just test drove an S3

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leonski

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The S3 was black x reg with 98k.
It was fairly close to where i live so i thought i would go and have a look as ive been thinking of swapping my impreza uk turbo for one of these.
First impressions were great, the looks were nice and the interior is really nice compared to the subaru and in mint condition which surprised me with the mileage its done.
Problem is it felt painfully slow, I dont know if this is due to the high mileage or if this is what they are like but i dont think i could live with it. The engine felt like i was having to really thrash it to make anything happen and it sounded like it was being thrashed even though i never went anywhere near redline like it was revving its nuts off. I just hope that this was a bad example because i was really looking forward to getting one of these and like i said the overall look and feel to the interior was spot on. My impreza has been on rr and was 249 bhp so i excpected these at 210/225 bhp to be only marginally slower but the difference was immense. Im actually quite gutted about this as its took me a while to find a car i would consider swapping my subaru for and now that might be ruined. Any comments/opinions really apreciated on this one.
cheers leon
Sorry the other thing was the steering felt a bit unresponsive as well, not too bad and seemed to grip well on the corners but like theres something missing and not sure what.
Please dont take this as an insult to your cars or a subaru vs s3 comment or anything like that.
 
The S3 is no Impreza.
Also the 210bhp on the S3 is the flywheel bhp not the bhp at the wheels. If your Impreza was putting down 249 at the wheels then the flywheel reading would be nearer 300bhp. So you're comparing 300bhp with 210 = big difference.
Vague steering is a feature of all Audi's and will be especially noticeable after driving a hardcore Impreza.
 
that 249 is at the flywheel on my impreza as well. cant remember what it was at the wheels but it loses a lot through the 4wd.
 
There is potential to improve the S3 :) (the usual remap (250-260 BHP), suspension and brake upgrades). It all depends on your budget to change cars.
 
I actually drove 2 S3's yesterday a 210 and a 225.Both felt slower than i was expecting.Funny you should mention a subaru because i was behind one on the test drive of the 225,when the subaru saw me behid him he put his foot down,the S3 had no chance he just left me for dead.I doubt if i will be buying one now.Maybe i better drive a remapped one first.I know the build quality is good but the performance is too much of a compromise compared to other 4wd turbo cars ive driven.
 
To be honest i could live with the steering and the brakes felt better than my classic impreza which are crap so its not that its the performance.
My impreza will be about 5.5 seconds to 60 and these are meant to be 6.6 ish i think which sounds a lot but 1 second is nothing really but there is no chance on earth that the s3 would be only 1 second behind my impreza. When i first set off the first thing i noticed was the crap steering but i seemed to get used to it in only 10 minutes of driving and it felt ok so that doesnt worry me at all. I just hope it was a bad example really and i just need to find a good one.
 
cheers james. im actually worried now i really wanted one of these but i cant sacrifice this much performance it would constantly eat away at me every time i drove it.
 
Have you considered an S4???
 
going from a scooby to an s3 is a big step in many ways but speed it isn't,go get an evo your obviously a jap car fan
 
Ive had my eye at getting an S3 for a few months now,ive tried 3 and all was the same.Don't really care about 0-60,more 30-100.The brakes on the S3 did feel sharp at lower speeds but at higher speeds didn't feel too good.I really need to find one local which has been mapped.
 
i would imagine the s4 is a bit out of my price range to be honest and one of the reasons im getting rid of the impreza is that after 3 years im a bit sick of the high running costs so an evo is a definate no no. With the money i get on the part ex my monthly payments will be quite a bit cheaper on the s3 and also the insurance quote i got was £150 cheaper with tesco(the only one ive tried). The fuel costs seem to be slightly cheaper as my impreza uses just as much on a long motorway trip as it does giving it some round the twisties and also the servicing on the audi is cheaper. Ive recently gone self employed as a stonemason so ive bought a van and i would like a nice fast car for weekends mainly and odd night time trips but one that doesnt cost the earth like my scooby just wasting away on the drive. (only put 15k on it in 3 years)
 
a remap is 500 quid which would make it faster and mine was more efficent with fuel after
 
