Discussion
just put 4k miles on an 11 DSG S3
very nice place to be inside, engine pulls hard at the top end but is dead in the low revs, kinda old school turbo, not much of an issue with the duel clutch box as 2 taps down puts you back in the power
engines not the most characterful, its the old 6 speed dry clutch DSG, the economy would be better with the tall 7th gear DSG VAG fit to most of the newer models, farts nicely on powered gear changes
ride was a bit choppy but in general a decent go quick, regardless of conditions with tonnes of stuff car
personally i would rather have a R32 DSG, not as fast and even less economical but the engine is infantly more fixable and the noise is superb
they seam to go to 300bhp with out many issues, the DSG box does not have a very high torque rating so that needs to be taken into account
very nice place to be inside, engine pulls hard at the top end but is dead in the low revs, kinda old school turbo, not much of an issue with the duel clutch box as 2 taps down puts you back in the power
engines not the most characterful, its the old 6 speed dry clutch DSG, the economy would be better with the tall 7th gear DSG VAG fit to most of the newer models, farts nicely on powered gear changes
ride was a bit choppy but in general a decent go quick, regardless of conditions with tonnes of stuff car
personally i would rather have a R32 DSG, not as fast and even less economical but the engine is infantly more fixable and the noise is superb
they seam to go to 300bhp with out many issues, the DSG box does not have a very high torque rating so that needs to be taken into account
Edited by Dave Hedgehog on Saturday 9th June 19:05
twoblacklines said:
I thought it was rated to around 550lb/ft?
its the same box thats in the R32 and its very old, its closer to 300lb/ft than 500, they had to upgrade it to the heavier 7spd wet clutch for the RS3 to take the torque, thats rated at 600nmEdited by Dave Hedgehog on Saturday 9th June 19:22
twoblacklines said:
Other than the quattro and the power output does anyone know the difference between the S3 and say, the 2.0t black edition?
Is it worth the extra cash?
it will be more focused for drivingIs it worth the extra cash?
if your not sure about it pop down to your local audi dealer, they normally have one or two, ask for a test drive
Dave Hedgehog said:
its the same box thats in the R32 and its very old, its closer to 300lb/ft than 500, they had to upgrade it to the heavier 7spd wet clutch for the RS3 to take the torque, thats rated at 600nm
6sp in the R32 is also wet clutch. Some of the latest 7sp ones are dry clutchEdited by Dave Hedgehog on Saturday 9th June 19:22
Have a read of my "Garage" review of my S3 Sportback.
I'm surprised to read of one going for £16k, even without DSG. S3 Sportbacks usually start at £20k and a little more for an S-Tronic (if you can find one).
Edited to add that the S3 and 2.0T quattro are quite different cars: I owned a 2.0Tq before my S3. In essence, the S3 uses a K04 turbo'd version of the same 2.0T K03 turbo base engine - the same difference as you'll find between the Golf R and Golf GTi. The K04 lump is generally strengthened but is considered to be slightly less sweet overall - most people perceive this as the low-rev lethargy of the K04.
Other than that, the S3 has bigger brakes, better dampers and a very high spec. A Black Edition can be had for either the S3 or regular S-Line trim cars and adds leather, Bose, polished rotor wheels, black interior trim and tinted rear windows. Lots of S3s will come with a similar spec in any case - like mine; I have all that, but not the bad boy windows.
I'm surprised to read of one going for £16k, even without DSG. S3 Sportbacks usually start at £20k and a little more for an S-Tronic (if you can find one).
Edited to add that the S3 and 2.0T quattro are quite different cars: I owned a 2.0Tq before my S3. In essence, the S3 uses a K04 turbo'd version of the same 2.0T K03 turbo base engine - the same difference as you'll find between the Golf R and Golf GTi. The K04 lump is generally strengthened but is considered to be slightly less sweet overall - most people perceive this as the low-rev lethargy of the K04.
Other than that, the S3 has bigger brakes, better dampers and a very high spec. A Black Edition can be had for either the S3 or regular S-Line trim cars and adds leather, Bose, polished rotor wheels, black interior trim and tinted rear windows. Lots of S3s will come with a similar spec in any case - like mine; I have all that, but not the bad boy windows.
Edited by Basil Hume on Sunday 10th June 14:09
Basil Hume sums it up very nicely. In fact, I should thank him publicly, as I found his garage musings really helpful when I bought my S3 back in February. 4 months in I think he got it spot on.
My car is an 11 plate Black Edition, (so I do get the bad boy windows!!) 3 door S-Tronic. I came from an S2000 and a Mk5 R32 before that, and the Audi is a more complete car than either. It is very, very capable - goes to Sainsburys and Ikea fine, goes like a stung bull across country at other, more fun, times.
It's comfortable, well equipped, well built, I can get my mountain bike in the back and it's very rapid across country. The gearbox comes into its own then. I tested a TTS prior to the S3 which had the manual box and I decided that the DSG matched the engine much better. You also get a lot more for your money with the S3 compared to the TTS.
Can't comment on how it might compare to other A3s but I find it a deeply satisfying car to own. It's not showy but I like the "stealth" aspect of its character. Basil is right in identifying an element of sluggishness low down, off boost, but a quick tap or two of the left paddle sorts it out. The RNS-E sat nav is previous generation and a bit clunky compared to newer VAG units but the Bose sounds good and the iPod and Bluetooth connection for the phone works well.
If you can get one in budget I'd say go for it! Audi-Sport.net is a helpful forum, I've found, where plenty of folks have Stage 1 and 2 (and more) remaps. I'll keep mine as is, though, certainly for now. There's even an extraordinary thread where a guy retrofitted a Panoramic Roof! Yes, really, the whole roof....
Hope this helps a bit, and cheers to Basil Hume!
My car is an 11 plate Black Edition, (so I do get the bad boy windows!!) 3 door S-Tronic. I came from an S2000 and a Mk5 R32 before that, and the Audi is a more complete car than either. It is very, very capable - goes to Sainsburys and Ikea fine, goes like a stung bull across country at other, more fun, times.
It's comfortable, well equipped, well built, I can get my mountain bike in the back and it's very rapid across country. The gearbox comes into its own then. I tested a TTS prior to the S3 which had the manual box and I decided that the DSG matched the engine much better. You also get a lot more for your money with the S3 compared to the TTS.
Can't comment on how it might compare to other A3s but I find it a deeply satisfying car to own. It's not showy but I like the "stealth" aspect of its character. Basil is right in identifying an element of sluggishness low down, off boost, but a quick tap or two of the left paddle sorts it out. The RNS-E sat nav is previous generation and a bit clunky compared to newer VAG units but the Bose sounds good and the iPod and Bluetooth connection for the phone works well.
If you can get one in budget I'd say go for it! Audi-Sport.net is a helpful forum, I've found, where plenty of folks have Stage 1 and 2 (and more) remaps. I'll keep mine as is, though, certainly for now. There's even an extraordinary thread where a guy retrofitted a Panoramic Roof! Yes, really, the whole roof....
Hope this helps a bit, and cheers to Basil Hume!
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