It might have been around for a while but the S3 still looks rather appealing in an understated way, especially in the midnight blue of our test car. Ours also came with the optional 18-inch wheels which give it a visual lift; without them only aluminum door mirrors and subtle badges give clues to this car's potential. I suppose that's half the appeal.

If you've read any of our recent tests on Audis you'll know that this is usually the point at which we start banging on about grotty gearchanges, droning engines and over-servoed brakes. You can practically write an Audi piece to a ready-made template, just changing the model name as appropriate. Unfortunately for me I can't do that with this S3 because things have changed for the better. As Richard Meaden hinted when he drove the TT with Sportsline suspension (evo 040), Audi has sharpened up its act to the point where the cars, and particularly the chassis, are getting a lot better.

The S3 now has even firmer springs than before, but it seems better balanced front to rear than previous models which, together with tighter damper control, leads to sharper turn-in. All good news for the press-on driver, the only fly in the ointment being the weighty feel to the steering either side of centre. If they could get round to adding extra feel rather than weight to the helm, that would be the icing on the cake. Even the brakes feel relatively normal, with none of the irritating low-speed grabbiness for which Audi is notorious. The only potential problem is the relatively early onset of fade during serious abuse.

The next surprise is the S3's short gearing. The ratios are so tightly stacked that you'll need to grab third before you hit 60 and it takes another change into fourth to crest 80mph. So the 6.6sec 0-62 time tells only half the story. To maximise the available performance you'll have to make full use of the six close ratios on offer, although the jump from fifth to sixth is a lot wider. Well, the impressive 151mph top speed had to come from somewhere.

You'll be sitting comfortably in the S3 thanks to superb Recaro seats, similar to the ones in the wild RS4. Decent seats make so much difference to a car that it's a constant wonder more manufacturers don't follow suit. Add in the quattro four-wheel-drive system, the compact dimensions and the excellent visibility allowed by the upright body and you'll soon realise there aren't many quicker ways point-to-point this side of an Impreza STi. But the S3 is a lot more discreet than any Japanese rally weapon.

Of course much of this could apply to the TT, but I don't remember the coupe's steering being quite as sharp as this, nor do you enjoy the considerable stealth value of the more conservative A3 body, which adds to its appeal. The S3 is also ΂£2000 cheaper, 45kg lighter and a fair bit more spacious than a TT.

If you're after discreet performance look no further than this car, which I'd choose over even the recently improved TT. For keen drivers, the revised S3 is currently the best car Audi makes.