RE: Audi S3 S tronic
Tuesday 30th September 2008
Audi has fitted its S3 model with the new S tronic transmission for the first time, which not only improves performance but reduces CO2 emissions. Available to order from October 1 at an extra cost of £1,450, the new transmission takes OTR prices for the first ever ‘two pedal’ S3 models to £28,920 for the three-door and £29,420 for the five-door Sportback, which is a lot of money for a hot hatch.
Audi S3 S tronic
Double-clutch transmission turns S3 into a £30K hot hatch
Equipped with S tronic, the three-door S3 can touch 62mph from rest in 5.5 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than the manual version with which it shares its governed top speed of 155mph. At the same time the S tronic boosts the S3’s combined fuel economy figure from 33.2mpg to 34mpg. As a result, CO2 output in the S3 S tronic falls from 198g/km to 193g/km.
Advanced electro-hydraulic controls and the alternate use of two clutches enable the S tronic gearbox to deliver fast automatic or manual shifts with virtually no interruption of the engine’s power delivery across its seven ratios. It is the first time in the S3’s nine-year history that changes can be made via steering wheel-mounted shift paddles.
The first of the two clutches serves the odd-numbered gears and reverse, and the second the even-numbered gears, so when the S3 is being driven in third gear, for instance, fourth is already pre-selected in anticipation. As soon as the shift command is given, the first clutch is disengaged and the second engaged in just a few hundredths of a second, virtually seamlessly.
UK deliveries of the S Tronic S3 are expected to start in mid-December.
Discussion
Dont get me wrong, its a great technological achievement...but thats way to much money for somthing which is basicaly a 4wheel drive tuned golf!
for that money i would much rather have an evo! or if you wanted somthing a bit more classy a nearly new 335i (petrol version only please, no re-mapped 335d's which claim to be quicker than a Zonda!
) or older m3? just dont quite understand why its so expensive....to me it puts it out of the hot hatch catagory because i thought the whole point of the hot hatch was that its was fast but affordable!?
for that money i would much rather have an evo! or if you wanted somthing a bit more classy a nearly new 335i (petrol version only please, no re-mapped 335d's which claim to be quicker than a Zonda!
) or older m3? just dont quite understand why its so expensive....to me it puts it out of the hot hatch catagory because i thought the whole point of the hot hatch was that its was fast but affordable!?I own an 08 S3 with an old fashioned clutch and gear box.... and one of my (many) criticisms is how short the ratios are and how often it feels like you are changing gear in normal driving conditions... the s-tronic has 7... 7... 7!!!!! cogs...
Your fingers are going to get some serious exercise with changing up and down that box....
Your fingers are going to get some serious exercise with changing up and down that box....
look we all know its just a rebadged golf, so really there is no need to continue mentioning this. we also know for some people the price difference is not worthwhile, for others it is/ Can we be a bit more creative and original in our dissing please.
As a side point interesting to see DSG becoming available on more and more powerful cars, with different engine layouts. The end of auto, and possibly manual as well for all except enthusiasts.
As a side point interesting to see DSG becoming available on more and more powerful cars, with different engine layouts. The end of auto, and possibly manual as well for all except enthusiasts.
Maverick_JDL said:
I own an 08 S3 with an old fashioned clutch and gear box.... and one of my (many) criticisms is how short the ratios are and how often it feels like you are changing gear in normal driving conditions... the s-tronic has 7... 7... 7!!!!! cogs...
Your fingers are going to get some serious exercise with changing up and down that box....
Surely the car will sort that out for you?Your fingers are going to get some serious exercise with changing up and down that box....
I can't believe no one has picked up on the fact that for that extra cash, you get a return of .8 mpg more. I think if it was me that was spending the money and was actually actively LOOKING for a 'greener' car, the results over extra cash spent would have to be considerably higher than that.
just a comment on the so-called improvement on acceleration. Surely what we all enjoy when we put our foot down is that feeling of being pushed back into our seats. This happens, obviously, when drive is engaged. So, reducing 0-60 times by making the changes quicker will not make the car more exciting or quicker in perception. In the same way that gearing a car so the gearchange happens after it's hit 60 does not make it a faster accelerator overall than a car that requires a gearchange and therefore has a slower 0-60.
Which leaves us with the question - with all of these slick changing boxes coming out, what measure can we use to determine which car has the shove we're all after?
Which leaves us with the question - with all of these slick changing boxes coming out, what measure can we use to determine which car has the shove we're all after?
Ex Boy Racer said:
just a comment on the so-called improvement on acceleration. Surely what we all enjoy when we put our foot down is that feeling of being pushed back into our seats. This happens, obviously, when drive is engaged. So, reducing 0-60 times by making the changes quicker will not make the car more exciting or quicker in perception. In the same way that gearing a car so the gearchange happens after it's hit 60 does not make it a faster accelerator overall than a car that requires a gearchange and therefore has a slower 0-60.
Which leaves us with the question - with all of these slick changing boxes coming out, what measure can we use to determine which car has the shove we're all after?
...what he saidWhich leaves us with the question - with all of these slick changing boxes coming out, what measure can we use to determine which car has the shove we're all after?
Ex Boy Racer said:
...Which leaves us with the question - with all of these slick changing boxes coming out, what measure can we use to determine which car has the shove we're all after?
How about the good old fashioned "How-much-of-a lead-you're-pulling-on-the Burberry-chav-in-the-Saxo-ometer"? 
dazsmith69 said:
stupidly priced, go and buy a mint EVO OR Subaru, alot more performance and handling for your money, if you want an Audi badge on the front fair enough (pay for the name and common as muck now), for me theyre very overpriced for what u get (unless your talking RS4 models and up)
You clearly haven't sat in an S3 or if you have, you were asleep.Why do we always compare German cars to rice cars? If i want to go fast, I'll pay 3k for a supercharged VR6..10% of the audi! It's not all about engines and speed...its about the car itself.
I would pay 30k for German build quality. No cars feel as solid in my opinion.
Nickpan has nailed it.
This car is about people who want Audi image and build quality and are willing to pay for it... They don't want something covered in spoilers with a dodgy boy racer image, but still want the speed...(or most of it).
In my view, you cannot compare classy, understated cars like these with any Evo or Scooby - they are totally different cars built with different people and roles in mind... But thats my view....
This car is about people who want Audi image and build quality and are willing to pay for it... They don't want something covered in spoilers with a dodgy boy racer image, but still want the speed...(or most of it).
In my view, you cannot compare classy, understated cars like these with any Evo or Scooby - they are totally different cars built with different people and roles in mind... But thats my view....
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