S3/TTS

paddy

paddy

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Had a look at an S3 today....( cant believe i said that, stop laughing Paul Ar) :hubbahubba:..Parked next to it was a TTS. so whats the difference apart from the sporty body ?? The TTS seems to be 275bhp but is the rest of it S3 ?. I like the idea of the S3 but as i have an A3 it would be nice to change to something a little different. My only reservation is the TT seems a little cramped (or should that be camped) and might not be as comfortable on a longer run. Anyone here lived with both ? will i need to buy some sharp scissors and a hair dryer ?
 
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I would prefere a TTS but its a pity (imo) that they have made them look abit tacky......

Inside they are really nice tho :)

For me it would be a S3 with buckets tho., although I can't see it being worth the extra cash 3.2 - S3.....
 
I have had an extended test drive in a TTS over a weekend. It is very nice indeed, comfortable, even on the longer drives. Day to day though i'd still pick the S3, just more room. TTS drivng position is great, but can feel that little bit cramped.

I need the extra space for mountain bike and gear, so S3 it was. No regrets. Now, if a TT-RS came up at a reasonable price, used, then the bike can stay in the garage!
 
Spin has had both and he loved the TT-S, depends whether you need the space etc. I wanna get the girlfriend a TT-S so it would have to be a TT-S cabby for sure, and for me 'edition' it would be a TT-S cabby with buckets.....

Then 370bhp/20"s/RS4 Brakes/Slam = win

Like this one :wub:: (Not a TT-S, but you get the idea)

TTRoadsteronA8RS4s.jpg
 
paddy said:
Had a look at an S3 today....( cant believe i said that, stop laughing Paul Ar) :hubbahubba:..Parked next to it was a TTS. so whats the difference apart from the sporty body ?? The TTS seems to be 275bhp but is the rest of it S3 ?. I like the idea of the S3 but as i have an A3 it would be nice to change to something a little different. My only reservation is the TT seems a little cramped (or should that be camped) and might not be as comfortable on a longer run. Anyone here lived with both ? will i need to buy some sharp scissors and a hair dryer ?
Click to expand...

:s3addict:Dont fight it Paddy, you know it makes sense...

No doubt the TT is a pretty car, and maybe more individual than an A3/S3. Some are unsure about the image however they is a Sprint TT-S on here with carbon bits wheel/colour change and it looks fantastic.
I need a propper boot and rear seats so would always choose the S3 on that alone.

Good luck
Paul




Those S3 are not cheap though............:whistle2:
 
I think a lot of people are snobby about the image of a TT. The problem is it's a very styled car - so therefore a reasonable percentage of them are bought by c*nts. It's the same problem the Boxster, Z4, etc. suffer from, which unfortuantely detracts people from them being very good cars.

The new TT looks a bit butcher than the original IMHO, and a TTS in the right colour is a lovely thing. If you don't need the practicality of a boot / proper back seats - I'm guessing this is the case if you looked at a 911 - then I'd take the TTS out of the 2. The interior is great in the TT, as is the driving position, so it would feel the more special I'm sure. And after having an A3, it would be a change, as you say, rather than the same car with a different engine.
 
Having had both , but mine was a TT . 3.2.

I would dare to say that i would have the TT's now purely as i think the S3 is an ace car but it is a lot of money for the the style of car. I paid £35K in the end for mine and for what is a great car , it is just a top of the range A3.

I think the TTS is for sure a little " need a haircut sir " in say white , but most other colours it looks superb.

I agree over styled some may think , i just think that it has style , and the s3/a3 is losing its appeal a bit to me.

I don't think the S3 is really a sports car as such and the TTS is ( that we may not like the idea of ! )

My next door neighbour has a black A3 s-line tdi , looks nice .. When i asked him why he bought it he said.

"It does what it says on the tin " practical size, good on fuel and it an Aud so hopefully it will last a long time.

When i bought my TT i did not buy it for any of those reasons ( apart from its an Audi )..

Spins your man as Nath says as he has just had both for a good amount of time....

To be fair i was looking at another S3 in March for the misses ( well me really ! ) , but then we have a Q5 for the baby days..

So i may also go down the TTS route.

I think they look ace , real head turner , S3 not so much , just really good fun to mod with !


I would be interested to see what your thought end up being.
 
