Audi regulars might miss the squared-off, flat-bottomed steering wheel of older RS3 models – or the VW Golf R. But they will ...

Audi improved the S3’s fundamental rightness with a handful of under-the-surface tweaks.

Audi’s trademark digital dash ... dynamic upgrades it could give the S3 a hard time. Much closer to home is the near identically specced Golf R, which starts at £43,320 in its new Mk8.5 guise.

I’d driven other Mk 8 Golf models including the R flagship wagon, but this was my go in the car I’d long considered ... Other RS3 additions to what was an already well-equipped car in the S3, include ...

There is no manual option for the new S3, which isn’t surprising given Audi hasn’t offered one ... that will appear in the forthcoming Golf R, instead it makes do with the previous engine ...

Yes. You are able to not only select competing makes, but you can also stack up models within the same range - for example, you could highlight the Audi A5 Coupe and compare it to the Audi A5 ...

To a few, a fast Audi A3 is probably still about nothing more than warble and understeer, and there are likely still jokes going around about cheap Golf R leases. But in case anyone needed ...

Audi pretty much invented the premium hot hatch ... And yes, it shares much of its underpinnings with the VW Golf R, but the two cars feel very different.