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What's the difference?
After teasing us with the S3, all-wheel-drive version of its A3 sedan and hatch (Sportback in Audi-speak), Audi has finally given us the full-fat, RS3 variant of the same car. Any time you see an `R’ and an `S’ on the badge of an Audi, you know it’s the full nine yards in terms of all-wheel-drive grip and engine performance. And the RS3 is no different.
The power is enormous, the grip prodigious and the attitude is way tougher than any other A3 variant. It’s also well equipped, safe and nicely put together. But is that extra `R’ worth the added price of admission? And is this more Audi A-Series than you really need?
The other question is, given that the S3 is such a resolved package with its own shot of high-performance, do the numbers stack up for the RS3 version? How much is too much?
Alfa Romeo. A brand with more re-boots than success stories. Yet one which driving enthusiasts the world over can’t seem to shake the allure of.
Of course, these are not cars for just everyone. Most mainstream buyers are scared away by what I like to call the three Rs. Rust. Reliability. Resale.
Alfa’s tumultuous (and often overstated) past is one it has trouble putting behind it. Reputations are hard earned and easily lost, and besides, the majority of the voting public aspire to own something German, which they see a lot more of on the road.
It doesn’t help that Alfa also dragged its feet on committing to a five-year warranty in Australia (in early 2022), hardly a statement of confidence in its product.
You’re probably wondering by now why anyone would buy one, and why it’s the car which most enthusiasts wish they were brave enough to own.
Well the Giulia is the Alfa Romeo. The low-slung, sporty, sexy car which a few of us out there still use as a reference-point for how to make a sedan in 2023 good-looking, and how to make one drive like it has heart.
The brand can throw all the SUVs at us it wants, but for those who see Alfa Romeo for the brand it should be, this car is it.
Parting sorrow, perhaps, the version we’re looking at for this review may be one of the last - under its new Stellantis management, Alfa has said it will leave this fantastic, promising Giorgio platform behind it in a move to be more electrified.
Travel with me, dear reader, as we celebrate a car which is the culmination of Alfa’s past, at a moment before it steps into the future.
If conventionally powered cars really are on the endangered list, it’s vehicles like the Audi RS3 that will remind us what we’ve lost. There’s so much fun to be had in this car, that you really need to take it to a track to tap into it safely and responsibly. And there’s the rub.
While there’s no doubting the RS3’s potential, neither is there any doubt that the driveline absolutely dominates the experience. In fact, we reckon the S3 with its more modest (but still ample) performance and friendlier nature is probably the smarter car for the everyday. It’s also cheaper by about $20,000 and while it lacks the aggressive looks, it’s still a charming car. Perhaps all the more charming for its easier-going nature and balance of abilities.
So why buy the RS3? Because it’s the one that will keep you entertained for longer if you’re a serious enthusiast driver. But if you don’t plan to use the car for track days, there’s a strong argument that the RS3 is way more car than you’ll ever need. Of course, that sentiment never stopped performance-car lovers, did it?
The Giulia is a love letter to the increasingly lost art of the sporty executive sedan. As refined as it is beautiful and oh-so elegant to drive, it’s a reminder of why we always love Alfa Romeo, even when the odds are against it.
Emotional cars like this are hard to come by and they will soon be gone, replaced by something new. The future is not necessarily worse, but it will be different, so if a sporty European sedan with a combustion engine is calling out to you don’t miss your opportunity to drive the Giulia while it still exists in this form.
While the overall shape of the RS3 suggests evolution rather than revolution, the RS3 treatment has led to a much sportier look. We still reckon the sedan is the pick of the two body styles, mainly because it looks a bit more aggressive. Certainly, though, an aggressive look is not something either version backs away from, and those deep, wide blacked-out honeycomb grilles front and rear give the thing lots of presence.
So too do the blistered fenders, allowing for the extra track width that gives the RS3 its unique footprint. The front track itself is 30mm wider, but the wider fenders also gave Audi the chance to do some creative aero-management. Unlike, say, the Toyota Supra, for instance, with its faux vents up each side, the RS3’s lower-front vents and aero-slits behind each front fender are fully functional, directing air into the engine bay and away from the brakes respectively.
