What next after the S3?

vetch

vetch

A4 Avant
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Im not thinking of selling the S3 anytime soon, in fact Im rather liking it at the moment (cue some sort of mechanical catastrophe in the near future). But, I have been thinking about what might come next?

Obviously it would have to as quick if not quicker than the S3. And similar levels of kit and practicality would be nice (not essential though).

So what is out there? Budget would be around 7k Id imagine, so come then, its Friday afternoon and Im bored in work!
 
Evo or s4, when i can afford the insurance, haha. Havent forgot about you stu its just a pain PM'ing on my phone lol.
 
No probs Dan.

Some good suggestions there. Does the S4 have similar issues with standard suspension ie understeer etc??

An Evo 5 (not sure if I could get a good 6 with that money) could be good. Sub 5 seconds to 60 I think. Stupid insurance and servicing though.
 
I keep wanting to change mine, but there's nothing out there I fancy. Obviously, there are faster cars out there, and much better handling ones also, but nothing does the all round thing as discreetly as an 8L S3, even though mine is a tarted example. I had considered an 8P S3, with a remap taking it past the 300bhp easily, but they don't look special enough over and 8P A3 which I'm disappointed about.
 
I'm starting to warm to the 8P S3 but I wont be buying one until the prices come right down. I've always loved the E46 M3 but the running costs are sooooo dirty.

Dont slate me for being a hairdresser but I wouldn't mind a boxter S. :undwech:
 
If I had the sort of money bottom of the market 8P S3s are commanding, theres no way I'd go down that road. There are far better, faster, more fun cars out there for the money IMO.

As I currently run a cheap diesel as a daily driver, MPG, number of seats etc doesnt really matter for my next car. A nice 2 seater softop like the Boxter S would be lovely. Would need to save a bit more though!
 
don't wish to be rude but its[size=+20]BOXSTER[/size]
 
I'd have to consider a 4.2 S4, V8 BiTurbo RS6 or Boxster S. Obviously all quite different but they all appeal to me. Thats if I was to be looking for a replacement now.

7k budget....Allready had a daily runabout....Id consider an evo or an elise.
 
I've only just bought my S3 so obviously my choice would be an S3!
When I come to trade-up in a couple of years i'll probably sell all three of my cars and buy something a bit special.
I'm a classic car nut, so maybe E-Type Jag or Aston V8, Jensen FF (the grandad of 4wd roadcars) or something. I'd probably get an old 8v GTi for when the classic breaks down!
If not classic then RS4, RS6, M3, M5, 911, Noble... I dunno!
I would like to own an Elise at some point too.
 
Elise = Dignity down the drain when getting in/out doing the crab.

If I were to change I think I might try a complete change...350z.
 
jojo said:
I had considered an 8P S3, with a remap taking it past the 300bhp easily, but they don't look special enough over and 8P A3 which I'm disappointed about.
Click to expand...


That's exactly how I felt about the 8P S3 since I saw the early press shots. I was never that impressed.

I spent ages deciding on what car to get, considering S4 Cab, S4 Avant, new A4 avant... even a fiat 500, which almost won it.

Then I bought an S3 SB to get a bit of extra space and 2 more doors. During the wait for the car to be prepped I didn't have that "can't wait" feeling, and tbh I was pretty gutted about getting rid of my 8L.

After its first drive on my own, I was grinning again. The extra at the top end is great fun. Involvement wise, its stil as dull as the 8L, but it feels more surefooted and nicer to drive off-boost round town.
 
For me i think either a cheap elise s2 (by the time i get one they will be 7k) if it were now id get an elise s1. and possibly a exige s1 if 7k stretched there in a few years! lotus all the way for me! very close to getting one instead of the s3, if i wasnt for my motorway journeys! do love the s3 though, great all rounder very glad i have it :)
 
Has to be Exige over an Elise if I was going to get a Lotus! How much do Lotus Esprit Turbo's fetch these days? :)

Of course I always like to trawl through the classifieds on PistonHeads to see what I fancy as a replacement for my S3, so many options available to be fair, just need to think out the box!
 
I've thought a couple of times about test driving an R32 but then I'll go out for a spirited drive in my S3 and wonder why the he'll do I keep looking at other cars ?? I love the S3, such an easy effortless car to cover distance rapidly with a reasonable cost to run, only today I thought how my car seems to run better than ever...I blew a lot of my savings when I bought the car and after having it for over a year and a half feel I know the car now, I could go and buy another car that might give me no end of problems.

Even still when my car is 7 years old, I still look forward to driving it when I sit in the Recaros and feel special everytime I'm out in it, it's not a car you see every day. The trump card being the haldex system, I don't think I could ever go back to a fwd car again, well not for a while anyway...

That's enough rambling, I agree the 8p S3 isn't disimilar to any other A3 but I could see myself having one when the prices drop as it's the prospect of having a 2.0l turbo with over 300bhp with a similar package to my beloved S3...:)
 
Loving mine at the minute and so no realistic plans to sell for a few years yet, but id consider moving over to the dark side, selling both cars and getting an E60 535d M sport. In silver. With all the toys. Ive obviously not thought about this much!
 
vetch said:
350Z is one of my favourite suggestions so far.
Click to expand...

