Thursday 7th April 2016

PistonHeads - hypocrisy matters: PH Blog

Is it possible to criticise the Golf R but love the mechanically identical Audi S3?

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I am now totally conflicted. And about to open myself up to accusations of being a complete hypocrite. Seemingly alone I have waged war against the accepted wisdom the Golf R is the best hot hatch - scratch that, best car - ever made. 

Dan is a fan of the S3...

I've driven them on road. I've driven them on track. I've driven a tuned one with 450hp and that almost won me over. But so far I just haven't got the fuss about the R, the fact everyone just keeps banging on about what an amazing car it is strengthening my natural rebellious streak. That a hard-driven R couldn't drop the GTI Clubsport I was driving not so long ago around Portimao just sealed the deal as far as I was concerned - if it's a hot Golf you want then less weight, less power and just two driven wheels are much better. 

And then I accidentally (long story) ended up with an S3. Which is, to all intents and purposes, an identical car to the R in all but badge, interior and exterior panels. Dammit, I really liked it too. Seemingly I'm not the only one. My memories of the R are of stubbornly inert handling, binary power delivery and a sense that everything from noise to control weighting was overly synthesised and artificial. I guess I'll have to have to revisit the Golf to see if this S3 has proved me wrong about some of this. Certainly the power delivery felt determinedly - and entertainingly - boosty. Maybe Audi uses a different calibration but I don't remember any other EA888-engined MQB cars feeling so obviously turbocharged; perhaps the brand's long association with forced induction engines gives the engineers more confidence to celebrate this power delivery rather than hide it. It is an Audi engine at heart, after all. 

And I know everyone bangs on about how cool the Golf's combination of stealth looks and huge pace make it something of a Q-car hero. But it's all relative isn't it. Compared with other Golfs on the road an R still stands out. Yet among the gazillions of S Line vajazzled Audis you see day in, day out the S3 seems all but invisible and stealthy in the best tradition of fast Audis.  

... but still not taken by the Golf R. Huh?

Sure, with an S Tronic dual-clutch this Sportback was hardly demanding to drive. But I guess it shows the importance of calibration and tuning that the control responses all seemed clearer, more natural and nicer to interact with. It'd have to be down to that because the hardware is all the same. 

Maybe for all the protests to the contrary I'm just as big a brand snob as anyone and got suckered by the four-ring badge and - ready the bingo card - that nice interior. Dunno. Whatever the reasons it's a nice, if undemanding, way to make rapid progress. And another car I'd choose ahead of the R!

Dan 

[Sources: Audi.com]

[andrewparker]

Dan, have you driven a Golf R with decent tyres? I found the standard fitment Bridgestone tyres on my GTD woeful and changed them after 1000 miles. The car was improved hugely.

Although you mention the mechanical similarities, I'm sure they're set up quite differently. The steering in the car I drove felt particularly vague and lacked feedback. Regarding the interiors, well neither are the most exciting place to sit are they.

Edited by andrewparker on Thursday 7th April 09:53

[andrewparker]

tankplanker said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The dealer can turn off the fake exhaust noise for you, it sounds rubbish as its through the stereo speakers and they didn't pick a particularly good "noise" to sample either.

You don't even need a dealer to do it on MY2016 cars, you just do it via one of the settings in Individual mode. Either way it never sounds great and I do think they could have engineered more mechanical sound into the car from the exhausts and the intake etc. Saying that, when I'm out with my family in mine, or doing long motorway trips the car goes into normal mode so I can get it as quiet as possible.