Discussion
dpeilow said:
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
Jesus!
wab172uk said:
Must say. I quite fancied getting one, but all the reports I've read so far, aren't to favourable towards it.
No doubt it's a very nice place to be, but I'll hold my judgement untill I've had a test drive.
Just wish it had more power. 300BHP would have been nice.
No doubt it's a very nice place to be, but I'll hold my judgement untill I've had a test drive.
Just wish it had more power. 300BHP would have been nice.
Not sure if I heard it on here or in Evo but there was talk of an RS3 version with 300bhp and a more focused driving tool?
Surely this would make the new S3 more like the old 1.8T Quattro???
Personally as a fan of the old car it just makes them even more likeable!
scoobiewrx said:
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.
As in my previous post, you could 'save' the £5K back via an import. You'd have yourself a lovely car for the money.
A WRX 5-door NOT in WR blue Mica without gold Prodrives could look reasonably subtle, too!
Next year's Impreza's said to be a 'proper' hatchback, in any case. But it will inevitably gain weight, sadly.
black S2K said:
scoobiewrx said:
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.
As in my previous post, you could 'save' the £5K back via an import. You'd have yourself a lovely car for the money.
A WRX 5-door NOT in WR blue Mica without gold Prodrives could look reasonably subtle, too!
Next year's Impreza's said to be a 'proper' hatchback, in any case. But it will inevitably gain weight, sadly.
I would like to see Subaru take the P2 from Prodrive and produce it for themselves retailing at around £40K. Now thats what i call value for money!!
Its a nice looking car and pleasent inside but for a decent spec its just too pricey with the 2.0T engine. There is no was a simple remap will get you 300bhp. The golf gets upto about 250/260bhp with a remap and thats pretty much the limit on std internals. Running 260bhp I would think it may go upto about 280 but no way 300.
As said why not use the great V6 and either lightly turbo it or rework it.
Audi seriously dropped a b****ck on this one.
As said why not use the great V6 and either lightly turbo it or rework it.
Audi seriously dropped a b****ck on this one.
Witchfinder said:
stigcv8 said:
I like the title "New Focus!" as it may as bloody well be.
I think I'd rather own the Focus too.
Friend of mine had her ST on order for ages, got one of the first orange ones and she was getting thumbs up, people asking for a go etc - a sort of underlying respect. Yes for a Ford.
Could the A3 ever summon up any such a recation? Its an over priced direct carbon copy imo of the ST. In orange it looks almost the same
225 said:
Its a nice looking car and pleasent inside but for a decent spec its just too pricey with the 2.0T engine. There is no was a simple remap will get you 300bhp. The golf gets upto about 250/260bhp with a remap and thats pretty much the limit on std internals. Running 260bhp I would think it may go upto about 280 but no way 300.
As said why not use the great V6 and either lightly turbo it or rework it.
Audi seriously dropped a b****ck on this one.
As said why not use the great V6 and either lightly turbo it or rework it.
Audi seriously dropped a b****ck on this one.
But the weight of the V6 planted at the front of the car changes the dynamics completely. If they are going to use the V6 for the RS3 then I suspect Audi are going to be investing alot to change the balance, maybe reduce the weight of the engine somehow or reposition it coupled with a rear biased 4wd. To rework the 2.0T to get this level of power is bang on from a maketing perspective IMO, leaving a nice door open for a really beasty RS3. However, £30K+ for a specced S3, does this mean the RS3 is going to be starting with a 4 by the time you get it on the road???
I was about to put my cash on the line on Saturday for a silver S3 with extras amounting it to £30.5k. I have now reconsidered and from the sound of the reviews its just not up to the asking price.
Coupled to that in the UK you don't get the RS4 style wheels that have been in the press photos. My dealer has offered me some RS6 18" wheels for free as a deal sweetner as the 18" twin 7 spoke UK spec wheels are blander than lard on Ryvita.
I wanted to love this car as my other half has said no to an M3CS, but to be honest its likely to feel slower than my Revo Stage 2 mapped Leon Cupra R. OK so the pseudo 4wd will assist with power delivery as the 2wd on the Leon is fraught, but I was honestly expecting something far fiercer than this.
I believe they have used the 2.0T as its light. They've used aluminium parts in the suspension to reduce unsprung weight so effort has been made. In the Leon Cupra Championship car this version of the 2.0T has been mapped to over 300bhp, but as for durability???? As the new S3 has a larger turbo than the Golf GTi, combined with uprated internals it 'should' take the gain without too much issue, but if the current car is hard to master on the throttle these modifications may render it quite undrivable in traffic.
