[TaxLit]

I don't think this has been done before. Since I swapped my DCT e92 m3 for an RS3, and put 3,000 km on the RS3 (including 1500km post break-in), I thought I'd do a little writeup.

Speed: the M3 offered instantaneous acceleration, whereas the RS3 has slight turbo lag. But the RS3 feels significantly faster than the M3. The auto reviewers always emphasize 0-60 times for the RS3 (3.5-3.6 seconds), but I actually notice the RS3 is extremely fast when passing. I find all of a sudden I'm going WAY faster than I meant to and way faster than I would have been in the M3 in the same amount of time. It's actually a little scary, and I have found myself swearing out loud multiple times when I look down and see how fast I'm going. They also accelerate in different ways. The M3 was very linear with a constant and increasing rate of acceleration. The RS3 feels more like a sling shot in that there's a wind up and then all of a sudden everything is a complete blur and you're worried about the police taking your car away.

Transmission: Comparing manual modes, the M3 DCT is superior in manual mode when driving normally. It offered faster downshifts when you want to go from docile to crazy, and in driving 40,000 km in my m3 I don't think I ever had it not respond immediately to a press of the paddle (unless I pressed the wrong one). In manual mode, the RS3 will sometimes not upshift if I click the right paddle at ~4000 RPM. When driving sedately, the shifts can lag a little on the RS3, which is irritating. When driving adventurously, the RS3 transmission picks up and is more responsive to both upshifts and downshifts. If you leave the RS3 in full auto it shifts extremely quickly and there's a continuous stream of power until you get scared and stop. It's also great in auto if you're just putting around town - very smooth. Edit: the rs3 stick also shifts backwards - push away to upshift, pull towards you for downshift - which I think feels unnatural. So I never shift using the stick.

Sound: this is a big one for me and ultimately the reason I bought each of these cars. I would say that both cars have unique aural characteristics that make it clear you're driving something special. The RS3 makes better sounds at low speeds - fun pops and crackles and soft, low burbles that kill time in traffic - and from 4-7k has a very melodic quality to it that I love. But it only revs to 7 instead of 8300. Above 5k the RS3 has significantly less engine noise in the cabin than the e92 had (even with stock base e92 exhaust). I think this is one of the factors that contributes to the surprising speed in the RS3. The M3 lets you know throughout the whole acceleration that you're accelerating quickly, whereas there's a bit less drama in the RS3. I love the RS3 noise on upshifts when accelerating hard. In some cars I think those types of turbo blowoff noises can sound like farts, but I like the noises the RS3 makes. Both cars have an exaggerated throttle blip on downshifts, but the M3's is louder and better. The RS3 has a crazy startup tone when the engine is already warm that includes a backfire that can literally sound like a gunshot. It's obnoxious but I also love it. The only time I didn't appreciate that noise was when a mother was pushing her stroller by my car and I had to wait for her to get 100 feet away to not wake the baby.

Interior: The RS3 is clearly superior here. I liked the M3's interior a lot, but in my view the orange displays on the e92 are starting to get pretty dated. My E92 had no nav, so I can't compare idrive to MMI. But I would say that overall the RS3's interior is much more modern. I like Audi's virtual cockpit a lot and I find the manual-only seats to be more comfortable than the M3's. My wife agrees. I like the android auto/Apple Carplay integration, although sometimes apps (Waze/Google play) will freeze up, which is really irritating and requires restarting the phone.

Handling: I have not tracked either car. On winding roads, Both cars performed exceptionally well. I was pushing the Audi to try to find the dreaded understeer people talk about, but I never found it.

Looks: this will be particularly subjective. I like the fact that the RS3 can be a sleeper. If you get a subtle colour, 95% of people won't know what the car is or how much you spent on it. I think the RS3 is nicely proportioned, but overall, I'd give the edge to the M3 here. The paint on both cars is fantastic. Both Interlagos Blue and Ara Blue are amazing metallic blues that take on different hues in different lights. I like the M3's darker blue for looking more sinister at night, whereas the Ara blue is gong to be much easier to maintain than dark blue.

Practicality: This car is our only car for now, so practicality also matters. The RS3 wins for our family on this one. The RS3's trunk is definitely smaller than the M3's. But the RS3 has an amazing all-wheel drive system that makes the car fast in winter. My old M3 got beat last winter by a hyundai Santa Fe, and it killed me a little inside. There are a bunch of creature comforts in the RS3 that make rushhour traffic a bit more bearable (lane keep assist, adaptive cruise; collision sensing and auto-braking). The RS3 has 4 doors, for when friends (or children) want to join the drive. Those doors are short, and allow my very pregnant wife to get into and out of the car in our small condo parking spot.

Audio Systems: My e92 had the HK audio (aka individual audio). I'd say that this audio system was very close to Audi's current B&O system, which surprised me. I expected Audi's audio to be much better than a BMW system from 2011. To my ears it's essentially a tie in terms of clarity and balance. The Audi system can, howver, go significantly louder without distorting than the HK system could.

Value: The M3 is a better value. The RS3 is quite expensive. It's probably not worth paying 20k more than you would for an e90 M3. RS cars normally hold their value quite well here in Canada, so hopefully some of the outlay will be recaptured when I eventually sell the RS3.

Overall Impressions: I would say that the e92 M3 is a more focused sports car and the better weekend car, whereas the RS3 is a small car that does everything well (luxury, all-weather speed, handling, practicality) and is the ultimate daily driver in harsh climates.

If any of you are considering the move to RS3, I'm happy to answer questions.