S3 News

hzw on tt forum seems to be in the know - can someone ask him on there if he knows how many exhausts - much more important for me than what platform it is on !!

Thanks
 
hehehehe /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

No, I won't ask him that! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
Ess_Three - as I have been driving with a manual gearbox for 38 of my 40 years of driving, you've probably got a lot more 'pushes' on the clutch pedal before you get to my stage of being fed up with it. I have my DSG in tip-tronic mode nearly all the time and it means I change gear manually, but with having to push the clutch.

One day all cars will like that ! At least at the moment Audi give us the option to choose which we prefer.

Scotty - I'm sure you are right. The problem may be that the DSG was developed by VW rather than Audi and I think I'm right in saying that all VW cars now have transverse engines.
 
Any more S3 news.....

audis3.jpg
 
Looks pretty snazzy, similar to my red s-line but sitting slightly lower still.

Interesting, on the site where tdi-line found this image it comments something along the lines of "the 2006 S3 will be based on an uprated six cylinder engine producing 330 PS"

So if that's correct that blows the modded 2.0T idea...
 
[ QUOTE ]
Ess_Three - as I have been driving with a manual gearbox for 38 of my 40 years of driving, you've probably got a lot more 'pushes' on the clutch pedal before you get to my stage of being fed up with it. I have my DSG in tip-tronic mode nearly all the time and it means I change gear manually, but with having to push the clutch.


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Fair point...

but I don't need to drive anywhere for my job...or for any other reason except the pleasure of driving...so please forgive me if I want to be as involved as possible with the cars I choose to buy with my hard earned.

I don't want anything but a decent manual...not that Audis current manual gearboxes are anything to write home about!

I maintain that there is a far more organic connection with the machine if you have to select the correct gear manually...something I'll always believe...no matter how old I am, or how many times I press the clutch pedal.


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One day all cars will like that ! At least at the moment Audi give us the option to choose which we prefer.


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Indeed Audi do...
But I do hope not all cars end up with some form of automated gearbox...as long as i've got blood pumping through my veins, I want to be able to drive a car the way I want...including changing gear.
So lets hope that manufacturers keep developing decent manual boxes...for people like me...and several million others.
 
I no longer have to drive anywhere other than for pleasure now as I'm semi-retired. Just 2 days a weeks at the local B+Q about a mile away from the house !

I'm still driving around 14k a year though. Some years ago I would have agreed whole heartly with Ess_Three about the joys of a manual gearbox and would have never have considered any else - until I tried the DSG.

It will be interesting to see what Audi and others do in connection with the development of gearboxes. Certainly Audis are not the best manual gearboxes in the world.

Perhaps we will all be driving A3s with electric motors and no gearboxes at all - I certainly hope not.
 
I've had 14 cars in 10 years of driving, All manual from Nova SR's to BM Coupes. I would never ever in a million years choose an Auto (unless it was in a large 4x4 etc) I went for a GTI DSG, just to experience it and see if it really was all it was hyped to be. TBH after delivery i really wasn't sure if i'd made the right choice as i was treating it and driving it like a normal auto. But once you learn it and understand it, open it up and play with it, it's ****** awesome. It's taken me 2 months to appreciate it and understand it, but man, i absolutely love it and don't think i can look back. It's not as involving as a manual, i'm not going to pretend it is, it's just different, equally as exciting and makes the car feel very very fast!
 
I agree with Dave, even three years ago I wouldn't even have considered an automated manual box. But after too many hours stuck at the M6/A14 junction chaos and the M25 car park, I started to look for alternatives. And the DSG box is the best option between a manual and an auto. Tried a BMW Steptronic box, hated it.

If I want something to buzz round the country lanes enjoying 'driving', I'll get a mk1 Elise or a 1.8 Mx-5. But to be honest the A3 is just as much fun in manual mode.
 
Does anyone know what the torque figures will be for the new S3. Could it be that Audi have to make some changes to the DSG to handle the extra torque before they can offer a DSG version.
 
When you have driven the thick end of 1 million miles over a 15 year period, in all manual tranny cars and a visit to a surgeon is required because you have worn your left knee joint out depressing the clutch a zillion times you get to think very differently about the auto vs manual debate - I did.

Good news about the S3, I wonder if Audi will ever get tempted to do a rip roaring diesel derivative - perhaps with the A6 3.0Tdi - now that would be scary......
 
