RE: Audi S3 revelation: PH Blog

[WokkaWokka]

I'm taking delivery of a new S3 in about 2 weeks. When I test drove it I was amazed at the way it picked up speed and the comfort was excellent (coming from an A6 SE- No stupid S-Line suspension to ruin the 500 miles a week I drive)

I remember when he tested the RS3 and the M135i too. He bloody hated the RS3.

[pppppppppppppppp]

MikeG88 said:

I was looking at the S3 the other day actually. Figures seemed impressive. Goo to hear its alrite to drive! never really considered an audi. I couldnt buy the Golf. Because it is at the end of the day a golf.

Don't kid yourself. The S3 is also a Golf.

I test drove the S3. I thought the ride was too hard personally. I also test drove a Golf 7 GTi and a Cupra 280 and felt these were much better. I've ordered a Golf R though. I prefer the interior over the S3 (really don't like the pop-up Sat Nav).

At the end of the day it will be a Golf. It will also be a car. I don't really care what label's on it. There were many reasons I chose a Golf but most of all it was because it was the car I most wanted to own.

[toppstuff]

Audi are a baffling company.

Some of their cars are very good. Some of them are utterly rubbish.

But everyone seems to love them, in appliance white with their dazzle DRL's. The damn things are everywhere.

The new S3 sounds like a good'un.

[Clivey]

scherzkeks said:

Already looking forward to seeing the exact opposite written about this car from EVO or this site down the road, once BMW or another competitor releases a facelift product with more HP. Same pattern as with the 8P, laud it then loathe it.

Same thing happened with the M135i; initially it received nothing but praise but now it's wayward tendencies (without an LSD and with the electronics off) are being talked-up. I think as the competition gets tougher, any flaws become the differentiating factor and become more significant. Think about the first time you drove a 300BHP car. It felt amazing didn't it? Now it feels "normal". Familiarity breeds contempt.

2013 Audi S3 - Evo Review

As I said on the other thread though, it does look like Audi have made a much greater effort with the new car.

jon- said:

Having tracked and roaded the TTRS and TTS, I found the TTS to surprisingly be the better car.

It even seemed to have dialed out some of the horrid understeer the TTRS driving is dominated by.

Less weight in the "wrong" place?

GTEYE said:

Good to see a bit of balance in some of the comments above. I think the S3 has to date not had the easiest of time on PH.

CH likes it, suddenly its everyone's favourite car..

Oh no...Not this again.

Read any review of the new car - it's much better than the old one and that was evident long before CH wrote his piece!

[anonymous-user]

Betty Cumberdale said:

And the Audi at the end of the day is an Audi. I don't see your logic.

Buyer in 'confused car snobbery conundrum'?

[scb40]

Took delivery of my S3 (Sportback) at beginning of March and have found it better in every way than my previous one (which I still loved). Very understated exterior - even with the silver mirrors!- and quality interior. Suspension much more sorted but when you hit the loud pedal it fairly takes off.
Have been surprised by some of the previous rather negative comment on this car so nice to see a bit of balance once someone has lived with it for a bit!

[iloveboost]

I agree with you Clive. Anything you buy the more time you spend with it the more little 'flaws' become annoying and what you liked about it you start to take for granted.

Also I just read that EVO review and they say:
On track the S3 had a nice balance running wide at the limit but then tightening its line nicely on an eased throttle. But on a rougher road surface it quickly starts to feel out of its depth, the damping struggling to keep the body under control and a surprising amount of float developing.

My feeling is that they are describing every road car and every FWD/Haldex car ever made! What do you think? I mean the alternative to float at high speeds over bumps/crests is skipping over bumps/crests at high speeds and a harsh ride at low speeds. Then the S3 suspension would be more like the RS3 that Chris criticises! I think suspension is about having a good compromise when everything is fixed rate.

[HDM]

Chris, kudos for the T Queefe reference!

[leedsutd1]

how much does this A3 cost and how much is the bmw and golf mentioned,i honestly have no idea.?

[NWMark]

Actus Reus said:

There's a dark blue too. It is not very inspiring, especially given some of the outrageously bright colours you could have the last S3 in.

I've seen the dark blue in the sportback at the dealers but its not on the configurator so can only assume its one of their exclusive colours (or the configurator is wrong - certainly wont be the first time)

[nonuts]

LA167 said:

Leins said:

Chrome mirrors were an option on the original S3 IIRC

Chrome mirrors are standard, body coloured mirrors are a no cost option.