Another really neat function is the LED daytime running lights’ one-act play when you unlock the doors. As the car unlocks its doors, the LEDs spell out `R’, `S’ and `3’in sequence. Blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s a lovely touch that some manufacturers will never understand.
Like any good Alfa Romeo should be, the Giulia is a work of art. It’s sleek, sharp, and immaculately proportioned.
This most recent update has artfully refined a formula too good-looking to mess with. The increasingly dorky headlamps from the previous car have been swapped out for a more contemporary all-LED set, with a three-bar DRL pattern.
The grille has also been tweaked for this update for a more modern style, and the Veloce is now graced with the iconic and more aggressive sport two-tone alloy wheels in the traditional five-hole 'tele-dial' style.
It’s effortlessly attractive, and instantly recognisable as an Alfa on the road. I can’t think of a better way to stand out in today’s executive sedan landscape.
The interior has received less of an upgrade for the 2024 model year, with the same core parts. The major change is the old-school analogue instrument cluster being swapped out for a slick 12.3-inch digital unit.
The puzzling thing about this is the 8.8-inch central multimedia screen hasn’t been upgraded in-kind, making a strange contrast between the sharp and fast digital instruments, and the laggy and dull multimedia panel.
At least it effortlessly sits behind the curvaceous design of the dash as to not interrupt a good shape.
There are of course plenty of other touches which I love. The leather seats look and feel the part, as do the real metal paddle shifters which float behind the simple yet refined and sporty steering wheel.
The push-to-start button on the wheel is reminiscent of other Italian sports machines, while the tasteful smattering of leather, gloss plastic, and textured surfaces keep the premium feel on-track.
Some areas I’m not so keen about: Some of the interior plastics, particularly for buttons and toggles, feel cheaper than they should, and the door cards are oddly basic considering how much attention has been given to every other part of this car’s look and feel.
Like the rest of the Audi A-series range, the RS3 is available in two body styles, a five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. The five-door hatchback layout is the most practical of the two RS3 layouts, but both feature plenty of front-seat space and a rear seat that folds 40:20:40.
Paddle shifters are mounted on the steering wheel rather than the column, so they move with the wheel. That can make it difficult to select the correct paddle in a hurry with lots of lock applied.
The Drive modes are operated by a switch low down on the centre-stack that is clearly designed for left-hand-drive cars. It’s too far from the driver and needs to be cycled through in one direction, rather than being able to select the next mode or the previous one.
Beyond that, the interior is a lesson to other car-makers on how to get an interior right. There’s a quality look and feel with the possible exception of the plastic trim below the passenger-side air-vents which looks and feels a bit cheap. There are plenty of cup-holders and cubbies around the cabin with two USB plugs in the front and two in the rear (for charging).
The RS3 loses some space compared to the regular A3 because of the performance hardware. Where the hatch can take 282 litres with all seats in place (1104L with second row stowed), the sedan can swallow 321 litres.
The Giulia is an old-school low-slung sports sedan. Many will prefer the SUV sensibilities of the Stelvio, with its bigger hatch-opening boot, and its higher ride height can better accommodate less mobile passengers, and makes it easier to fit child seats and the like.
For those willing to trade those things away for a superior drive experience, the Giulia is still solid to live with every day, but has a few drawbacks.
For example, those strangely basic door cards offer only a tiny map pocket with a nook I’d hardly describe as a bottle holder.
The centre console offers two larger bottle holders with variable edges, but there’s also not much else in the way of storage in the cabin aside from a smaller-than-average glove box and armrest console box.
The big win for me is the physical dial set and shortcut buttons for all the key climate functions, making it easy to operate while you’re concentrating on driving.
At least the seats are well bolstered, and front passengers are treated to plenty of adjustability. Visibility is okay, and it was easy for me to find a comfortable driving position at 182cm tall.
The rear seat is a similar story. It’s tighter, and you have to duck down below the roofline to get into it.
Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to find enough room for my knees and somewhere for my feet to slide behind my own driving position, although the centre position is all but useless thanks to an enormous raise for the driveshaft.
Headroom is passable, but you wouldn’t want to be much taller than me.
There are, again, tiny bottle holders in the doors, and a further two in the drop-down armrest. Rear seat passengers get dual adjustable air vents on the back of the centre console, one USB 2.0 outlet, and elastic nets on the backs of the front seats.
