Wednesday 13th February 2013

(Also) official: Audi S3 Sportback

What a coincidence! Audi also has a five-door four-wheel drive premium hot hatch coming

---

No prizes for guessing who the new Mercedes A45 AMG is aimed at. Yes disillusioned Audi buyers - you! The hot A-Class takes an established compact Audi template - heavily boosted turbo engine, Haldex-based four-wheel drive, dual-clutch transmission, premium badge and pricing with five-door hatch practicality - and sexes it up with a dose of AMG attitude.

New S3! No, hang on, it's the old one. Er.

And in one of those weird coincidences on the very day that the embargo on official information for the A45 AMG lifts ... Audi reveals the next-gen S3 Sportback to sit alongside the three-door already announced. And it has a 300hp turbo four-cylinder, Haldex-based four-wheel drive, dual-clutch transmission, premium badge and pricing with five-door hatch practicality. Spooky, eh?

Clearly the A45 outguns the S3 by some margin and a true A3-based contender will come in the shape of a new RS3 at some point but the S3's 300hp and 280lb ft aren't disgraced entirely. It'll still hit 62mph in 5.0 seconds, four tenths down on both the old RS3 and the A45, and is likewise limited to 155mph. And it's a serious boost over the 265hp and 258lb ft of the previous S3, together with a 70kg like for like weight loss. All of which leaves plenty of headroom for the next RS3 to get properly mental in the effort to put AMG back in its place - don't expect any less than 400hp.

Much admired interior is suitably upgraded

For now though we've got the S3 in both three-door and Sportback form, the former unveiled at Paris and the Sportback no doubt joining the throng at Geneva. Sales start in Germany in September at a smidge under 40,000 euros, 600 euros less than a five-door BMW M135i. That'd put the new S3 Sportback at around £31K if it's to match the BMW's base UK price of £31,085.

Of course, if you really want to go chasing the A45 you'll need one of the old 340hp five-cylinder RS3s, no longer available new but still pulling high 30s for nearly new examples in the PH classifieds. Hot hatches suddenly got a whole lot hotter...

 

[Hellbound]

Wait for it....


'What a coincidence, BMW have just announced they'll be bringing the M135i X-Drive to the UK!'

[Antj]

Bored of all this hyper power hatches, love to see some proper 1 tonne 200bhp drivers hatches again

[Itsallicanafford]

Antj said:

Bored of all this hyper power hatches, love to see some proper 1 tonne 200bhp drivers hatches again

+1, although i would have stopped with the 150hp Clio Williams, the world has gone mad....

[anonymous-user]

The future RS3 could prove to be very interesting now the A3 rides and handles properly!

I do agree that we need more proper little 1000kg hot hatches too!

[Oz83]

Hellbound said:

Wait for it....


'What a coincidence, BMW have just announced they'll be bringing the M135i X-Drive to the UK!'

Is x-drive available on any rhd BMWs?

[Hellbound]

Oz83 said:

Is x-drive available on any rhd BMWs?

Yup, the 320i X-Drive so far, and a variant of the 1 series 5dr range in March, but that won't be the M135.

http://www.xdrivebmw.co.uk/bmw-1-series-xdrive/

[Hellbound]

Video with engine sound;

http://youtu.be/V-HrA9B7UmI

[ZesPak]

Sorry, but this looks terrible. Like an A4 that went half a cycle through a compactor.

[goron59]

I kind of like it. It doesn't grab me by the goolies, but as practical hatches go it's not too bad at all. Sounds a bit funny though and the gearbox seems to be set up for service life rather than excitement - like the TT-RS - but it's a practical hatch, so fair.

[CraigyMc]

Hellbound said:

Oz83 said:

Is x-drive available on any rhd BMWs?

Yup, the 320i X-Drive so far, and a variant of the 1 series 5dr range in March, but that won't be the M135.

http://www.xdrivebmw.co.uk/bmw-1-series-xdrive/

On most of the 3-series range. Read this thread:

http://pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&amp...

You can get a 320d/330d in xDrive (UK RHD).

C

Edited by CraigyMc on Wednesday 13th February 08:29

[Spoof]

Hellbound said:

Video with engine sound;

http://youtu.be/V-HrA9B7UmI

That isn't the real engine sound. That's not even the sound of a 4 banger.

[TimS2000]

What's the deal with all the extra exhaust outlets nowadays? I admit I quite like a dual set up, but quads on a 4-banger, especially on a car that small, looks daft and Max Power-esque to me.
Otherwise looks quite nice, but I'm finding it hard to get too excited about it which seems quite silly for a 300hp hatchback.

[va1o]

Looks good to me. If they can keep the pricing to £30k will be onto a winner I think

[MyCC]

Is anyone else hugely bored with Audi's at the moment?! Just can't get excited about their point & squirt mentality, aside from the R8 of course.

Regards,

My CC.

[Richard-G]

va1o said:

Looks good to me. If they can keep the pricing to £30k will be onto a winner I think

indeed, unlike some of the brands in the vag empire audi seem to be well priced for what you get on the premium end of things, they still rip you off at cooking level but for the 5,6,7,8 and S's they look good.

im getting the horn for audi's again, some of the deals on the A7's are seriously turning my eye.

[Mermaid]

MonkeyMatt said:

I do agree that we need more proper little 1000kg hot hatches too!

From Alfa Romeo, using technology from the 4C?

[soad]

TimS2000 said:

What's the deal with all the extra exhaust outlets nowadays? I admit I quite like a dual set up, but quads on a 4-banger, especially on a car that small, looks daft and Max Power-esque to me.

Helps imagine...sporty look.

[anonymous-user]

MyCC said:

Is anyone else hugely bored with Audi's at the moment?! Just can't get excited about their point & squirt mentality, aside from the R8 of course.

Regards,

My CC.

Have you driven a new A3?

[Wolands Advocate]

I'm a little intrigued by the notion that the S3 will match the M135i on price at circa £31k.

As it stands, the outgoing S3 Sportback will set you back nearly £32k (and north of £33k with a DSG 'box). So are they saying the new version will be cheaper than the old one? That would be a turn-up for the books, especially since like-for-like versions of the new A3 are notably more expensive than the previous model. And what will VAG do with the Golf R, the outgoing version of which was already a few ££s more than the S3...?

[scottybrittas]

Looks like a shrunken S4 estate - nice interior though.