About this car in Malaga

Malaga is where most Costa del Sol trips start, and the first stretch is often the busiest: airport traffic, the A-7 towards Marbella, narrow streets in the old town around calle Larios. A compact five-door with 400 hp suits that mix better than something wide and low. It slips into hotel car parks, takes four adults in comfort and leaves the five-cylinder for the roads that deserve it.

One of those roads begins almost in the city. The old Colmenar road climbs in hairpins into the Montes de Málaga natural park, past pine woods and ventas with views back over the bay, a short loop for a morning before the heat. East along the Axarquía coast, Nerja and the white village of Frigiliana make an easy half day; inland, the dolmens of Antequera and the limestone of El Torcal are under an hour north. Quattro all-wheel drive keeps the car settled on dusty or damp tarmac, and 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds makes overtaking on single-carriageway roads brief.

In winter, the RS3 is one of the few cars here that also fits the Sierra Nevada plan: the climb beyond Granada to Pradollano needs winter tyres or chains, and this car has winter tyres fitted in the cold season. Three medium suitcases and a small one fit in the boot. Delivery is arranged when you book: Málaga-Costa del Sol airport, María Zambrano station, the Puerto de Málaga or your hotel.

• 400 hp five-cylinder with quattro, compact enough for Malaga's old town
• Montes de Málaga hairpins, Nerja and El Torcal within an hour
• Winter tyres fitted in the cold season for the Sierra Nevada