S3 Sportback Autocar first drive

Instead the S3 is best seen instead as a small, luxurious and consummate eater of long motorway miles rather than a blue-blooded hot hatch.
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Ouch
 
blurg... S3 5 door. No no no no no! :sadlike:

That motorshow ad tho with the car and the london eye over it is pretty cool!
 
interesting comments.... not that I rate autocar at all they are crap actually!! Since I read that the Golf GTI had a more sporty growl than my mates TT (same engine) I could only laugh....

Anyway I am pretty sure being 3-door /5-door does not make an important difference in handling... even though we all know S3 is not a drivers car it is more than enough for any other hot hatch out there in a circuit!! Might not be exciting but sure is faster than almost anything on the segment....

Pedro
 
newbiecrg said:
interesting comments.... not that I rate autocar at all they are crap actually!! Since I read that the Golf GTI had a more sporty growl than my mates TT (same engine) I could only laugh....

Anyway I am pretty sure being 3-door /5-door does not make an important difference in handling... even though we all know S3 is not a drivers car it is more than enough for any other hot hatch out there in a circuit!! Might not be exciting but sure is faster than almost anything on the segment....

Pedro
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You only need to look in the EVO mags lap times sheet to see that. The S3 is far in front of any other hatch in the current market.
 
L60N said:
You only need to look in the EVO mags lap times sheet to see that. The S3 is far in front of any other hatch in the current market.
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The R26 is up there too, more fun and a lot less money used.........it is made of recycled plastic cutlery though. :ohmy:

p
 
L60N said:
You only need to look in the EVO mags lap times sheet to see that. The S3 is far in front of any other hatch in the current market.
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I knew that... but if I said it then my opinion would be biased....

Pedro
 
phantom said:
The R26 is up there too, more fun and a lot less money used.........it is made of recycled plastic cutlery though. :ohmy:

p
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Its up there but not in front iirc? It wasnt a long time ago when i looked and I remember the S3 was marrooned in a sea of more exotic motors.. not another hatch in sight.
 
S3 is the faster hot hatch tested by EVO so far... well if you discard the new Subaru STI...

Pedro
 
L60N said:
Its up there but not in front iirc? It wasnt a long time ago when i looked and I remember the S3 was marrooned in a sea of more exotic motors.. not another hatch in sight.
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I agree thats why i own one :lmfao: you could have a slightly used R26 and MKV GTI for the price of a new S3.

We pay our money and take our choice.

p
 
newbiecrg said:
S3 is the faster hot hatch tested by EVO so far... well if you discard the new Subaru STI...

Pedro
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Have they put the STI round the track yet? It would be interesting to see how it fares. I still wouldnt have one tho, nasty looking piece of jap tat if you ask me :lmfao:
 
L60N said:
Have they put the STI round the track yet? It would be interesting to see how it fares. I still wouldnt have one tho, nasty looking piece of jap tat if you ask me :lmfao:
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If I recall correctly the STi did a 129.6 (about 0.7 secs behind an Evo X) or thereabouts versus a 130.4 on the S3 - given the 30bhp extra it has I would have expected more of a difference!
 
Really not a fan at all of the 5 door S3. I understand the concept and i understand the market it's aimed at but it's really my cup of tea. Adding 2 more doors almost spoils the concept of a hot hatch for me.
Same applies to the new M3 soon to be launched with 4 doors...no no no. I thought BMW had done away with that nonsense?!

Just out of interest how much is an S4??
 
PNH80 said:
Really not a fan at all of the 5 door S3. I understand the concept and i understand the market it's aimed at but it's really my cup of tea. Adding 2 more doors almost spoils the concept of a hot hatch for me.
Same applies to the new M3 soon to be launched with 4 doors...no no no. I thought BMW had done away with that nonsense?!

Just out of interest how much is an S4??
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I agree the M3 is absolutly nonsense... for the family guys there is a very nice and fast 335i for instance...

Pedro
 
I thought the M3 saloon looked quite good too. Prefer the look of it over the Coupe.

I dont like the 3 series saloon unless its the M3 and I only like the Coupe if its NOT an M3... probably reverse of what everyone else thinks :lmfao:
 
PNH80 said:
Same applies to the new M3 soon to be launched with 4 doors...no no no. I thought BMW had done away with that nonsense?!
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But now BMW have a direct rival for the RS4 and C63 AMG saloons. They'll make more money this way because not everyone wants a coupe or convertible.
 
newbiecrg said:
I agree the M3 is absolutly nonsense... for the family guys there is a very nice and fast 335i for instance...

