Audi RS Q3 vs Audi RS3

What's the difference?

Is 10 years long enough for a special birthday celebration? When you're a kid, hitting 'double figures' is a pretty big deal, and Audi's obviously in the mood to make some noise because it has lit the candles on a limited 10th anniversary version of its compact SUV rocket ship, the RS Q3.

Only 555 examples of the 'RS Q3 Sportback edition 10 years' will be produced for worldwide consumption, with Audi Australia capturing a batch of them and sending one our way for a brief blast as the fiery five-cylinder starts filtering into dealerships.

Five-cylinder fury is still kicking!

Audi has just launched the mid-life updated version of its RS3 hatch and sedan in Australia.

With new looks inside and out, the German carmaker has also made a number of subtle tweaks under the skin via software updates. Thankfully, however, the five-cylinder beast lurking under the bonnet remains untouched.

As the viability of pure internal combustion engines in the hot hatch segment dwindles in the age of ever-tightening emissions regulations, will this be the last hurrah for the five-banger RS3?

Read along to see how this latest version stacks up.