Audi S3 review

The beauty of the S3 is that it is just as practically designed as any other Audi A3. That means there’s more than enough leg and shoulder room for tall adults up front, and even those well over six feet tall are unlikely to find head room wanting. There’s even decent oddment storage. 

In the rear, anyone over six feet tall won’t exactly be sprawling out in luxury, but neither will they be packed in with their knees tucked up under their chin. The S3 offers a similar amount of space to the Mercedes-AMG A35 with the BMW M135i very slightly roomier. However, if you need to carry adults in the rear regularly, the more generous rear leg room of the Honda Civic Type R and Ford Focus ST would come in handy. 

The same goes for the boot. While the S3’s 325-litre boot is a decent size and easily big enough for the weekly shop or a week away for two, those of the AMG A35 and M135i are bigger. The rear seats fold in a handy 40:20:40 split, though, and saloon models get a slightly larger 340 litre capacity, although their smaller boot opening does hurt practicality. However, if you want maximum carrying capacity in a hot hatch, you’ll want to take a look at the capacious Honda Civic Type R – it has a massive load capacity of 420 litres.