Discussion
I drive a 2002 2.0L Impreza WRX Sportwagon which is classed as a hatchback. It has 221BHP and does the 0-62 in 5.9s and a quarter mile in 14.5s 100mph terminal speed and a top end of 150mph. It doesn't have the top end of the S3 or the lovely interior but it isn't far off the 0-62 time and i bet mine handles better from standard. It only cost £20K brand new and looks way different to anything else on the road.
I've had an A3 and thought it was a bloody good car, however...although they are technically very ahead of their time and go extremelly well they all look the same, don't look too dissimilar to anything else on the road and i feel very expensive for what they are. I'd rather go out and spend £21,995 on a brand new 2.5L WRX sportwagon 227BHP, and spend the other £5K getting it up to a very reliable 350BHP, and it will be lightning fast and sound fantastic.
I think thats good value for money.
I've had an A3 and thought it was a bloody good car, however...although they are technically very ahead of their time and go extremelly well they all look the same, don't look too dissimilar to anything else on the road and i feel very expensive for what they are. I'd rather go out and spend £21,995 on a brand new 2.5L WRX sportwagon 227BHP, and spend the other £5K getting it up to a very reliable 350BHP, and it will be lightning fast and sound fantastic.
I think thats good value for money.
Has the reviewer ever seen an A3 S-line before??? if he had I'm quite sure he wouldn't be banging on about the visual differences.
Older S cars had much more on them to make them stand out, where as today S cars look like S-Lines. And regarding the price, add metallic paint and full leather and you're at 28k already.
I cancelled my S3 order because it's just a bland looking car. I can't understand reviewers praising the looks because 8Ps with S-Line and Votex kits have been with us for a while now and they look pretty much identical.
Older S cars had much more on them to make them stand out, where as today S cars look like S-Lines. And regarding the price, add metallic paint and full leather and you're at 28k already.
I cancelled my S3 order because it's just a bland looking car. I can't understand reviewers praising the looks because 8Ps with S-Line and Votex kits have been with us for a while now and they look pretty much identical.
I dont think you can compare it to an Exige for obvious reasons! a Focus ST is a fwd ford, and you can see what you can buy on the secondhand market with the same money forever.
The cars this should be compared to are the BMW 130i M and the Golf R32 - and i would prefer the S3 to both of those.
That said it would be nice to see something other than a 2.0 turbo for a change.
The cars this should be compared to are the BMW 130i M and the Golf R32 - and i would prefer the S3 to both of those.
That said it would be nice to see something other than a 2.0 turbo for a change.
markwm said:
Has the reviewer ever seen an A3 S-line before??? if he had I'm quite sure he wouldn't be banging on about the visual differences.
Older S cars had much more on them to make them stand out, where as today S cars look like S-Lines. And regarding the price, add metallic paint and full leather and you're at 28k already.
I cancelled my S3 order because it's just a bland looking car. I can't understand reviewers praising the looks because 8Ps with S-Line and Votex kits have been with us for a while now and they look pretty much identical.
Older S cars had much more on them to make them stand out, where as today S cars look like S-Lines. And regarding the price, add metallic paint and full leather and you're at 28k already.
I cancelled my S3 order because it's just a bland looking car. I can't understand reviewers praising the looks because 8Ps with S-Line and Votex kits have been with us for a while now and they look pretty much identical.
I agree. I don`t think the reviewer has much of a clue at all. He bangs on about the visual differences between the new S3 and the standard A3, and how he can`t recall a single attribute about the old 'plain looking' S3. Has he ever seen one??? .. He mentions pukey purple metallic, so I think not!! As far as i`m aware the only purple ever used on the S3 was special order Merlin purple which i`ve seen on one once. Or maybe he means Nogaro blue, in which case he needs new shades!!! Anyway, rant over for my 1st post, and Oh Yes - I most certainly 'would' like a New S3!!!
I agree its a pricey car, but no more than the 130 as mentioned.
We had a Merlin Purple A3 in the past, really nice colour. Definitely special order only for the S3. Its a very good colour for TVRs too.
I think the author might be thinking about a rather dodgy raspberry purpley colour I've seen a few TTs in, but I've never seen an S3 in this colour.
Mind you, all the comments should be construed as poetic license really ;-)
I hope the S3 depreciates off a cliff - so I can pick one up as a runabout in a few years
We had a Merlin Purple A3 in the past, really nice colour. Definitely special order only for the S3. Its a very good colour for TVRs too.
I think the author might be thinking about a rather dodgy raspberry purpley colour I've seen a few TTs in, but I've never seen an S3 in this colour.
Mind you, all the comments should be construed as poetic license really ;-)
I hope the S3 depreciates off a cliff - so I can pick one up as a runabout in a few years
"If you’re anything like me you probably can't recall a single visual attribute of the previous 'S' range of A3s, other than they were too plain looking, and mostly painted Pukey Purple metallic"
WTF?!?!?!? One can only assume that Steve Bell is a guest writer from Horse and Hound or something as he certainly isnt a pistonhead... differences off the top of my head included ummmm, fatter bumpers front and rear, significantly lower, 17-18" alloys, and the all important wider arches, to name but a few. And the reality was a car that stood out far more than this short list would suggest.
The visual differences are what set the old S3 apart, and made it such a cult car. The lack of visual differentiation in the new one is what a lot people are upset about. Im sure it will be a great all round car, in the way the old one was, but to say the new one has more visual impact is insane.
This is from someone who had one ordered, and really wanted it to be fantastic - cancelled that though. Sorry Audi - I cant afford £50-£60k for pumped arches...
