S3 test drive Sat 2 Dec

[david7m]

Are they avant only?

Dave

Yes

Thats a big no from me then

Dave

[TWH]

The avant looks the dogs, much nicer than saloon shape. I think the new avant also looks much nicer than the saloon rs4, but then again as RS should be avant and turbo'd!

[quattrokid1]

My girlfriend bought a new VW EOS 2.0 tdi Sport out the box.... it lasted 3 months then the roof packed in!! not a good move VW its a pile of cack sorry to say, She had an S3 before that but with 90k miles, 70k of those in the 2 years the suspension was knackered because of the condition of the roads you have down south. GREAT WEE CAR please dont get me wrong, Christ we'd have it back in a nano second. Anyway the EOS clocked up 9600 miles in 3 months as I said then has been returned to VW what replaced it??.. a year 2000 Audi RS4 in misano red for £19k bargain......... in hindsight we should have gone straight to Fontain Audi to see what they had earlier... perhpas get a newer RS4 instead of losing about 5K on tax for the VW. So we collected the red RS4 about 2 weeks ago now and WHAT a car

Ok the new S3!! it doesnt exactly look manacing like the old one to me and with a price tag of knocking on 30k for the new one you must be made to pay that kind of money for it. I saw a phot of one sat on a forecourt, I didnt even register that it was a new S3. Even the forth coming RS3 shouldnt be this expensive... an own goal if you ask me. People wanting a new car for this layout expect more than a piddly 4 cylinder turbo.There was talk of using the 3.2 or the 3.6 litre V6 for the S3 with about 260 bhp!! Why not 300? most of its rivals knock that out easily.The RS3 sounds like it will have a turbo charged 2 litre engine developing 350 bhp.HMM.. the new Audi TT RS is gonna have a 5 cylinder sequential turbo charged engine developing 350 bhp. WHY not use this engine in the new S3? Why is Audi bringing out so many new engines to go in the same car? is it a 4 pot, 5 pot or a V6 ??

There is talk of the Q5 running a 4.2 V8!!!!!!!


Why wont there be an S3/RS3 sportback? the cabrio A3 looks great but an S3/RS3 cabrio I suspect will step on VW toes for the EOS 3.2 V6

[g7jhp]

My girlfriend bought a new VW EOS 2.0 tdi Sport out the box.... it lasted 3 months then the roof packed in!! not a good move VW its a pile of cack sorry to say, She had an S3 before that but with 90k miles, 70k of those in the 2 years the suspension was knackered because of the condition of the roads you have down south. GREAT WEE CAR please dont get me wrong, Christ we'd have it back in a nano second. Anyway the EOS clocked up 9600 miles in 3 months as I said then has been returned to VW what replaced it??.. a year 2000 Audi RS4 in misano red for £19k bargain......... in hindsight we should have gone straight to Fontain Audi to see what they had earlier... perhpas get a newer RS4 instead of losing about 5K on tax for the VW. So we collected the red RS4 about 2 weeks ago now and WHAT a car

Ok the new S3!! it doesnt exactly look manacing like the old one to me and with a price tag of knocking on 30k for the new one you must be made to pay that kind of money for it. I saw a phot of one sat on a forecourt, I didnt even register that it was a new S3. Even the forth coming RS3 shouldnt be this expensive... an own goal if you ask me. People wanting a new car for this layout expect more than a piddly 4 cylinder turbo.There was talk of using the 3.2 or the 3.6 litre V6 for the S3 with about 260 bhp!! Why not 300? most of its rivals knock that out easily.The RS3 sounds like it will have a turbo charged 2 litre engine developing 350 bhp.HMM.. the new Audi TT RS is gonna have a 5 cylinder sequential turbo charged engine developing 350 bhp. WHY not use this engine in the new S3? Why is Audi bringing out so many new engines to go in the same car? is it a 4 pot, 5 pot or a V6 ??

There is talk of the Q5 running a 4.2 V8!!!!!!!


Why wont there be an S3/RS3 sportback? the cabrio A3 looks great but an S3/RS3 cabrio I suspect will step on VW toes for the EOS 3.2 V6

VW seem to be using a number of the engines to power their 'R' cars to guess they can pick and choose which engine to use across the group range.

I'd expect to see the same 350bhp 2.5litre engine in the RS3 as is used in the TT RS.

[quattrokid1]

Yea me to... 5 cylinder are synonumouse with Audi but we will have to wait and see!! I wonder if it will sound the same as the 20v ers fitted to previous Audi's?

[TWH]

I reckon so. Gotta say that the 5 cylinder engine in the focus ST sounds sweet and not dissimilar to the old Audi engines.

[coxw]

Ive heard that there will be an RS3, then there wont, then there will, then there won't.

I am pretty disappointed with the new S3, considering my current Leon Cupra R feels much quicker (OK, so it has a Stage 2 conversion). However to sell the Leon at 2 years old (20k miles) for £13k to replace it with something costing me £32k that is less seat of the pants is a hard pill to swallow.

The Leon was great in the dry, but a handful in the wet, hence my swtich to the S3. I also wanted something with a bit more quality to it than the R32 or new Leon Cupra. However I'm already having to get it mapped before I even collect it just so I don't feel like I've gone backwards for my money. Hopefully Revo will get somewhere close to 310bhp from it with a panel filter. I have approached Milltek about fabricating a valved exhaust system.

