RS3 or S4?

[allroadchris]

Hi all,

I am going to test drive an RS3 and an S4 tomorrow. Does anybody have any thoughts on the differences?
I sold my R35 GTR in November and after a winter in an old wrx estate I have reached the conclusion I need 4wd and an estate/hatchback. The RS4 just doesn't appeal. A lot of money for what it is. Plus, I like forced induction.

I sold the GTR because I need something more practical with my kids getting bigger (6 and and doing more activities. I am having to use my car more for ferrying them about. I can't just use my wife's allroad anymore. She's taking my daughter to dance class whilst I'm taking the little fella to football.

I was also maybe just a touch precious about the GTR. She has gone to a good home though.

Any insights would be helpful.

Thanks

Chris

[gilford]

You're in luck, I was in this exact position last August, looking at RS3, S4, GTR and 911 Turbo.

I disregarded the last 2 quickly after test driving and seeing my little girl squashed up in the back

Didn't consider the RS6 as I had an E60 M5 a few years ago when they first came out and hated the consumption.

My thoughts, the S4 is a good solid rep mobile, and will suit most, but if you want something fast and special then it's the RS3 all day long!

S4 has a nice cabin, looks nice, and is reasonably quick. Prices plummet though, and without tuning it and invalidating any warranty it's never going to be an exhilarating drive. The S4 is a compromise to an RS and there is no denying it.

The RS3 is a superbly packaged car, the haters (see DK) will say it is dated etc etc but it is still the fastest, best looking A3 to date! To 100mph there isn't much on the road that will beat it, it handles superb, has an engine note to die for and has bullet proof residuals.

I've had many, many cars like this over the years and am always looking to change after 6 months due to boredom, the RS3 is the first car I have had for over 6 months and I'm actually looking forward to the good weather so I can get some fun miles on the clock

I can honestly say there is NOTHING out there without getting in to serious debt that would replace it.

You will test drive both today, I'm confident you'll make the right choice, the S4 is such a bore to drive very much like a 330i is to an M3.

Enjoy your day though!

[allroadchris]

Thanks for that. I thought that might be the case.
Cheers.

[P_G]

Certainly a tough choice you have between the two. You'll find as many people rate the S4 as the RS3 but my take on why I went for an RS3 rather than a B8 S4 to replace by B7 RS4 is as follows;

B8 S4 cabin whilst very well appointed and probably better than the RS3 in terms of quality of plastics is not any bigger. Boot is bigger in the S4 than the RS3 but then either may feel cavernous to you coming form a GTR!
B8 S4 unless tuned is a good 100+ kgs heavier than the RS3 and you can feel the 3 is nimbler
To have a good B8 S4 you either have to tick a lot of option boxes including trick diff from new or be lucky in finding one that has all these and they are rare. The RS3 does have options yes but not as many
Many people will say the gains out of the S4 when tuning are a lot better than the RS3 which is subjective but OEM vs OEM from a standing start the 3 is quicker and on the go not much different and like gilford said not much will beat either from standing start to 100 unless you are a GTR or 911 Turbo!
Having come from an RS4 and liking the aggressive look of it the 3 was similar and you being in a GTR I csn't imagine you are looking for a 'plain' car, the 4 is the ultimate sleeper car in that it does look more like an A4 more than the RS3 looks like an A3
Fuel economy in the RS3 is marginally better than the S4 but that's not why you buy these cars
When driing both I felt a little disconnected form the road in the S4 with all its electronic aids, in the 3 whilst it is older it is a bit more mechanical and organic IMO

The 3 is not perfect, OEM it does have understeer in it but a decent set of tyres and in my case a sub £200 rear ARB will cure that and makes it almost as good as my RS4 which was sublime. BTW when test driving the 3 press the ESP button once to put traction control into sport mode along with the pressing the 's' button and you will have a different handling car to full safety on.

HTH.

[dbm]

The 3 is not perfect, OEM it does have understeer in it but a decent set of tyres and in my case a sub £200 rear ARB will cure that and makes it almost as good as my RS4 which was sublime.

Apologies for the threadjack - what ARB did you have fitted?

