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Nissan 370Z vs Audi S3

What's the difference?

VS
Nissan 370Z
Nissan 370Z

$40,990 - $54,988

2018 price

Audi S3
Audi S3

$64,900 - $75,900

2022 price

Summary

2018 Nissan 370Z
2022 Audi S3
Safety Rating

Engine Type
V6, 3.7L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
-

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
10.5L/100km (combined)

7.3L/100km (combined)
Seating
2

5
Dislikes
  • Lacks latest safety tech
  • No Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
  • Fake engine noise

  • Sedan’s price premium over hatch
  • RS3 will technically trump it when it arrives
  • Looks alarmingly similar to old model
2018 Nissan 370Z Summary

Road testing the Nissan 370Z in 2011, I noted it was getting on. Yes, the rear-wheel drive two-seater had been given a design freshen up and a bigger engine a couple of years prior, but the 350Z it was based on had hit the local market way back in 2003. And it wasn't unreasonable to expect replacement or retirement in the not-too-distant future.

Okay, so that was seven years ago, which means if you (like many) consider the 370Z to be an update of the 350Z (the transition happening in 2009), this car has been on sale for 15 years straight. Can you imagine Apple trying to sell any one product without entirely reinventing it for that long?

You might say that makes it a modern classic; so good it's only required an occasional touch up to keep it on the Sports Car Most Wanted list. And in recent years, a consistent average of 30 Aussies a month have slotted a shiny new 370Z in their driveway.

But a less-charitable type will tell you time waits for no car, and with arch rival Toyota about to lob a Supra-shaped hand grenade over the parapet, this enduring campaigner is under the pump.

So, Nissan's reached into its bag of tricks and given the 370Z yet another cosmetic tszuj-up and added a high-performance clutch to the manual version.

Is it enough to keep Nissan's eternal Z-car flame burning?

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2022 Audi S3 Summary

The moment Audi slaps an 'S' badge on any of its cars, you know you could well be looking at something a bit special. That single S has usually inferred a big jump in performance and an overall much sportier flavour than the Audi 'A' car on it's based on.

And now there’s an all-new Audi A3 coming to showrooms about now, the chance to take a deep dive into the equally new S3 was a no-brainer.

Describing the S3 as an A3 with more of everything sounds a bit trite, but it’s also accurate. And this is not new; Audi is as good as any other carmaker (and better than most) at taking a volume seller, piling on the good gear and letting it loose to appeal to a cashed-up buyer profile.

Available in both Audi’s usual Sedan and Sportback (that’s Audi-speak for a five-door hatch) the new S3 boasts more of everything from engine output, to handling, to luxury and connectivity. No surprises there, it’s pretty rare to hear of a car going backwards in any of those departments. But compared with the A3 – and this is the important bit – the S3 offers more of the attributes that appeal to buyers with more cash to splash.

While much of the car might be new, Audi fans will recognise the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. It’s been tweaked this time around for more power and, significantly, Australia gets the full-fat, Euro-spec engine, rather than the slightly detuned 'hot-weather' specification we’ve seen in this model in the past.

Other changes over the new A3 include the usual S touches including lower, firmer suspension, bigger wheels and tyres and a more industrial braking package.

Inside, there’s more connectivity and multimedia potential than ever before, and safety has been given a leg-up with the latest driver aids.

The other significant thing about the S3, of course, is that until the even hotter RS3 turns up in showrooms sometime later this year, this car will represent peak A3-platform performance.

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Deep dive comparison

2018 Nissan 370Z 2022 Audi S3

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