RE: Driven: Audi RS3 Sportback
Discussion
Why am I not surprised by this review? is anyone surprised?
It will sell but, from the last thread nearly every Audi owner who was defending this car talked about the badge image, it is important to some people that's just a fact of life.
I know I would be buying a Type 20 Impreza BUT if I had to run the decision by my missus and I showed her the Audi RS3, I wouldn't have a choice in the matter.
It will sell but, from the last thread nearly every Audi owner who was defending this car talked about the badge image, it is important to some people that's just a fact of life.
I know I would be buying a Type 20 Impreza BUT if I had to run the decision by my missus and I showed her the Audi RS3, I wouldn't have a choice in the matter.
mat205125 said:
Johnnytheboy said:
This does seem to fit the bill for my next car rather well. Apart from the wheels...
Please don't misinterpret this as some kind of silly online "anti-Audi" attack, rather a genuine interest in your comment above.When you say that this car "fits the bill", could you please give us a brief spec sheet of what it is you are looking for in a car. I ask because I'm struggling to see how £40k couldn't get a "better" car than that, whatever that might mean.
However, I have a wife, child and dog, a few jobs around the house that require trips to B&Q and the tip, go away on weekends with plenty of luggage for the afore mentioned family and live on an (occasionally snowy) incline. This is where the RS3 wins out over the BMW for me. I'd get to cart around my life and have a sly b-road blast.
Sadly, I'll have to stick with the Altea for a bit longer.
Presuming Ed said:
I can't understand why everybody thinks this car is sooooo overpriced.
Its 40k, what else will get you to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds so quickly for less. Wasn't the Focus RS 500 over 35k. People, please don't start quoting used cars as comparison as its not like for like. The 1 series M is likely to be 40k+ as well, a cayman is 50K.
The base price is 40K but with options I expect it will be 45K-50K. There are quite a lot of very good new - or some brilliant nearly new - cars in that range so you would need to want an RS3 a lot to go for it. But I think that will likely apply to the 1 M too. Still, I like the look of the RS3 and if 4-wheel drive is important (not really so in the UK but much more useful here in Switzerland) then I'm sure it would be a good car to own - at least until you had to sell it and take the depreciation hit!Its 40k, what else will get you to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds so quickly for less. Wasn't the Focus RS 500 over 35k. People, please don't start quoting used cars as comparison as its not like for like. The 1 series M is likely to be 40k+ as well, a cayman is 50K.
SB10 said:
Am i the only one who noticed the interior close up of the seats doesnt match those of the actual car shots at the side of the road?
Tidy looking car IMO... needs something different done with the wheels though.
Thats because there are two different cars used in the pictures. IN RS 3007 and IN RS 3010.Tidy looking car IMO... needs something different done with the wheels though.
I hope Riggers drove one of them. 3007 looks more likely. 3010 looks like press release shots.
This versus an M3 or C63 as the target competition? Perhaps Audi are getting a tad optimistic.
I don't doubt the Audi is a very decent, very capable car (dodgy wheels though!) but I'm sure this'll be better in all the 'right' areas.
Incidentally, I think it's a shame BMW are stating they won't release the 1 Series M Coupe as a hatch.
I don't doubt the Audi is a very decent, very capable car (dodgy wheels though!) but I'm sure this'll be better in all the 'right' areas.
Incidentally, I think it's a shame BMW are stating they won't release the 1 Series M Coupe as a hatch.
Interesting comments.....
I have an A3 sportback diesel as a daily driver and the main reason I went for it is as a nice place to sit. Audi interiors are some of the best this side of Aston and Bentley......
To think of it as a £40k hatch smarts a little, but a silhouette racer with a hatch body on and it begins to make sense. It's priced for what it can do performance wise rather than what it can do in dropping the kids at nursery and taking the cats to the vets.
I still think two cars make sense – I've got the Elise for fun and an Audi for the commute..... If I swapped them both in for an RS3it would cost £1k+ a month to run. My Elise hasn’t really depreciated in 2 years and my Audi is £215 a month.....
But if I lived in London had one parking place and did bugger all miles it would make more sense – as an all-rounder it does make sense especially as a hatch.
I have an A3 sportback diesel as a daily driver and the main reason I went for it is as a nice place to sit. Audi interiors are some of the best this side of Aston and Bentley......
To think of it as a £40k hatch smarts a little, but a silhouette racer with a hatch body on and it begins to make sense. It's priced for what it can do performance wise rather than what it can do in dropping the kids at nursery and taking the cats to the vets.
I still think two cars make sense – I've got the Elise for fun and an Audi for the commute..... If I swapped them both in for an RS3it would cost £1k+ a month to run. My Elise hasn’t really depreciated in 2 years and my Audi is £215 a month.....
But if I lived in London had one parking place and did bugger all miles it would make more sense – as an all-rounder it does make sense especially as a hatch.
g3org3y said:
Incidentally, I think it's a shame BMW are stating they won't release the 1 Series M Coupe as a hatch.
Indeed and I think that's the Audi's saving grace. I would never buy a 1M, because the body style makes no sense to me - not enough practicality to be a family car, yet too compromised by the need for rear seats to be the best drivers' car it could be. It just doesn't offer anything that I'd actually use over a Cayman, whereas I could see myself being interested in the Audi as a family car at some point in the future. I suppose what I'd like to see someone produce, is a miniature (Focus sized) M3 touring.