WTF?!?!?!? One can only assume that Steve Bell is a guest writer from Horse and Hound or something as he certainly isnt a pistonhead... differences off the top of my head included ummmm, fatter bumpers front and rear, significantly lower, 17-18" alloys, and the all important wider arches, to name but a few. And the reality was a car that stood out far more than this short list would suggest.
The visual differences are what set the old S3 apart, and made it such a cult car. The lack of visual differentiation in the new one is what a lot people are upset about. Im sure it will be a great all round car, in the way the old one was, but to say the new one has more visual impact is insane.
This is from someone who had one ordered, and really wanted it to be fantastic - cancelled that though. Sorry Audi - I cant afford £50-£60k for pumped arches...
Edited by cmcm3 on Wednesday 11th October 22:13
targarama said:
I agree its a pricey car, but no more than the 130 as mentioned.
But like Evo said, with the 130 you get a decent rwd car with a superb inline 6 pot, probably the sweetest 6 pot NA going! When they do a 3 door it'll be uber desireable in it's price bracket (imho)
Then you have the R32 Golf, which to be honest I'd much rather have for the engine sound alone, quality product like the S3 and significantly cheaper kitted up too!
Actually liked the old S3 because for it's kit it was still quite reserved and understated, but this new one is just gash in comparison visually...just trying too hard...
Dare I say it but the old RS4/S3 still have me looking in awe at the stealth butchness and smartness, I stop and look to appreciate them. But the new ones are just so "obvious" and vulgar in comparison, really not appealing purely because of the visuals no matter how "good" they are technically
Dave
I agree with the comments that the reviewer doesn't know what he is talking about regarding the looks of the car vs. the old one, but all this misses the point: The S3 was always a stealth car. Those in the know respected what resides under the bonnet and the rest found out as you went past them. I'm glad that the new one continues this tradition.
As for the comments about what else you can get for the price - surely that is missing the Audi point as well. If you just wanted a capable hot hatch then you'd get a Leon. The same was true of the last one but they obviously sold well enough to build another.
5 years ago the base price was £24,500. Mine would have been over £27,000 with the included options at UK dealer prices. The new ones have gone up by 10%, which IMHO is acceptable over that time frame.
Top Gear mag reckons that driving-wise it picks up where the RS4 left off. That is good news. If high prices keep the Focus crowd out of the market and resale values high then it should be a pretty desirable car.
But at the moment I still am undecided because there is not enough there to justify a 10-15 grand upgrade from my current model. I was already planning £500 for a remap and having been out in a TT with uprated springs, it seems this is the better value route to take for a similar specced car. If Audi were to throw in a few more options like DSG and Magnetic Ride then it would be tempting, but they aren't even available. However a 300bhp remap might swing it.
As for the comments about what else you can get for the price - surely that is missing the Audi point as well. If you just wanted a capable hot hatch then you'd get a Leon. The same was true of the last one but they obviously sold well enough to build another.
5 years ago the base price was £24,500. Mine would have been over £27,000 with the included options at UK dealer prices. The new ones have gone up by 10%, which IMHO is acceptable over that time frame.
Top Gear mag reckons that driving-wise it picks up where the RS4 left off. That is good news. If high prices keep the Focus crowd out of the market and resale values high then it should be a pretty desirable car.
But at the moment I still am undecided because there is not enough there to justify a 10-15 grand upgrade from my current model. I was already planning £500 for a remap and having been out in a TT with uprated springs, it seems this is the better value route to take for a similar specced car. If Audi were to throw in a few more options like DSG and Magnetic Ride then it would be tempting, but they aren't even available. However a 300bhp remap might swing it.
RubenRocket said:
Forgot to add a very important criterium (for me, at least) to what I just said: not too many doors etc.
Scooby Imprezas offer basically the same package for less money (at least here in Holland) but are a bit too big for my liking...
Cheers, Ruben
Scooby Imprezas offer basically the same package for less money (at least here in Holland) but are a bit too big for my liking...
Cheers, Ruben
Bit big? At least they're on old '90s architecture. C segment cars like the new S3 are inexcusably huge n' heavy, which is why it's so slow.
In the UK, you can get an import WRX for £16K, which makes the Audi look very pretentious & stupid.
dpeilow said:
Those in the know respected what resides under the bonnet and the rest found out as you went past them. I'm glad that the new one continues this tradition.
But the problem is it's backwards now.
The old S3 was different to the A3 in subtle ways that all added up, but only an enthusiast might notice them all. An RS4 (old shape avant) can almost disappear in a crowd of cars for example, as can an S3.
But today the normal models all look like S models, so rather than the sporty models being subtly different to the stock ones, the stock ones all just look sporty.
Dave
The article claims that the there is a significant lack of ooopmh from the engine and that the electronics of the right pedal have been set so sensitive as to make you look silly in slow traffic. Well, that sounds like very much intended to compensate lack of grunt by a highly sensitive right pedal...
stigcv8 said:
I like the title "New Focus!" as it may as bloody well be. It looks like a carbon copy and then slightly changed Ford Focus ST.
Shame its in white and not orange
Shame its in white and not orange
www.a3q.org/diashow/nsur8tag1/html/default.html
Reviewer said:
If you’re anything like me you probably can't recall a single visual attribute of the previous 'S' range of A3s, other than they were too plain looking.
Hmm. I was under the impression that one of the original S3's strengths was the Q-car appeal - a classy, understated alternative to Imprezas, if you will.
The only thing that stopped me buying one a while back was the Leon Cupra R which I had instead.
And, let's be honest, £27k is way too much for a four-pot, 3-door hatchback, especially when you consider what you have to pay for so-called 'extras' like a half-decent hifi. A Mazda 6 MPS and a bloody good holiday would be a better bet for that money.
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