I'm gutted. I wanted flared arches, a lowslung stance. An angry front end with a real sense of purpose. As there will be no RS3 they owed us that at least. As per usual they water it down to the point you'd be pressed to tell it apart from anything else. Its like the car is suffering a crisis of identity. Does it want to be a thoroughbred racer worthy of the S marque, or a pretentious overpriced wannabe with a bit of lag and some exhaust note to give you the impression you've bought into something special.
I drove the new S4 last week and frankly that was quite awful too. unless you have RS money there seems to be very little in the Audi range to tempt the enthusiastic driver. The only problem is that SEAT have now been forced to water down the Cupra's quality so what option is there for your £30k? I just don't get the R32, the 3.2V6 sounds sweet but its just too slow and expensive to make quick. Dash quality is down and you're still at nearly £30k with the bells and whistles. At least unlike the Audi you don't have to pay £140 for interior light kit. Rant over, the hunt for the perfect £30k hack continues....
Coupled to that in the UK you don't get the RS4 style wheels that have been in the press photos. My dealer has offered me some RS6 18" wheels for free as a deal sweetner as the 18" twin 7 spoke UK spec wheels are blander than lard on Ryvita.
I wanted to love this car as my other half has said no to an M3CS, but to be honest its likely to feel slower than my Revo Stage 2 mapped Leon Cupra R. OK so the pseudo 4wd will assist with power delivery as the 2wd on the Leon is fraught, but I was honestly expecting something far fiercer than this.
I believe they have used the 2.0T as its light. They've used aluminium parts in the suspension to reduce unsprung weight so effort has been made. In the Leon Cupra Championship car this version of the 2.0T has been mapped to over 300bhp, but as for durability???? As the new S3 has a larger turbo than the Golf GTi, combined with uprated internals it 'should' take the gain without too much issue, but if the current car is hard to master on the throttle these modifications may render it quite undrivable in traffic.
I'm gutted. I wanted flared arches, a lowslung stance. An angry front end with a real sense of purpose. As there will be no RS3 they owed us that at least. As per usual they water it down to the point you'd be pressed to tell it apart from anything else. Its like the car is suffering a crisis of identity. Does it want to be a thoroughbred racer worthy of the S marque, or a pretentious overpriced wannabe with a bit of lag and some exhaust note to give you the impression you've bought into something special.
I drove the new S4 last week and frankly that was quite awful too. unless you have RS money there seems to be very little in the Audi range to tempt the enthusiastic driver. The only problem is that SEAT have now been forced to water down the Cupra's quality so what option is there for your £30k? I just don't get the R32, the 3.2V6 sounds sweet but its just too slow and expensive to make quick. Dash quality is down and you're still at nearly £30k with the bells and whistles. At least unlike the Audi you don't have to pay £140 for interior light kit. Rant over, the hunt for the perfect £30k hack continues....
Edited by coxw on Tuesday 17th October 12:46
coxw said:
OK so the pseudo 4wd will assist with power delivery as the 2wd on the Leon is fraught, but I was honestly expecting something far fiercer than this.
Is it pseudo? If you read the latest bumph it talks about "quattro permanent 4wd", that would sound like the proper thing?
Any pics of what the standard wheels are like? Wasn't aware that they were different from the ones seen in press photos........
silverT350t said:
Is it pseudo? If you read the latest bumph it talks about "quattro permanent 4wd", that would sound like the proper thing?
As I understand it, "Quattro" is a marketing badge these days. A Quattro badge isn't a guarantee that you're getting the permanent four-wheel-drive system. A lot of the time you're getting the Haldex system which is front-drive most of the time. I don't know which they fit to the S3.
ive read all the post here about the S3 Ive got to say I am more than dissapointed with it.
I have the A3 3.2 DSG 248bhp 0-60 less than 6.5 secs & top end 155 limited, and more torque than this new S3. I mean whats the point all that extra money for an extra .5 of a second to 60? for that sort of money I would want it to Pi$$ all over the 3.2 but most of the other reviews has them almost equal apart from handeling where the revised suspension etc makes it obviously better. I for one would rather add a nice induction kit to my present 3.2 and keep the cash cause as a daily runner with a bit of grunt its great!