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 9th March 11:04
Bezerk said:
I'm not sure if they will shift 500 in UK.
.
Great article Riggers. .
This is a capable Audi, and all that Audi stands for - more of a digital than a analogue car. But a very capable car in all circumstances 24/7/365, on the highway, on suburban streets & the RS3 perhaps on the track too sometimes.
The biggest concern I have with this Audi is that it will attract the out and out fanboys who will give it a bad reputation - the wheels seem to have been designed by these guys.
I suppose they will sell the allocation quite easily because of the pent-up demand from the lower ranks within Audi/VW/Seat & the RS4 owners (car is 5 years old) getting something newer and more appropriate for this economy.
SB10 said:
Am i the only one who noticed the interior close up of the seats doesnt match those of the actual car shots at the side of the road?
Tidy looking car IMO... needs something different done with the wheels though.
Superb bearded spottery.Tidy looking car IMO... needs something different done with the wheels though.
Personally I dislike. I think it looks ugly, the mirrors and silver trip are garish, the grill looks hateful, I don't like that the front tyres are wider than the rears for apparent packaging reasons.
Mostly though, it all looks a bit too fashion consciou. In 30 years time, I'll probably go "ooooh" if I see a well preserved M3 or a Renault Sport car, however I don't imagine doing the same with the blingy Audi
Presuming Ed said:
AdamPT said:
would have the BMW 1M over this any day of the week, month, year, etc....just looks like a S3 with chav wheels, bodykit and a chip upgrade (yes I know its a different engine). The beemer strikes me as a drivers car, whereas this is a mini-estate for the family man who wants a bit of pace when he's dropped the kids off (no bad thing at all, just not a driver's car). Not a huge fan of Audi myself, they have only ever made two great cars in my opinion (RS4 and R8) and I prefer a bit of sporting excellence and breeding meself.
When you say EVER, I assume you only mean the last 10 years otherwise your judgement is rather cloudy. Audi might not be the last word in vehicle dynamics but they've made some great cars in their time.The 1M and this RS3 will be released at near enough the same time and both are in the same price bracket. However I predict that while the 1M will do really well in residuals and may not even loose any money in the first year, the RS3 will plumment like a stone to it's true worth of around the £30k-£35k mark very quickly.
The second hand market is a very good indicator of how good people think a car is and it's true value and I suspect this mediocre RS offering will suffer.
The second hand market is a very good indicator of how good people think a car is and it's true value and I suspect this mediocre RS offering will suffer.
mat205125 said:
Johnnytheboy said:
This does seem to fit the bill for my next car rather well. Apart from the wheels...
Please don't misinterpret this as some kind of silly online "anti-Audi" attack, rather a genuine interest in your comment above.When you say that this car "fits the bill", could you please give us a brief spec sheet of what it is you are looking for in a car. I ask because I'm struggling to see how £40k couldn't get a "better" car than that, whatever that might mean.
My criteria for a car is that it has to be fairly compact in order to fit my garage, have a hatch-type boot as I often carry my dog, and be as fast as the preceding criteria allow. I also want something new or fairly new.
Current car is a Focus RS which fits the bill very well, only thing I would definitely like is AWD/RWD in the next car, so this would fit the bill.
Is that a fair rationalisation for wanting an RS3?
As some have said above a 1-series M-Sport is an obvious rival and I'd love one, but as is the case with an awful lot of sports cars I'd love, the lack of dog space means I would rarely use it.
Johnnytheboy said:
That's fine, I'll try and answer without going into a lengthy personal biog.
My criteria for a car is that it has to be fairly compact in order to fit my garage, have a hatch-type boot as I often carry my dog, and be as fast as the preceding criteria allow. I also want something new or fairly new.
Current car is a Focus RS which fits the bill very well, only thing I would definitely like is AWD/RWD in the next car, so this would fit the bill.
Is that a fair rationalisation for wanting an RS3?
As some have said above a 1-series M-Sport is an obvious rival and I'd love one, but as is the case with an awful lot of sports cars I'd love, the lack of dog space means I would rarely use it.
Perhaps im missing the point and again, this isnt a pop at you or Audi but if i was in your position id just get an S3 Sportback, remap it to get more bang out of it and spend the change on a MK1 RS for the weekendsMy criteria for a car is that it has to be fairly compact in order to fit my garage, have a hatch-type boot as I often carry my dog, and be as fast as the preceding criteria allow. I also want something new or fairly new.
Current car is a Focus RS which fits the bill very well, only thing I would definitely like is AWD/RWD in the next car, so this would fit the bill.
Is that a fair rationalisation for wanting an RS3?
As some have said above a 1-series M-Sport is an obvious rival and I'd love one, but as is the case with an awful lot of sports cars I'd love, the lack of dog space means I would rarely use it.
Also, i assume the S4 Avant is too big?
dele said:
Perhaps im missing the point and again, this isnt a pop at you or Audi but if i was in your position id just get an S3 Sportback, remap it to get more bang out of it and spend the change on a MK1 RS for the weekends
Also, i assume the S4 Avant is too big?
I have space for one car, I only use it at the weekends, but invariably that use includes carrying the dog about. Also, i assume the S4 Avant is too big?
I've previously considered an RS4 Avant.
I'd rather buy a car that's quick to start with than a slower one then remap it. Generally there is more to the quicker version than simply more power.
E.g. in the case of my current car I could have got a Focus ST and mapped that to 300bhp. But I'm not convinced I would've got as enjoyable an ownership proposition.
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