You can now get a 2018 Audi RS3 for cheaper than a brand new Honda Civic Type R

The Honda Civic Type R has, for a couple of decades, been a hot-hatch benchmark.

Fans of affordable, hot-hatchback performance have flocked to the Civic Type R since the late 1990s.

Nowadays, a brand new Honda Civic Type R will set you back over $50k.

It means, in fact, that you can now buy yourself a 2018 Audi RS3 cheaper than it.

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Honda Civic Type R becomes standard-bearer

The hot-hatchback car market is an ever-growing, ever-competitive space.

It is a market that Honda has featured very predominantly in since the 1990s.

Honda first released the Type R variant of the Civic back in September 1997.

And it has spent the subsequent 28 years establishing itself as a market leader.

Now, though, the brand new Honda Civic Type R costs more than a pretty penny.

In fact, it will set you back over $50k for a brand new model.

It turns out, though, that you can get a lot of bang for your buck for that money.

As a matter of fact, you can get some serious performance with a 40 percent discount.

Enter one of Audi’s best budget cars – the RS3.

2018 Audi RS3 vs brand new Honda Civic Type R

As you’ve probably guessed, the RS3 is the high-performance variant of the Audi A3.

The American market was forced to wait for over a decade to get its hands on the RS3.

In fact, the Audi RS3 did not make its American debut until the third-generation in 2017.

But it has been more than worth the wait – and the value for money is exceptional.

A brand-new, 2018 Audi RS3 would have cost you over $56,000 upon release.

Thanks to the rapid passage of time, you can now pick one up for around $30k.

Even a really, really clean, low-mileage example 2018 Audi RS3 will “only” set you back around $45k.

Admittedly, a brand-new Honda Civic Type R is probably more appealing for a little extra money.

But there is much more to the story than just similar price tags.

The Audi RS3 comes with a 2.5 liter, turbocharged Inline-five engine.

This is compared to a 2.0 liter, turbocharged Inline-four engine from the Civic Type R.

This means a power output of 394bhp from the RS3 compared to 315bhp from the Honda.

The brand new Honda Civic Type R does come, however, with a manual transmission.

If the 2018 Audi RS3 takes your fancy, you’ll have to settle for an automatic.

Which car option is more appealing to you? A used Audi RS3 or a brand new Honda Civic Type R?