Euro-Spec S3 Has More Power, Golf R’s Trick Diff; America, Cross Your Fingers

The Audi S3 and its platform-mate the Golf R have long differed in body style (sedan vs. hatch), transmission choice (only the VW offers a manual), and interior niceties (debate at will). As of the 2025 model year, one of the most important differentiators disappears: The VW's Magna torque-vectoring rear differential is now available on the Audi. . . at least in Europe.

The 2025 model year marks a mid-cycle refresh for the S3, which has been on the market in its current generation since the 2020 model year. Audi won't release information on the U.S.-spec S3 until "toward the end of this year," says spokesperson Steven Marks, so cross your fingers that the changes outlined in the European release, which contains information we're working from today, come stateside.

For once, the changes really do add up to "more than just a product upgrade," as Audi's press release promises. Horsepower jumps to 328 hp from 306, and torque to 310 from 296, available between 2100 and 5500 rpm. (Yes, that's more horsepower and more torque than the current Golf R.) Gearshifts delivered by the seven-speed S tronic 'box arrive in half the time, under full load. The launch is quicker, thanks to a more aggressively compressed clutch pack. In certain conditions-low to medium acceleration in the part-load range-the turbocharger is kept at a constant rpm, or "preloaded." Audi has clearly heard the complaints of turbo lag in contemporary reviews of the current S3, but you can expect this anti-lag system, when used frequently, to suck down some serious fuel.

How about that torque-splitting diff, then? The thoughtful German people at Audi gave us some great diagrams detailing how it works and what's inside. I mean, look at these things!

Not only does this diff enable Drift Mode, as VW calls it on the Golf R, but it can, as executive Eric Weiner noted in his drive of the hatchback, "coax [the car] out of corner-entry understeer or oversteer even as the driver stays on the throttle." And the Audi didn't get it until now? For shame.

There's hardly an area Audi's engineers didn't address on the new S3: The bearings in the wishbones are stiffer. New pivot bearings enable more negative wheel camber. The front brake rotors are larger in diameter and thicker: by 357 mm and 34 mm, respectively. New two-piston calipers at the front house bigger brake pads.

A more luxurious interior has always been a reason to go S3 over Golf R, and the cabin of the 2025 model year S3 includes plenty of premium touches to uphold its reputation. Ambient lighting now extends to the center console and cupholder. The fabric panels in the front doors were laser-cut 300 times to allow light to shine through them into the cabin. The steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles are now plated in chrome. And since VW took buttons off its steering wheels for a while, we're giving the buttons on the Audi's wheel honorable mention, even though the controls aren't new.

Remember to add an asterisk before rubbing the improved performance stats in the face of your local VW loyalists; we just don't know the output of the U.S.-spec S3 yet. For now, though, it looks like the engineering team for the S3 finally got management's approval to threaten the Golf R.