Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: £27,480 to £28,020
Quick, holds the road well, high level of comfort.
Pricey, not as involving a drive as it should be.
A very good hot hatch, but not quite as good as the high price suggests.
The Audi S3 has all the active and passive safety features you'd expect from a car from a premium carmaker.
There are six airbags as standard (driver and passenger front airbags, side 'bags at the front and curtain airbags), active head restraints and Isofix child seat anchor points.
In terms of electronics, there's electronic stability control, ABD, electronic brakeforce distribution and electronic differential lock.
And to stop some boy-racing scally driving away with your premium hot hatch, there's a Thatcham Category 1 alarm and immobiliser.