[S4Player]

Would be S4 for me all day, not just the tuning potential but a better car imo. £1500 is seeing you in the high 400hp range which is madness

[doodlebug]

1500 quid would get you plenty more in the RS3!

I thought about the S4, just wasn't what I was after. No doubt quick and stealthy, but, IMO a bit soulless.

[P_G]

The 3 is not perfect, OEM it does have understeer in it but a decent set of tyres and in my case a sub £200 rear ARB will cure that and makes it almost as good as my RS4 which was sublime.

Apologies for the threadjack - what ARB did you have fitted?

034 Motorsports, I'll do a write up when I get a chance and back on summer tyres this weekend to see exactly what the transformation is.

[P_G]

Would be S4 for me all day, not just the tuning potential but a better car imo. £1500 is seeing you in the high 400hp range which is madness

So you are talking the same price for tuning the RS3 to the same level which is still 100+ kgs lighter. Added benefits in the 3 of changing the turbo for a Loba Hybrid and then your are pushing through the 500bhp mark.

[HYFR]

haters ! LOL
I've put 9000 miles on an RS 3 and 20,000 miles on x2 S4's.
I've driven them in all conditions, all types of roads, all types of driving.

I'd go S4 all day every day.

Find one with the Sports Diff.

I tracked my RS 5 and wow, the quattro Sport Diff is simply awesome! Could absolutely feel it push the car round the corner from the rear wheels...whereas the wooden RS 3 would have understeered so wide it would be in a bush on fire with bald tyres.

[P_G]

Whose hating?

That's why choice is such a great thing..... and a decent set of tyres and ARB negates your arguement. Who is the hater now?

[HYFR]

I totally respect your choice P_G.

And I'm only expressing my opinion (obviously in an exaggerated form)

But genuinely and seriously, I was mightly impressed with the 1730kg RS 5 on track. The sports diff made it really 'dynamic' for want of a better word.

All this talk of the RS 3 being lighter, but the fatty fatty boom boom RS 5 felt much more nimble on track then the RS 3

[Nickyboy]

As an overall package I would go with S4, which is what I did previously. My choice was purely based on how dated the RS3 was when I sat in it, I chose the overall package over the increased performance. For me the interior was the same as some fairly old A3s and it just didn't seem to justify 40K, for me anyway. I wanted a bit of 'sales rep' type of car. All depends what you want really. S4 for overall package but RS3 for more performance.

I also would respect the opinion of Mr no name above based on the amount of Audi's he has owned as well.

[P_G]

I totally respect your choice P_G.

And I'm only expressing my opinion (obviously in an exaggerated form)

But genuinely and seriously, I was mightly impressed with the 1730kg RS 5 on track. The sports diff made it really 'dynamic' for want of a better word.

All this talk of the RS 3 being lighter, but the fatty fatty boom boom RS 5 felt much more nimble on track then the RS 3

Equally I respect your thoughts on the 3 your RS5 and your previous cars. But I also suspect you would be the first to admit that a few tweaks like you have done with most of your own Audis but not had the chance to with all of your company cars most notably better tyres that suit the RS3 would have made a huge difference and for me now owning it and having done tyres adn ARB I can say the car handles on a level to the RS4 which is my benchmark whereas when I picked it up and started with it it did not fill me with that confidence the RS4 gave me.

By no means am I saying the RS5 will not handle as well because of its weight, they were far better at Oulton park than the B8 RS4's. Just that unless you buy new not may S4's or RS5's are kitted out as one would want to handle that much better than an RS3 on decent tyres and when people talk about modifying one and it being better than OEM on the other, then that's pretty obvious.

If there is a summer meet I'll happily take you out in my 3 and see if you think it is any better than what you recall from your company car.

[HYFR]

Yep fair enough.

Although new tyres and arb = B7 RS 4 handling might be pushing it!

Anyway, my vote goes on S4, but I dearly wanted the RS 3 to be the car I had hope it would have been.

Really impressed with the RS 5 btw!!! Just did a euro vaunt to Spa, Nurburgring in it, and wow, what a machine !!