Mercedes-AMG A45 S W177 vs Audi RS3 8Y
We watched 21 videos from 19 reviewers. Want the sharper car? A45 S: the steering talks more, the rear end rotates, and it wins handling. Want the one you'll fall for? RS3. That five-cylinder takes fun 5 to 2, and it rides better too. Don't choose on pace; that's a coin flip.
Counts are head-to-head calls: each time a reviewer picked one car over the other.
Performance
RS3 is 0.1 seconds faster to 62mph despite lower horsepower.
Where reviewers split. Performance is a coin flip, 6 to 5 for the RS3: the A45 S wins on response and Fifth Gear's lap time, the RS3 on midrange shove and the engine-and-gearbox package Auto Express preferred, while Driver 88 found the AMG's eight-speed quicker than the Audi's seven. Steering splits too: Remove Before Race and Kumbi-M On Cars prefer the AMG's, WorldSupercars the Audi's. Value rests on two head-to-head callouts (carsales says the RS3 is cheaper to buy and service in base form), not enough to call. A few quotes are thin or garbled translations (Fahr doch's German duel), and the coverage skews UK and Australian.
“that two liter forcing the turbocharged engine from amg seems to pick up a lot better than this two and a half liter five cylinder turbocharged unit”
“The Merc crosses the finish line in 1 minute 21.02 seconds. That's an amazing 3 seconds faster than the Audi.”
Handling
A45 S is a level ahead in steering feedback and handling manipulation.
“i do agree with reviewers that the a45s is the better drivers car... the feedback of the steering and the ability to manipulate that car's handling yes it is a level ahead”
“The RS3's Quattro is grippy and secure, but the A45S AMG tuned all-wheel drive formatic plus is more playful. It rotates.”
“in terms of handling and ride quality this has got the edge on that car as well”
“the RS3 is definitely out for me um I drove that and it just didn't feel as confident inspiring as this does and the steering wheel at you know other speeds did feel a bit too loose for me”
Fun to drive
RS3 wins on authentic sound; A45S uses augmented cabin noise.
“if the driving experience the rawness the sort of intensity of the driving experience is all that matters to you i think it's got to be the mercedes amg a45s”
“it also gave a lot of augmented sounds in the car. So it wasn't very authentic. This I feel is a lot more sounding like a car should.”
“it feels a little more well a little yeah a little more undistressed than the A45 given that that's a two liter and this is a two and a half with an extra cylinder”
Daily drivability
RS 3 is more comfortable as a daily driver.
“this is now where it knocks spots off the a45 which often feels quite busy with the suspension it has particularly on uk roads”
“I feel like as a daily car to use dayto-day, probably this one. many because it doesn't scream in your face all the time.”
Value
Hear it in the reviewer’s words
“The A45 S is the angrier, more adjustable hot hatch and the RS3 is the one with the soulful engine and the ride you can live with: Mercedes built the sharper driver's tool, Audi built the five-cylinder charmer.
Chassis is the AMG's ground. Both split torque across the rear axle (Drift Mode on the Merc, the RS Torque Splitter on the Audi), but Ivan Sensei finds the RS3's quattro "grippy and secure" while the A45 S "is more playful. It rotates." Remove Before Race calls the AMG "the better driver's car" with steering feedback "a level ahead," Auto Express gives it "the more involving chassis," and Fifth Gear's lap had it three seconds clear of the Audi. It isn't a sweep: WorldSupercars finds the RS3's steering "a little better calibrated," and Evolve Automotive, in an 8Y review titled "Understeer begone!", would now take the Audi over the A45 for excitement.
The engines split on response versus character. The M139 two-liter four wins on response: Joe Achilles says it "seems to pick up a lot better" than the five, carsales calls its response the most amazing thing about it, and Driver 88 finds the AMG's eight-speed DCT quicker than the RS3's seven-speed. But the 2.5-liter five is the one people fall for. EVO feels it "a bit more muscular in the mid-range," CarExpert finds it "more undistressed" than the A45's two-liter, and PistonHeads, WorldSupercars and Driver 88 all say it simply sounds better, while Greg Dennis Reviews found the A45's cabin sound "augmented" and "not very authentic."
Day to day the RS3 is the softer companion. Chasing Cars finds "real compliance to the damping" even in its firmest mode, PistonHeads calls it "far more comfortable," and Remove Before Race says the A45 "often feels quite busy" on UK roads. The AMG's counters are a bigger trunk (370 L vs 282 L, per Ivan Sensei) and a DCT that Chasing Cars finds "much smoother" in stop-start traffic.
A note for American shoppers: the A45 S hatch was never sold in the US (the M139 came here in the CLA 45), and nearly all of this coverage comes from the UK, Europe and Australia.