The boot measures 480 litres which is up there with a lot of mid-size SUVs, but because it’s a sedan, access is more limited, and it won’t accommodate as many awkwardly-shaped objects.
What you’re buying here is not a car in a different size or luxury category compared with its S3 and A3 stablemates, but a car with a much broader performance envelope. So it’s no surprise to learn that a lot of the extra money goes into that type of hardware.
So rather than the class-standard four-cylinder engine, the RS3 gets a five-cylinder engine measuring 2.5 litres and enough performance to challenge many a supercar of just a handful of years ago. That philosophy also requires bigger brakes, firmer suspension and a more complex, track-oriented version of the electronic rear differential that can turn the car into a drifter or a race-track hero. Wheels and tyres are competition-spec, too.
In turn, those changes have forced other alterations such as the wider fenders and more intricate body kit, the former to physically fit the tyres, the latter to control air-flow for high-speed stability and for thermal management.
Other RS3 additions to what was an already well-equipped car in the S3, include lots of Audi’s trademark honeycomb styling panels around the car, RS3 puddle lighting, LED headlights and daytime running lights, carbon and aluminium interior inlays, RS sports seats with four-way lumbar support and a massage function.
There are two USB ports, wireless phone charging, another pair of USB ports in the rear, Bang and Olufsen stereo, head-up display, tinted glass, heated, folding exterior mirrors and Nappa leather throughout the interior. There’s also Android Auto, a wireless version of Apple CarPlay and digital radio.
The RS3 uses Audi’s celebrated virtual cockpit display with a choice of display layouts for the driver as well as a 10.1-inch touchscreen to control all the connectivity and infotainment settings. It uses the latest version of Audi’s MMI interface.
Like the other A3-based Audis, there’s a price premium for the sedan body over the hatchback, making the five-door RS3 a $91,391 purchase against the sedan at $93,891. Compared with the S3 CarsGuide tested earlier this year, that represents a pretty big jump from that car’s $70,700 (hatch) and $73,200 (sedan). That said, there’s a fair bit more going on in the RS3 in every department, but you get the sense that this comparison will be one nearly every potential buyer will make.
Like most Audis, there’s a range of optional packages, starting in the RS3’s case with the Carbon Package which brings carbon-matte inlays to the interior, side skirts, exterior mirrors and a carbon roof spoiler for the Sportback and a carbon roof-lip spoiler for the sedan. That costs $7400 on the hatch and $6300 on the sedan.
The Matte Aluminium Package is next with a few trim pieces finished in an aluminium material for $2000 extra and there’s also a panoramic sunroof on offer for $2600.
The RS Design Package gets you an Alcantara-covered steering wheel, seat belts in green or red as well as coloured elements to the seat shoulders, floor mats and the air-vent highlights. Yours for $2150.
The most serious option is the RS Dynamic Package which brings carbon-ceramic brakes with a choice of caliper colour as well as an electronic reflash to bring the top speed of the RS3 to 290km/h from its standard (limited) 250km/h. That adds another $13,000 to the price.
One thing that’s nice to see is that Audi has made even the pearl and metallic colours a no-cost option on the RS3. Other manufacturers should take note.
The Giulia we’re looking at for this review is the mid-spec Veloce, which costs $74,950 before on-road costs, sitting above the base Ti ($68,450) and below the top-spec Quadrifoglio ($153,700).
Natural rivals from Germany include the Audi A4 45 TFSI ($77,869), BMW 320i M Sport ($80,200) and Mercedes-Benz C200 ($89,900) all of which suddenly make the attractive Alfa look like a not-half-bad deal.
But then there’s always the Genesis G70 (from $63,000 in equivalent turbo 2.0L form) to bring the value equation back to reality.
Standard stuff at this grade includes 19-inch alloys, an 8.8-inch multimedia touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster (new for the 2024 model year), dark contrast exterior highlights, leather seat trim with heated front seats and steering wheel, aluminium interior detailing and shift paddles with extended leather trim on the dash, updated LED headlights and DRLs, dual-zone climate, push-start ignition and keyless entry, tinted rear windows, and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
Performance-wise, the Veloce also scores a limited-slip rear differential to match its punchy engine.