Can't remember Audi ever rallying an S3, oh that's right they didn't, it's not a road going rally car. It's a hothatch with 4WD, not even close to the same league as an Impreza or Evo, and 20% slower 0-60 is actually quite a lot. Most hottish hatchbacks can do sub 7 seconds, but sub 6 is far rarer.
Go get a UrQuattro if you want rally car performance.
 
with a remap though would it feel more like the performance of my impreza or still miles behind? does this compromise reiability?
 
chill out fella like i said im not slating your car im just telling it like it is and no one is more surprised and disapointed than me. @ andy
 
I'm not getting defensive, I don't even have an S3, just curious as to why you're so surprised & disappointed.
 
fitting a set of uprated ARB's transforms the steering.
 
I just thought that an s3 which is supposedly a dedicated sport model with 210/225 bhp would feel faster than it did. Maybe once you get going the power would have hit me as i never really got through 3rd gear and above 70 as the nearest motorway to where i test drove was miles away and the country roads i were on were quite busy. Maybe this particular car with its 98k has lost some of its horses over the years. It just felt like it took forever to get through the first 2 gears and then into third which eventually saw 60mph. Sorry andy if i took that the wrong way mate.
 
I think the S3 is more a luxury hatch than a sports one, the Scooby and Evo are totally different leagues. The prices new are not too dissimilar, but the kit in the S3 is much better than the japs, and for good reason, the money on the japs is in the actual car not the add-ons.
The interiors of the japs are very poor but the driving and performance is peerless.
 
i think thats it mate, i want too much. I want something fast and fun like the impreza but at the same time something classier and more refined with a nice interior. Maybe this doesnt exist in this price range and i haveto either compromise performance or style. So why do i read all these posts on here about how fast their s3`s are and what cars they keep beating.
i think maybe a remapped version might be worth a try.
 
Yes, try a remapped version. There is a big difference.

As standard, the S3 is not going to thrill you if you're used to an Impreza. You are definitely downtrading in terms of power.

But don't give up, the S3 is a great all-rounder.
 
I think the main problem with the S3 is its in that kinda bracket of 180-220ish bhp, where you couldnt really tell the difference.

Scoobies put their power down in a far more brutal and instant way so it feels alot quicker than an S3, i think you'd be hard pushed to keep anywhere near an Sti even in a remapped S3.

In saying that if it felt really slow maybe there was a problem with it, should feel like a quick car rather than a fast one if that makes any sense.
 
Interesting topic...

I was actually considering an S3 recently, I first went and drive a 1.8T 180 bhp Quattro, and the minute I got in, despite feeling very postive on the road, I was dissapointed by the imennse lag and the fact it really had to be pushed to 6/7k before it felt like anything was happening, shame as I was looking forward i some ways of going back to petrol as I dont really need the mpg these days.

I did think that after a re-map it may of been ok, but I spose you are then getting close to the S3 in standard form, but now I have read this post I am guessing it is the same kind of set up, I was hoping it would of been less laggy and more lower down power!

Funny enough I did also look at one of the new shape Scoobys the other week, standard so I think about 208 odd? but once again i was disapointed, also very laggy and not even that exciting once the whilstle was doing its stuff...but you have still got to luv the sound of these things with the right exhuast!

Obv after re-maps and mods all that can change, which is something I really miss about my Cossie, I think it could have been due to the 360 deg roller bearing turbo, but the best thing was power delivery as the turbo used to kick in just under 2k, this had quite a bit of £££ spent on it but was worth every penny as there was virtually no lag! It used to hit 60 in 5.7 and 100 in 11.8 and to this day ive not driven such an awsome car. If it wasnt for the lack of air bags and old design I would get another like a shot!