To be perfectly honest i am really stuck. I need to change the car as the 3.2 is just unreliable now despite just 40k miles. I had a chat with the service guy yesterday again and he admits that all they can do is pull it to bits in the hope of finding something but they may not and i could have a bill that would write the car off. Am i daft to even consider another Audi ?...who knows? Maybe i should buy a new Micra and get another motorbike to get my kicks on ? ( and still have £10k change )!!
I'm a little despondent because i brought this Audi so I wouldn't have to worry about the car for a few thousand miles, Ive lost £10k on it and spent £2.5k on service bills etc, thats an ave of £20 a week just to keep it going !!and £50 a week in depreciation !!

Maybe a push bike would do me better :lmfao:
 
paddy said:
To be perfectly honest i am really stuck. I need to change the car as the 3.2 is just unreliable now despite just 40k miles. I had a chat with the service guy yesterday again and he admits that all they can do is pull it to bits in the hope of finding something but they may not and i could have a bill that would write the car off. Am i daft to even consider another Audi ?...who knows? Maybe i should buy a new Micra and get another motorbike to get my kicks on ? ( and still have £10k change )!!
I'm a little despondent because i brought this Audi so I wouldn't have to worry about the car for a few thousand miles, Ive lost £10k on it and spent £2.5k on service bills etc, thats an ave of £20 a week just to keep it going !!and £50 a week in depreciation !!

Maybe a push bike would do me better :lmfao:
Click to expand...

Audi's can be reliable - I sold my S4 with about 90k miles on the clock (bought with about 65k). Other than the heater blower failing and a MAF dying of old age, the car never missed a beat.
 
Apart from the battery going flat (which was covered by warranty), my car hasn't missed a beat in the almost 2 years that I've owned her!
 
Certain engines seem to be better than others, definitely. The 3.2's seem to be struggling as they get older. The W8 in my passat threatened to bankrupt me. The 2.0T is pretty common now in various guises, and although there are still some issues here and there, it seems to be a generally reliable lump.
 
Its not the fact that its gone wrong ! its the inability of Audi to diagnose and fix it......I mean if they cant who the hell can ? You expect to have a few problems and this could be a 20p bad connection, but it might as well be a holed piston as far as running goes and at least you can diagnose and fix a holed piston.......lol . Its just one of those things, bad luck *I suppose.
 
What about a tidy MK5 Gti for a bit until you make your mind up?

Superb car and nices ones can be had for 10K.
Spend a few quid on a remap and they go like stink as well as driving and looking great.

Paul
 
audi upgrades
Superb pictures Nath..........food for thought mate :)
 
I'd gladly take the TT-S any day. Then again, I'm a young petite bachelor who hates ferrying people around. Plus, I have easy access to my parents cars if I need to move stuff around.

The interior of the TT seems like a much nicer place to be, it just feels more modern and solid compared to the A/S3 imho.
 
boggysv said:
I'd gladly take the TT-S any day. Then again, I'm a young petite bachelor who hates ferrying people around. Plus, I have easy access to my parents cars if I need to move stuff around.

The interior of the TT seems like a much nicer place to be, it just feels more modern and solid compared to the A/S3 imho.
Click to expand...

The problem is, as discussed on other threads, Paddy is old, fat and grumpy....
 
Ha ha !! So you have all fallen for my plot to come across as a fat old grumpy bloke then....Master of disguise, thats me:hi:
 
paddy said:
Ha ha !! So you have all fallen for my plot to come across as a fat old grumpy bloke then....Master of disguise, thats me:hi:
Click to expand...

Grumpy?
You?

Never in a million years, you hide it well mind........Errrr
 
S3 would be my choice. The TT-S looks great, however there is a model above it and that just wouldn't do!
 
ianysm said:
S3 would be my choice. The TT-S looks great, however there is a model above it and that just wouldn't do!
Click to expand...

There's always better cars out there! There's always a model about the S3 and that's called the Porsche ;)

I think the choice between them comes down to practicailty - the TT-S doesn't have much - if you're not too big for it, and don't need the rear seats, then it'd be my choice.
 