The tech feels a bit old, and the interior has a dated ambiance to it compared to the more open and digitised spaces of its rivals, but there’s something to be said for how organic the Alfa feels. More on this later.
While the five-cylinder engine is more or less a carry-over from the previous RS3 model, the end result is still a pretty stunning one. With 2.5 litres of capacity, the turbocharged unit accounts for 294kW of power (the same as the previous model) and 500Nm of torque (up 20Nm).
The transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch unit that is quite a familiar sight around Audi by now, and the all-wheel-drive system uses a centre differential with an electronic clutch-pack on each rear axle to give the car a Drift mode (although Audi insists you don’t refer to it in those terms) as well as torque vectoring with the ability to shift 100 per cent of rear-axle torque to the either wheel to maximise grip.
There’s now also an RS-specific exhaust system with an active flap to increase or tame exhaust noise according to which drive model is selected. The drive modes themselves stretch form Comfort to Auto to Dynamic, altering shift points, gear-shift aggression, throttle response and suspension firmness as well as that exhaust flap.
Brakes are enormous 375mm front rotors with six-piston calipers, that hardware forcing the fitment of a 19-inch alloy wheel (specific to the RS3) for brake clearance.
The Veloce might not pack a Ferrari-derived six-cylinder engine like the Quadrofoglio, but its smaller 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine hardly wants for power.
Packing 206kW/400Nm it outpunches six cylinders of old easily, and is still capable of sprinting to 100km/h in a hot-hatch baiting 5.7 seconds to a Vmax of 240km/h.
It even sounds fantastic, as it flies up the rev-range living up to every bit of the Alfa promise. Peak power arrives at 5250rpm, but peak torque hits at 2250rpm.
Smooth shifts are provided courtesy of an eight-speed traditional torque converter automatic transmission.
Audi’s official combined fuel consumption figure for this car is 8.3 litres per 100km. Obviously, start using all that power and torque and that figure will grow significantly. Based on that, the car emits 190 grams of CO2 per kilometre, and with the 55-litre tank (which looks a bit small on paper) the range should still be around 600km between fill-ups.
The only catch with that is the high-tech nature of the engine means it requires the more expensive, Premium ULP at the bowser.
The 2.0L turbocharged engine has an official combined cycle fuel consumption figure of just 6.1L/100km, although I saw 9.0L/100km in my time with it.
I’ll admit it was being enthusiastically driven, and treated to lots of urban commuting.
The Giulia has a 58-litre fuel tank and requires mid-shelf 95 RON premium unleaded fuel. Its approximate range on a full tank at the official consumption is 951km.
First impressions are that this is a typical Audi in the way it fits together beautifully and is made from quality materials. The ergonomics – particularly the virtual cockpit - are spot on and it even smells like an Audi. Noise is well suppressed, the controls feel quality and the front seats are comfy. But from there, the overarching view is dominated by that powerhouse of an engine.
This isn’t just a quick car, it’s actually brutal in the way it builds boost almost immediately and then hurls the car down the road. To be honest, it’s almost too much, and the way the RS3 reels in the horizon will leave some drivers ignoring other sensory inputs in order to keep up with the car. Brutality breeds brutality, too, and the subsequent steering and braking inputs required when the throttle is pinned will not always be the considered, gentle type; they’ll often be gut reactions.
Thankfully, the rest of the driveline and platform has the smarts to make all this work. There’s awesome grip from the Quattro all-wheel-drive system and the car stays flat and steers in a fast, neutral but pin-sharp way. The dual-clutch transmission feels perfect for the engine, too, with ultra-quick shifts that become more aggressive as you ramp up the drive modes. Ride quality is good but we reckon there’s less bandwidth in the various drive mode settings than exists in the same system fitted to the S3 model we drove a few months ago. While the latter offered a broad range of suspension firmness, the RS3 seems to be a bit of a prisoner of its own performance, with Audi leaning all the drive modes towards a firmer setting in the name of body control.
That’s supported by Audi’s decision to offer us some race-tack laps in the RS3 to safely explore its high-end tendencies. At this point, the car emerges as a proper track-day proposition, all that power and control blending into a car that loves being thrown around a circuit. Perhaps the front seats could do with a little more side bolstering at track-cornering speeds, but overall, it’s clear that the RS3’s brief does, indeed, include a degree of race-track use.
