The 2025 RS3 is making the headlines for the usual reasons. The compact performance car gets a mid-cycle update bringing exterior styling tweaks, a flatter steering wheel, and carbon bucket seats . In addition, there are some changes not visible to the naked eye.
No, we're not talking about the angrier exhaust, which now delivers a "more voluminous and even more distinctive" soundtrack. Audi touts the car smells better now. Seriously.
The RS3's interior is made from approximately 200 components, all of which undergo chemical evaluation. Audi heats them in a special chamber and then analyzes the air. This complex process takes 2-3 hours per part.
Once that's taken care of, the materials are installed in the car to see how everything blends together. The German luxury brand then conducts additional testing. To make sure everything smells nice inside regardless of weather conditions, Audi has a dedicated team of five chemists in charge of analyzing odors.
The RS3 is fitted with external heaters that simulate scorching temperatures on a hot summer day. Despite a new trend among automakers to promote vegan fabrics, you'll still find real leather on the seats and steering wheel. That sounds like an impressive amount of work for what remains a lower-tier Audi in the grand scheme of things.
The RS3 is indeed the hot version, but it still rides on the Volkswagen Group's MQB platform. With Audi being a fancier brand than VW, Skoda , SEAT, and Cupra, it needs to justify the higher askin.