1025823007_f132ce9eba.jpg
 
I have to admit that my elise s1 was a total minge to live with as an every day driver. The roof used to leak in heavy rain and I ended up with a bruise on my right leg from getting in an out. Oh yeah an if you play golf you have to put yur clubs on the passenger seat.

I'd still have another one though, but it would need to have a type r engine or the s3 engine conversion.
 
vetch said:
350Z is one of my favourite suggestions so far.
Click to expand...
but its got a renault engine, did you see the top gear review also clarkson hated it,

all the talk about elise and a 1.8t conversion why not just get a vx220 turbo and remapp it???
 
s3_kev said:
but its got a renault engine, did you see the top gear review also clarkson hated it,

all the talk about elise and a 1.8t conversion why not just get a vx220 turbo and remapp it???
Click to expand...

Im a bit of a 350Z fanboy, followed the car for a few years, spent some time on its members club forums etc. The 3.5 V6 was used in a Renault Vel Satis, but the engine is Nissan sourced. Renault own part of Nissan so they do share platforms. The 350Z is pretty much completely bespoke.

And Clarkson is an entertaining TV personality, but I place about as much value on his car "reviews" as I do my dogs.

The VX220 NA would be on my shortlist (ahead of the Elise), the turbo would be out of my budget.
 
yeah the vx appeals to me for some reason over the elise but id definantly go vx220 turbo though the na ones just dont have the same poke where as the turbo's quick in std form
 
S2000 or be diffrent and get a lotus elan. old but rare out there now
 
s3_kev said:
yeah the vx appeals to me for some reason over the elise but id definantly go vx220 turbo though the na ones just dont have the same poke where as the turbo's quick in std form
Click to expand...


Yeh the na one certainly didnt give me much trouble on a straight anyway. Reeled it in pretty quick.
 
s3_kev said:
but its got a renault engine, did you see the top gear review also clarkson hated it
Click to expand...

Kev,I am a big fan of Clarkson but IMHO he knows feck all about (normal peoples) cars and also not a great deal about driving...hes a journo at the end of the day.

s2000 is a good call
 
For me it will probably be one of the cars listed that replace me s3 but for diffrent reasons for each...
S4, Evo or scooby... because the kids are getting older and bigger.
S2000 as the kids love being in the mrs's skyline so that could be the "family" car.ive been in one of these and it was great . The only down side... anybody who drives something other than one will brand you as a gay hair dresser.
Honda integra dc5 (jdm ) these look great. handle well and are very sporty to drive.
Lotus exige ... love them but it would have to be a weekend car.
 
One of the things I didnt mention was that Id like something relatively new and modern. So for me, that would rule out the Evo or the S4, unless I upped my budget. I could probably go up to £10k, but my original budget was what I want to spend on a car, rather than what I can spend on car. We all have other interests after all.

Thats why the VX220 seems a good shout. And the NA 2.2 non turbo does a book time of 5.6 seconds to 60 iirc and about 16 to 100, so should be as quick if not a tad quicker than a mapped S3. And for an NA engine its surprisingly tunable.

Id blow my budget for a sorted 350Z or Alfa 147 GTA however.
 
I'd love a RS4! Hopefully in a few years they might me a little more affordable! I like my older cars too, always wanted a escort cosworth!
 
A big turbo Escort Cosworth will be the first dream garage purchase if I win a decent amount on the Lottery. The missus often has a go at me for spending many an evening lusting after them on Pistonheads. But what the feck does she know?!
 
Still undecided on what I might get next, possibly S4 Avant I like the look of the new one but they still massively expensive as they have only just come out, or possibly an old RS4. The other car I quite fancy at the moment is a DB7 but that would have to be a second car, so that and a MKII Gti.
 
Last year I sold my S3, 96k on the clock but in good nick overall for a 99 plate.
I thought long and hard about what should replace it, main thought was for an A6 3.0 Tdi Avant (233 BHP) which I could then tweak at Star Performance.
These cars were like hen's teeth to find without travelling way down to England, price was a pain also.

I quite fancied the Mazda MP6, cheap enough, good speed etc and also 4WD, downside was that the rear seats didn't fold, Mazda strengthened the car with a solid bar across them.
I'd decided to stick with 4WD whatever I chose, but it had to be reasonably big (fishing gear) and fast, just because.

Eventually I bought a Subaru Forester 2005 plate 2.5XT, just over 200 bhp, actually about the same as the S3.
Five speed box gets it to 60 in 6 seconds, top end is around 140 with no tweaking at all.

Now, this ain't the car for most of the guys on here, but at 54 with dodgy hips etc, I won't be in an S2000 or an Elise/Exige anytime soon, not if I want to climb out again.

However, it's an absolute hoot to drive, takes corners relatively well (it's got 8 inches ground clearance) if you got the nerve. Best of all is just the way it goes, and Gawd knows how quick it would go if it was tweaked properly.

Like I said, not the car for everyone (unless there's another baby on the way), not shapely like the S3 was, but it's specced almost the same, leather, climate, 6CD, Sat Nav, heated seats etc.

Worth it mainly to see the look on the chav's eyes as a two ton estate car fecks off into the distance.
 
hmmmm ive only just bought the s3 and i love her so :wub: so no plans to sell for a fair while yet but my considerations for a replacement would be along the lines of:
evo 8
supra tt
8p s3
skyline r34 gtr

the evo and 8p are obviously over the 7k mark but the supra and r34 would be in reach
 
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