Put simply: The Giulia is a celebration of Alfa Romeo. Yes. Even with a humble 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and an automatic transmission, this is a deeply emotional car. A riveting experience from behind the wheel.
Fly round corners, your eyes wide, exclaiming ‘magnifico!’ as the Giulia gracefully leans in, the rear LSD, sporty tyres, and wonderfully tight steering working together in harmony as you eke out just a smidge of tyre roar.
Laugh out loud to yourself, as you plant the accelerator, hear the muted rumble of the surprisingly angry little engine, and feel the turbocharger kick in half a second later as you power out.
‘Eccezionale!’ You’ll think, as you feel the click of the immensely satisfying metal paddle-shifters, and the transmission responds in-kind, the engine roaring up the revolutions with enthusiasm.
Sure, the Veloce grade is not as raw, or as wild, or near as fast as the top-grade Quadrofoglio, but all of the exciting spirit of that car is still here, and at a little over half the price, too. The Veloce is an absolute delight to drive.
It has such poise, makes such a fine sound, and does it all so gracefully. This is how you make a car feel as one with the driver.
Even the ride is deeply impressive. It’s not too harsh or noisy, while gifting the chassis just the right amount of lean in the corners and allowing enough play for it to remain controlled over bumps.
Not only does it work well when you’re driving as it's clearly intended to be driven, but around town it’s quiet and refined inside, living up to the promise of a luxury sedan.
The seats and bolstering are great, the visibility isn’t too bad, and while I’ll complain about the slightly laggy software on the multimedia screen, the digital dash is responsive and the physical climate controls are welcome.
It’s not all perfect. If it were, I think it might cease to be an Alfa Romeo and start sprouting BMW badges.
For example, our test car, with less than 2000km on the odometer, had various inconsistent rattles emanating from the plastic garnish around the digital dash, and somewhere behind the back seat.
Regardless, driving this car has made me a little sad Alfa will be putting this wonderful platform behind it in pursuit of more electrified goals.
I can only hope wherever the Giulia nameplate goes next, it retains the spirit of this version.
The RS3 hasn’t been crash-tested locally, but the A3 on which it is substantially based has been and scored five stars back in 2020. The caveat there is that that result related to the lighter front-wheel-drive version of the car, not the RS3’s all-wheel-drive variant.
The RS3 is well equipped from a safety perspective with seven air-bags including a head-level curtain airbag that protects occupants in both the front and rear seats. There’s also Audi’s Pre-Safe which closes the windows and sunroof and pre-tensions the seat-belts if the car thinks a shunt is imminent. In the RS3’s case, that program has been extended to include autonomous emergency braking which works at speeds up to 250km/h and can identify pedestrians and cyclists up to 85km/h.
There’s also a tyre-pressure monitoring system, lane-change warning, rear cross-traffic warning, lane departure warning with active intervention of the steering, parking cameras front and rear, park-assist, and a 360-degree camera system with various points of view.
The same safety equipment suite is standard on every Giulia variant.
Advanced active gear includes auto emergency braking, lane keep tech, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention alert, and adaptive cruise control.
It also scores front and rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera with guidelines.
The Giulia’s maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating expired at the end of last year, as it was originally rated back in 2016. The facelifted model is ‘unrated’ relative to ANCAP’s current standards.
Service intervals for the RS3 are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Audi offers capped-price servicing for the RS3 at $3580 which covers servicing costs for the first five years.
The car is covered by Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The vehicle is also protected against body-rust perforation for 12 years.
Alfa finally updated its warranty to a more industry-standard five-years and unlimited kilometres in 2022.
Service intervals occur at 12 monthly or 15,000km intervals for the 2.0-litre turbocharged variants. Pricing was not available for the model year 2024 version yet in the brand’s online calculator, but to give you an idea for the pre-facelift version, pricing came in between $345 and $1065 per visit, averaging $573 per year for the first five years of ownership. Not cheap, but not as expensive to run as you might expect.
One thing you might want to keep in mind is depreciation. Boring, I know, but even late model examples of the Giulia and Stelvio have been hit particularly hard by the depreciation stick according to residual values we searched up on Autotrader.
For reference, the Genesis G70 and BMW 3 Series have both fared much better in equivalent 2.0-litre turbo forms.