A3 8P - June 2003!Dave_Hedgehog wrote:it does not matter how old it is, or how the chassis is designed, what matters is how it drivesD_K wrote:Lol
Erm completely new chassis platform which is much lighter and handles much better than the 1970 A3 but still not great compared to a BM
Interior tech is night and day. Old A3 has an RNSE!! This has full blown Audi MMI which is easily best in the industry
The old A3 came out in 2004
That is 8 years ago!!!
i have been in both and material quality is no different, it is just arranged differently
as i said most of the weight saving is from comparing a super heavy old engine with a much smaller but equally powerfully newer engine, i doubt there will be 30kgs difference between RS3s using the same engine/drivetrain etc
i honestly don't care about the MMI crap, its a marketing gimmick, i have had audi loan cars with it, you play with it, set it up and forget about it, im sure to the iphone/andriod/xbox generation its important to upgrade your tech every 6 weeks but it has zero impact on how the car turns in, accelerates, brakes etc which is what is important, this is don't forget RS246 not mumsnet or letsbuyaudiprcrap.
And it was still outselling the BMW 1'er and Mercedes-Benz small stuff this year!
So the styling had to make it look instantly recognisable compared to the 8P - can't risk alienating the existing buyers… But if the dealer you visited had the showroom set out correctly then you'd have seen on of each shape parked nearby to compare… It's a clean sheet of paper design in its own rite and is very modern.
Weight saving - actually most of the advantage is the body shell having more al'y panels. Some engines are totally new tech. and lighter - but customers are demanding this for fuel savings and CO2 advantages. The good news for you is this will add up to an excellent lighter weight better handling S / RS version in time!
BMW and handling - I would seriously challenge you to take an equivalent BMW and tell me it handles better than the new A3 - simply not so. The new car is tight, involving, razor sharp compared to a 1'er, AND has the highest quality interior / build of any small car on sale. Period.
The tech also places it light years ahead of any competitor - check out the standard Hi-Fi / retractable screen / Bluetooth / AMI set up on the most basic A3 SE, and consider then that you can upgrade to the factory nab for about £500 even when they become used cars…
Sorry If I sound like I'm harping on - and sound slightly biased (I am…) but don't underestimate this car - it's a phenomenal machine compared to the 2003 A3.
These cars- even the RS models - are bought by people who appreciate the tech and build and ALSO demand the engineering quality… and can afford the £20k start price for a 1.4TFSI, so imagine how knowledgable and demanding the customer is who buys the £40k+ RS… It has to be very technologically advanced too, doesn't it? If it wasn't so you'd be driving a Clio 197 and be done!
