What is a Sportback? Whip a specification sheet out for the S3 Sportback and you’ll be even more confused as to where it fits in the game. Its wheelbase measures similar to the three-door S3 but with more height, so it has more room.

From certain angles it looks like a wagon but in reality it just doesn’t measure up to the load capabilities of a traditional estate. I can only reason that there is a set of snow skis somewhere in Ingolstadt that requires a few extra millimetres than the normal Audi hatch delivers. Not to mention a few family guys that need the practicality offered by the two extra doors.

From here on in we’ll ignore the class conundrum and concentrate on the real feature, the driving.

If there is one long-termer that is ingrained in all the Cars in Action staffers’ heads it would be the white S3 Audi that we had in 2007. Because of how it looked and drove, we all loved it, we all belted it and we all fought for it on the weekend. When the car left our fleet we all wept.

So when an S3 Sportback arrived at the office, the gloves came off for the first drive. I sat on the sidelines waiting for a chance, slightly worried that I was looking through rose tinted shades, and that the extended S3 would disappoint.

Eventually I took the keys and, although the appearance didn’t convince, five minutes in the seat settled my worries as the S3 capabilities proved my memory wasn’t too fragile.

Unless your idea of real driving dynamics is the quarter mile and robot-to-robot sprints, ignore what you’ve heard about Audi’s ‘S’ cars being overpromising underperformers. This car puts in a lap time that shows it means business.

With 188kW on tap, the acceleration is brisk, add a bit of turbo kick and it is exciting. A healthy 330Nm of torque makes overtaking a pleasure and this factor is a key in making the Sportwagon an impressive track machine. The heap of torque combines with the good traction from the quattro system to make the Audi bolt out of corners.

Smooth acceleration and good rev counter management is aided by some relatively close stacked gears and shifting between these cogs is notchy, but still a positive experience. Pedal placement is perfect for the odd ‘heel and toe’ but anything larger than a size three ballet slipper will have your clutch foot tangling with the footrest.

Our old long-termer was fitted with some forty-odd-grand Recaro buckets. These proved impressive in the looks and support department but fell off the rails in the practicality stakes. The Sportback came with standard issue seats and were not only comfortable but also surprised with plenty of support when the driver was exposed to the odd G-force. My mind is made up now – there is no need for race type buckets in a daily commute.

While some good grip was responsible for the G-Forces, the larger factor in the equation was body roll. While it isn’t huge when compared with the usual hatches, it is substantial compared to the TTS we belted around Kyalami on the same day. I don’t remember the old long-termer rolling so much but in the same breath I do feel the Sportback is less bone-jarring than our old favourite.

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