When I went to see the S3 test car I walked straight past it at the dealers. Its easy to say 'Oh, its a Q car; a street sleeper', how about my interpretation that Audi have just been dull, unimaginative and to be honest plain cheap. They've got me by tha b@lls as I am a VAG man through and through, and for know there is no better hatchback in the group.

Don't get me wrong, despite the above I am looking forward to ownership of the new S3 (due March 1st), however you start to feel soured by the cost considering what you actually get. For this kind of cash i would have expected it to have been an RS3 with 300+bhp. I haven't ordered the bucket seats or the colour sat nav, and with those options I would have been at £35k. Thats frankly outrageous when you consider its a 4wd version of the new Leon Cupra with exactly the same engine (just more a bit more boost). I foolishly thought the Leon may not share the weight saving aluminium underpinnings, but it does. I intend to make my delivery visit to the dealers a quick one in case the dealer tries to get the shirt off my back to go with the wallet he's already had out my pocket. I'm sure the S3 will be a great car to own, and at £27-8k I'd have been viewing it in a different light. If I could have lived with the prospect of owning a BMW (but I know how to use indicators and be considerate on the road so I can't), I would have gone for a BMW M3CS, but you live and learn!

Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine!

[david7m]

You don't sound too impressed, so why are you buying it?

What options have you specced to make it £32k? I thought a base model was more like £28k....

Is it a company car?

Dave

[coxw]

You don't sound too impressed, so why are you buying it?

What options have you specced to make it £32k? I thought a base model was more like £28k....

Is it a company car?

Dave

I ask myself the same questions every day to be honest. I actually wanted a TT, but neither of the options were powerful enough so have decided to wait until a TT RS variant becomes available.

I loved the old S3, I just feel the new one is overpriced.

Options wise its pretty much everything other than the seats and sat nav:
Symphony h/u, bose upgrade, ipod connection, bluetooth phone connection with front centre armrest & dis compatibility, flat bottomed steering wheel, adaptive headlights, front screen top tint, electric lumbar support, rear load through hatch with rear centre armrest, 12v socket in boot with luggage pack, cruise control, rear parking sensors, interior light pack, metallic paint, auto glym lifeshine, GAP insurance.

I'm also ordering a set of RS4 18" alloys, a Revo stage 1 map, a Forge dump valve, a panel filter and a Milltek exhaust so its about another £3.5k on top of the £31.7k which doe make it a bit expensive for what it is.

Yes it is a privately owned car.

[g7jhp]

I've got to admit the price of the new S3 does seem steep. It'll be interesting to see if Audi adjust the price once the supply starts to increase as sales don't seem to be that good.

Someone pointed out www.uknewcars.com where it looks like you could get a 10% discount on an S3.

I'll certainly be investigating them before handing over any cash to my local stealer.

[david7m]

You don't sound too impressed, so why are you buying it?

What options have you specced to make it £32k? I thought a base model was more like £28k....

Is it a company car?

Dave

I ask myself the same questions every day to be honest. I actually wanted a TT, but neither of the options were powerful enough so have decided to wait until a TT RS variant becomes available.

I loved the old S3, I just feel the new one is overpriced.

Options wise its pretty much everything other than the seats and sat nav:
Symphony h/u, bose upgrade, ipod connection, bluetooth phone connection with front centre armrest & dis compatibility, flat bottomed steering wheel, adaptive headlights, front screen top tint, electric lumbar support, rear load through hatch with rear centre armrest, 12v socket in boot with luggage pack, cruise control, rear parking sensors, interior light pack, metallic paint, auto glym lifeshine, GAP insurance.

I'm also ordering a set of RS4 18" alloys, a Revo stage 1 map, a Forge dump valve, a panel filter and a Milltek exhaust so its about another £3.5k on top of the £31.7k which doe make it a bit expensive for what it is.

Yes it is a privately owned car.

Fair play, sounds like you have more money than sense if its not what you want

Dave

[david7m]

I've got to admit the price of the new S3 does seem steep. It'll be interesting to see if Audi adjust the price once the supply starts to increase as sales don't seem to be that good.

Someone pointed out www.uknewcars.com where it looks like you could get a 10% discount on an S3.

I'll certainly be investigating them before handing over any cash to my local stealer.

I can't see the S3 listed.

Dave

[coxw]

Fair play, sounds like you have more money than sense if its not what you want

Dave

If only that was the case - it was time to change cars, and the budget was £30k. Couldn't find anything that was:

a) brand new
b) significantly better than the Leon
c) capable of holding 4 adults and some luggage

for £30k, hence why we stretched the budget. My partner hates the Leon as its too raw, and as she barely ever drives and we work for the same company we ditched the prospect of owning two £15 grand cars and decided to pool resources on 1 £30k car. Means you get a bit more bang for your buck.

If I had more money then I wouldn't be buying an S3; I'd be retiring as work is the devils past time!

[david7m]

Will look forward to the pics on the 1st March

Dave

[david7m]

Finally got the pic of my phone of the Sprint blue one I test drove, here it is -



Dave