Pedro
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Well yes lets be honest when you're of fathering age and have that much disposable income you don't want to be blasting everywhere in a car with the image of an M3. Not to stereotype but it is single, professional's car really. You're right, the 335 is as quick as the old M3 and offers far more respectable class for a family man.
I guess the same argument can be made for the S3...Sounds like by adding 2 doors the car has become more of an exec family wagon and lost a lot of it's focus which made the S3 what it was.....Disappointing really.

Paul.
 
PNH80 said:
Sounds like by adding 2 doors the car has become more of an exec family wagon and lost a lot of it's focus which made the S3 what it was
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Just adding two doors doesn't make a car lose it's focus.
Time makes a car lose it's focus.
So if the S3 was classed as 'focused' when it came out (was it?), perhaps other cars have come out to make the testers change their opinion.

The bike market is a classic example of this.
What was considered a cutting edge piece of sports kit a year ago suddenly becomes a wobbly pile of crap when something else comes along and moves the goalposts.
 
Wheelbase is the same, weight is probably slightly higher but not a lot. Cant see it being any less capable than the 3 door as they are essentially the same
 
AFAIK it's always been slated for 'numb' steering since it came out. Very capable but not much fun (compared to the Golf GTI / BMW 130i for example) is the theme in most of the reviews I've read.
 
No offence, but it is quite funny...
A test refers to an S3 as a bit 'soft', and the current S3 owners instantly blame the extra 2 doors...
"ooh, you don't want a four door one, they don't handle mate":lmfao:
 
bowfer said:
No offence, but it is quite funny...
A test refers to an S3 as a bit 'soft', and the current S3 owners instantly blame the extra 2 doors...
"ooh, you don't want a four door one, they don't handle mate":lmfao:
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Well it does state "the five door S3 is a cruiser and not a bruiser".

Would it have said the S3 if it applied to the range?
 
JamS3 said:
Well it does state "the five door S3 is a cruiser and not a bruiser".
Would it have said the S3 if it applied to the range?
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If they consider the 3-door S3 to be more 'hardcore', they had opportunity to mention it at the bottom, where they mention more hardcore alternatives.
Or mention it throughout the test.
Therefore, it's fair to assume they don't consider the 3 door to be any different?
Makes no difference to me, but looking for signs that the 'softness' is restricted to the 5-door is clutching at straws.
 
bowfer said:
If they consider the 3-door S3 to be more 'hardcore', they had opportunity to mention it at the bottom, where they mention more hardcore alternatives.
Or mention it throughout the test.
Therefore, it's fair to assume they don't consider the 3 door to be any different?
Makes no difference to me, but looking for signs that the 'softness' is restricted to the 5-door is clutching at straws.
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Not really, the review was of the "new" 5 door, not the S3 as a whole. Either way both sides are guessing so lets move on.
 
I don't quite understand how they can rave about the S3 3dr in both their isolated test and the group tests and then not like the Sportback!

Very inconsistent.
 
s3mike said:
I don't quite understand how they can rave about the S3 3dr in both their isolated test and the group tests and then not like the Sportback!

Very inconsistent.
Click to expand...

Is that not Autoexpress?

It came second to the R26 in there group test , the S3 was 1 second faster round the test track , but the Renault was more fun/better drivers car and can be picked up new for 17k if you look haqrd enough.

p
 
exactly, trusting Autoexpress as a reliable source of information is quite silly really
 
I prefer the look of the M3 saloon over the coupe, it looks like a mini M5 side on.

Not a fan of the S3 SB look though, would like to see one on the road though.
 
I'd sooner have an M5 than M3 saloon. If i was looking for a fast discreet saloon.
M3 should stay coupe :(
 
Some of you Guys on here are very prejudice towards either Dads or middle aged men.

Having kids or reaching 40 doesn't mean your life is over - time for an MPV, but I guess you will all find this out in due time LOL :)

Autoexpress and Evo are from the same magazine group so not surprising they share similar views, at the end of the day it's only one journalists opinion on the day so needs to be taken with a pinch of salt, make your own minds up. The S3 SB makes sense from a practical hot hatch perspective and although I agree it loses out in the looks dept (slightly) I'll reserve final judgement until I have seen one in the metal as you all should, I imagine one in black with the right alloy combination will look equally as good as a standard 3 door but all in the eye of the beholder.

We have to be careful on here not to become too S3 biased, its a great car and I would consider another but it ain't all that Guys, believe it or not you will think this too in a couple of years from now when the new version arrives, its called progress.
 
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