interior space, but how often are you hauling anyway? Maybe those small-car people have a point. (Please don't tell them I said that. They're so annoying.)

Perhaps it's time to go against the American car-buying grain and see if you can fit your life into an Audi S3. If I had the money, I know I would.