Can we just clear this one up, I don't know if they still are but on the original S3 they weren't Chrome they are solid aluminium and for that reason alone I used to really like them.

I keep wondering if another S3 would be a good idea and this sounds like a better one, may have to test drive one at some point.

[...Mole...]

NWMark said:

White, Red, Black, Silver, Grey, Brown? (mixture of solid, pearl and metallic)

This was the only thing that bothered me when ordering, I wanted it in a bright colour but didnt want to shell out for "Audi Exclusive" paint at £2500 or whatever it was.

Settled for the brightest colour i could get.

[Ved]

Looks nice, that. The red seems to make it more S4 in my eyes, which is no bad thing.

[Neil_M]

Interesting, maybe Audi are really starting to pull the finger out.

I've an A5 Quattro as the daily steer and I have to say its a love hate relationship. But one thing thats never been a negative is its ability to punch down a back road.

I'd actually like to drive one of the new S3s. I think it would be a genuinely great daily driver. Though something a little rawer for the weekends would be essential.

I'm off to the Audi Configurator...

[mdianuk]

Monkey, can you get a squirt in a Golf R soon? Think your "all year round" statement might just change again. Sure one of the guys off the Rforum will let you try it out

[dalzo]

About to order a golf r which shares the same platform and engine so good to see it's getting nice reviews.

Don't see why everyone hates the Audi s3, family member had the previous generation and it was a fantastic car.

Rapid when it wanted to be and silent,grown up and a nice place to sit when you just wanted to cruise.

[bodhi]

Two things come to mind.

1) Subtle? It's got 4 massive tailpipes sticking out the back! A bit Max Power on a hot hatch if you ask me, especially connected up to a turbo'd 4 banger.

2) The Evo review quoted above seems to have it down as fast but dull. So a bit like every other hot Audi then, only this one is getting praise as it's not as terrible as the RS3?

[Oddball RS]

Goods good to drive, but what a god awful boring car to look at.

[toppstuff]

Oddball RS said:

Goods good to drive, but what a god awful boring car to look at.

I think thats the idea though. You rather miss the point of these cars

[Clivey]

iloveboost said:

I agree with you Clive. Anything you buy the more time you spend with it the more little 'flaws' become annoying and what you liked about it you start to take for granted.

I like having my BMW and Land Rover - they're chalk and cheese. Driving one for a few days, then getting back into the other is quite nice...though coming home from work I did just forget how slow the Discovery is to move off at junctions.

I know exactly what you mean; my 320i only has 170 PS but the character of the engine (M54 straight six) is sublime. - When I get into a more powerful inline four the speed is there but generally, the way they go about producing power and torque leaves a lot to be desired. I end-up missing my little 3-Series.

iloveboost said:

Also I just read that EVO review and they say:
On track the S3 had a nice balance running wide at the limit but then tightening its line nicely on an eased throttle. But on a rougher road surface it quickly starts to feel out of its depth, the damping struggling to keep the body under control and a surprising amount of float developing.

My feeling is that they are describing every road car and every FWD/Haldex car ever made! What do you think? I mean the alternative to float at high speeds over bumps/crests is skipping over bumps/crests at high speeds and a harsh ride at low speeds. Then the S3 suspension would be more like the RS3 that Chris criticises!

The problem is that there is a limit as to what you can do with suspension settings. - Go too far in one particular direction and you'll upset something else. Generally, to make a FWD / FWD-based car really handle, they need to be quite stiff. The RS3 has a boat anchor of an engine in front of the front axle, hence the need for wider front tyres, a stiff setup etc. etc.



This makes me shudder when I see it. - I mean; the whole engine is ahead of the axle FFS! The only thing they could have done worse is make it taller...oh, yeah they did that too. Also see the comment above about the TTS handling better than the RS. Now they've moved on to the MQB platform with, amongst other things, better weight distribution and a reduced front overhang is it a surprise the new cars (Golf R and S3) are much improved?

iloveboost said:

I think suspension is about having a good compromise when everything is fixed rate.

Then again, how many times have you seen a review say something along the lines of "Comfort mode is too soft, Sport mode is too crashy; I'd prefer one well-judged setup"? There was an excellent article a while back (I can't remember where I read it now) concerning this. I'm looking for it now...