I went from a 2.0T S-line quattro to a TTS, I wanted an S3 but when I looked I didn't think there was a massive difference between my A3 and S3 (my A3 was specced nicely-ex demonstrator) and noticed the TTS sat there with it's 19 inch wheels, I NEVER thought of myself as a TT owner! and that's one of the problems, the vast majority of TT owners ARE a bunch of hairdressers, some of the questions asked on the forums.....jeez ''what music will you play on the wayhome after picking up your new TT??''

The TTS is a cracking motor, mine has the DSG box (I never thought I was an auto person either) and in manual it is an eye opener, with a quite loud 'Bam' noise on every gear change when pushing it........quite addictive, you can go into a round about like an absolute tw*t and downchange two gears perfectly every time, even the very best heel and toe'ers (of which I am pretty good) cannot match that. I thought the fuel economy would be similar to my A3 2.0T, but it,s not, comp 2 normally shows 25ish. overall though very pleased.

I did hear from a person who is well connected Audi wise that they have lied about the 0-100kph time on the TTRS, apparantly it is quicker than the R8, but that would'nt be good publicity
 
I have owned both as mentoned further up this thread. To me it's a no brainer, if you don't need regular use of the rear seats then go for the TTs, it's is just so much better looking and has real road presence, the interior is stunning and attention to detail in a league of it's own. It really is a superb place to sit/drive and accompanied by its truly raspy soundtrack it does leave the S3 trailing in many aspects. The boot/luggage space is actually very good, open one up and you will be very surprised if comparing to any quattro equipped A3, the dinky rear seats prove useful as extra luggage space or can just about cope with an adult on short journeys, I regularly used it transport my 3 yr old daughter in her car seat and on one occasion when the snow was pretty bad I had my wife in the front and my old collie dog on the other rear seat when we went away for the weekend so it can be mildly practical should you so desire.

The mag ride works a treat providing a good mixture of comfort and sure footed handling, refinement was just below the S3 with slightly more wind noise but hey it's a sports car and I was usually listening to the exhaust doing it's thing, Pop, Pop, rasp etc...

Everything about the TTs was right, it never once felt feminine with its wide girth, additional body kit and aggressive styling, and it was admired by all that seen it, yes I got a few hairdresser gags but usually from Ford Focus drivers so what do they know ?!?

Negatives ? - Errrrr ?!? the boot lets a little water in when you open the rear hatch in wet weather, tyres are on the expensive side due to odd sizes, 245/40/18 or 255/35/19.
Positives - too many to list.

If you are looking for a fast, capable and seriously good looking car with fantastic residuals but limited practicality then Go for it, if you need or desire a little extra space get an S3, same car different suit.
 
Had a TTS for a little while (wife's company car) before she got promoted and landed a Cayman S ... I'm driving an S3 right now ... given the two, I prefered the TTS on looks (ours was white and looked FANTASTIC!) and the driving position was better - thing is though, my S3 gets way more admiring looks and attention. The TTS looks (to a lot of people) just like another TT - the S3 can (in the right colour) look a little different? Well, not to me, but to Jo Public it seems it does? I only base this on the reaction I get when people see my S3. One of the few car's I've had where people have come up to me and make some very nice comments - even had the thumbs up from passing motorists !!! Anyway, all that aside, performance wise the TTS was maybe a tad faster, handled a wee bit better, but otherwise, very similar kit IMO. If you need the seats/boot space it has to be an S3, if you don't, it's a no brainer, get the TTS. Oh and don't worry about the hairdrsser thing - 99% of people who say that are just plain jealous that they haven't got one! My 2 penny worth anyway ...
 
Ahh , knew you would be along sooner or later Martin , great write up , good summary and agree with all points actually.

Including the pesky water in the boot , my 3.2 TT used to do it.

Now where are those SB PICS AND BUCKETS !
 
Esox Mark said:
thing is though, my S3 gets way more admiring looks and attention. The TTS looks (to a lot of people) just like another TT - the S3 can (in the right colour) look a little different?
Click to expand...

Thats actually very true, even thinking it about it myself I never give a TT a second glance, but seeing an S3 is somewhat of a rarity generally. Not that I buy cars predicated on what other people think of them, but it does have a certain appeal to know you are driving something that isn't an everyday occurrence.
 
Yea but you would have to be clued up on cars to know an S3 from a 1.4TDi. No offence but to the average guy its an A3.
 
which makes me feel even better about it...gives me a warm feeling inside knowing I'm behind the wheel of something with a hint of stealth to it.
 
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