So this may sound strange, but my current choice of next car is an A3 130 TDi Quattro, which I plan to re-map and spend a few quid on getting it quicker, although in standard form I think these still have very useable power! Rather than the lag...lag...lag...boom...change gear...lag...lag...lag...boom...etc..

This isnt meant to be a petrol slating post by the way, lol, I just personally feel after looking around, for me, the best option seems to be the TDi 4WD.

Cheers

Dave
 
with 98k on the car the MAF could well be on its way out, i found changing that on my car to make a vast improvment of low down response and high end pull
 
Cossie_boy said:
Interesting topic...

I was actually considering an S3 recently, I first went and drive a 1.8T 180 bhp Quattro, and the minute I got in, despite feeling very postive on the road, I was dissapointed by the imennse lag and the fact it really had to be pushed to 6/7k before it felt like anything was happening, shame as I was looking forward i some ways of going back to petrol as I dont really need the mpg these days.

Dave
Click to expand...

that doesn't sound like a 1.8T. They come on boost at 2000-2500rpm and they're put of puff at 5500rpm. Practically zero lag.
 
The S3 is a heavy car, so unless you strip it out, its never going to seem like a driver's car IMO
 
leecs3 said:
that doesn't sound like a 1.8T. They come on boost at 2000-2500rpm and they're put of puff at 5500rpm. Practically zero lag.
Click to expand...

The ones i drove had alot of turbo lag,was very surprised.
 
A4Quattro said:
The S3 is a heavy car, so unless you strip it out, its never going to seem like a driver's car IMO
Click to expand...

Whats the weight difference compared to a B6 A4 1.8t?
 
I know we didn't want to turn this into a S3 vs Impreza rant, but having a remapped S3 (+300ft/lb) a nearby disused airstrip and friends of friends with Imprezas, i have dabbled with them in the past.
0-60 sod all in it Impreza was standard, apart exhaust/filter slightly edgier but 60-100 the S3 pulled a few car lengths and not long after that there was no road left but things were looking good :yes:
So my opinion would be definately try a remapped S3. The impreza will feel quicker though due to the power delivery - smooth on the S3, harsh on the Scooby.
 
Im new to the S3 - picked mine up 2 weeks ago. I owned a 250bhp Scoob about 4 years ago and more recently have had an S2000. The S3 does feel slow compared to both, much less brutal in its power delivery - I was a little dissapointed I have to say.

However, I didnt buy it to be like either of the other 2. I bought is for - class, style, interior comforts(mine has all the options bar satnav) - comfort, smoothness, quiteness, sophistication etc etc. I like it for this reason, I have had so many "drivers" cars and fancied something slightly different.

I will be getting mine remapped over the next few weeks at MRC and Im hoping it will bring the performance back to where I expected it would be pre purchase.

I do however highly rate the grip of the car and genuinely beleive it grips better than my impreza ever did - the ride and brakes are also better.
 
I guess the (1533kg - 1420kg) 113kg is the petrol, engine oil, haldex oil, brake fluid, engine coolant, etc...

All the sites I mentioned and the logbook must be quoting dry weight (vs kerbweight which is dry weight plus a full tank of petrol and other liquids). I never knew that, silly me. :)
 
I bought my S3 knowing how dire it was in the handling and performance stakes.. Dire sounds a little harsh but it was definitely lacking, however with this in mind and the 4WD drive and independent rear setup, good looks and Audi quality I decided it would be a good base for modding a subtle and stylish motor.

Now it's modded/sorted, I can literally eat standard Scoobs for brekkie, lunch and supper, even some STi's and EVO's, depending on if they have a decent driver.

I cannot match a modded Scooby or EVO in a straight line but round the twisties its a different story and I'm right up there with them looking for ways past :)

I have a go kart handling, nippy, stylish car now and I've been looking at something newer to replace it and can't really find anything that comes up to the mark without spending serious dosh on modding again...
 
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