Used Audi S3 for Sale

Based on the Audi A3 sedan, the Audi S3 adds more performance to the brand’s entry-level subcompact.

Externally, the S3’s face inherits a smidge more meanness, thanks to additional creases, chamfers, and corners around the headlights, grille, and lower intakes. The look is slightly fussier than before—in particular, there is a new U-shaped opening framing the bottom half of the more angular grille, and the headlights inherit an ever-so-faint boomerang shape. All in all, the changes maintain the S3’s visual proximity to its larger A4 and S4 siblings, but a little differentiation would be nice. Peer at the dashboard, center console, or pretty much anywhere inside the updated S3, and the word “updated” surely won’t come to mind. The S3’s minimalist dashboard, with its four round air vents, hideaway 7.0-inch central display, thin row of climate controls, and MMI infotainment controller knob on the center console remain the same as before. This delightful sound invasion took my attention to the car itself, which, up to this point, I had sort of ignored. Getting off the freeway and onto a backcountry highway, I had a moment to revel in the car’s charms.

It seems every new vehicle we drive is both more powerful and more fuel-efficient than its predecessor. More comfortable and more fun. More refined, but similarly priced. Choosing a good car is easier than ever, but choosing the best car keeps getting trickier. That's why several times a year we round up category standouts and staff favorites and bring them together in lists that help make car shopping easier.