I have the A3 3.2 DSG 248bhp 0-60 less than 6.5 secs & top end 155 limited, and more torque than this new S3. I mean whats the point all that extra money for an extra .5 of a second to 60? for that sort of money I would want it to Pi$$ all over the 3.2 but most of the other reviews has them almost equal apart from handeling where the revised suspension etc makes it obviously better. I for one would rather add a nice induction kit to my present 3.2 and keep the cash cause as a daily runner with a bit of grunt its great!
Looks ok, but £27k plus options is silly. That's used RS6 territory!
I just bought a mint one owner S3 with 17 miles for 14k. Prefer it to my R32 as it's smoother, and prefer it to my ppp subaru, as I don't look like a muppet. Just need an AMD tweek and it's a fine all rounder. I'll only loose 2k on this while I save for an RS6
I just bought a mint one owner S3 with 17 miles for 14k. Prefer it to my R32 as it's smoother, and prefer it to my ppp subaru, as I don't look like a muppet. Just need an AMD tweek and it's a fine all rounder. I'll only loose 2k on this while I save for an RS6
Steve Bell said:
If you’re anything like me you probably can't recall a single visual attribute of the previous 'S' range of A3s
That's the whole point of Audi 'S' ranges. If you want something with an appearance that shouts performance then buy an M3 or an EVO.
Edited by seight on Thursday 19th October 09:13
I like the S3 - it looks quite subtle but also mean with that grille. However, it's an Audi and thus will not drive as well as a BMW, even if it may be quicker on the limit on wet roads (does that really matter?)
The 130M Sport is a far better piece of engineering (that engine and RWD balance) if you can live with the looks - although with the M sport kit I actually think it looks great, a bit like that Z3M Coupe thingy a few years back -charismatic.
The whole space thing with the 1-series is over-egged too - they are fine unless you want to seat lanky beggars all round and, with the seats down you can easy fit bikes etc in the back as its quite a long load area.
The 130M Sport is a far better piece of engineering (that engine and RWD balance) if you can live with the looks - although with the M sport kit I actually think it looks great, a bit like that Z3M Coupe thingy a few years back -charismatic.
The whole space thing with the 1-series is over-egged too - they are fine unless you want to seat lanky beggars all round and, with the seats down you can easy fit bikes etc in the back as its quite a long load area.
I like the S3 - it looks quite subtle but also mean with that grille. However, it's an Audi and thus will not drive as well as a BMW, even if it may be quicker on the limit on wet roads (does that really matter?)
The 130M Sport is a far better piece of engineering (that engine and RWD balance) if you can live with the looks - although with the M sport kit I actually think it looks great, a bit like that Z3M Coupe thingy a few years back -charismatic.
The whole space thing with the 1-series is over-egged too - they are fine unless you want to seat lanky beggars all round and, with the seats down you can easy fit bikes etc in the back as its quite a long load area.
The 130M Sport is a far better piece of engineering (that engine and RWD balance) if you can live with the looks - although with the M sport kit I actually think it looks great, a bit like that Z3M Coupe thingy a few years back -charismatic.
The whole space thing with the 1-series is over-egged too - they are fine unless you want to seat lanky beggars all round and, with the seats down you can easy fit bikes etc in the back as its quite a long load area.
I've just sold my 210 S3 and was desperate to like the new one, although it looks and sounds slightly disappointing.
I'm tempted to get into one of the last of the 225s and save about £12k, either that or a new Golf GTi and save £7k. Any other sensible(ish) ideas?
I've got a Golf TDi as a hire motor so anything will seem quick...
I'm tempted to get into one of the last of the 225s and save about £12k, either that or a new Golf GTi and save £7k. Any other sensible(ish) ideas?
I've got a Golf TDi as a hire motor so anything will seem quick...
HFM66 said:
I've just sold my 210 S3 and was desperate to like the new one, although it looks and sounds slightly disappointing.
I'm tempted to get into one of the last of the 225s and save about £12k, either that or a new Golf GTi and save £7k. Any other sensible(ish) ideas?
I've got a Golf TDi as a hire motor so anything will seem quick...
I'm tempted to get into one of the last of the 225s and save about £12k, either that or a new Golf GTi and save £7k. Any other sensible(ish) ideas?
I've got a Golf TDi as a hire motor so anything will seem quick...
Perhaps the new Leon Cupra will be worth a look - 240ps for about 19-20k.
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