It was because of a knackered left knee that I went to autos, and after having the DSG I would always take that option over a manual if it was available.
 
It's not about test drives IMO. If you live with DSG for a while, you realise what a revelation it really is. It's not about hype, things are only successful if they are geniunely good. Marketing can raise awareness, but it can't get people to part with 20k +.

I hope the S3 will come with DSG, am 99% sure it will!
 
[ QUOTE ]
It's not about test drives IMO. If you live with DSG for a while, you realise what a revelation it really is. It's not about hype, things are only successful if they are geniunely good. Marketing can raise awareness, but it can't get people to part with 20k +.

I hope the S3 will come with DSG, am 99% sure it will!

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I agree, I have a sneaky suspicion that it will come with both, either 6speed manual quattro, or 6 speed DSG quattro, maybe thats the reason the 2.0T does'nt come with DSG and quattro? just so they could hold something back for the S3? I was quite surprised that the "leaked" spec sheet from Audi had the wheels as 18 inch, I would have thought the S3 would go to 19 just to be "one up" on the S line cars, there again though the S4 only sits on 18's and the RS4 on 19's.
 
Would have thought they'd be ride and handling issues with 19"s. 18"s seem to be more than big enough for most performance cars of that size.
 
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What and DSG isn't a driver focused gearbox!?!

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Definitely not. EVO Magazine isn't a fan of DSG from a driver involvement perspective, and note that the RS4 has a straightforward manual 'box. For RS4 money, you'd expect DSG to be standard - the fact that Audi fit a six-speed manual says a lot.

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EVO don't like the DSG because its too good, if you read the reviews!!

That and its not made by BMW or porsche of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

And like the others on here, i'd have sworn blind over anything that i'd never ever have an auto............
 
The site that those pics are off describe it as an Abt A3. Did they do the styling for the old S3?

Looks good. Those red calipers look pretty purposeful.
 
Goodness me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Lots of added styling there.
If i was to puchse a Lava Grey S3, no one would know that i have replaced my car !!!

Its understated, just like the old S3.
Thats good in more ways than none.
If you want to stand out you buyu the orange one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Stealth mode. Lava Grey /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
The whole thing with Manual vs DSG is all about the individual.
I personally enjoy DSG more than manuals, and would choose one over any manual box.
With magazines like Evo etc, all they are interested in is outright performance, which is fine if you can give the car a good thrash around an empty circuit and then give it back again, but not so good if you have to consider the ownership prospect for the next three years, every day, all conditions, on Britains overcrowded and rundown road system.

Its all very well having this whole "driver involvement", but out of your three years (or whatever) ownership period, is driver involvement going to be more improtant than driver enjoyment? The majority of journeys involve very little driver involvement to the extent that having a manual outweigh the enjoyment and ease of a DSG, unless you drive like you're on a racetrack on the road all the time.

DSG is a lot of fun, very capable, and provides enough user involvment to enjoy the sportier qualities of a car, but if people are insistant that pressing a pedal and pushing a gear lever into place makes a car a proper drivers car, then thats fine, thats why there's a choice.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Goodness me /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif Lots of added styling there.
If i was to puchse a Lava Grey S3, no one would know that i have replaced my car !!!

Its understated, just like the old S3.
Thats good in more ways than none.
If you want to stand out you buyu the orange one /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Stealth mode. Lava Grey /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Don't worry it's only a photochop. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
It's an old S3 with new A3 bits. The rear windows on the new A3 don't open, for the start.
 
I would have said it was a new A3 with bits added on. Dodgy front grill (you can see the 'clone' marks on the black part) and dodgy wheels.
That rear one has definately been blown up from low res. That button on the rear window would have been very very easy to put on.
 
[image]
656488-AudiS3.jpg
[/image]

This is more like it!!!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif
 
Defo S3 with A3 parts. The sides are too rounded for the new A3, and the crease not pronounced enough. It will certainly look nothing like that. I think Caractere had a good kit which took a decent stab at what the S3 should look like.
 
Thats better /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

EVO don't like the DSG because its too good, if you read the reviews!!


[/ QUOTE ]

Not so...they have issues with it because it removes some of the sensation...something which Audis in general could be done with adding...not removing.

The DSG is an amazing system...and it works well...but there are those of us that believe it is not as involving as a manual...and never will be, no matter how good it is.


[ QUOTE ]

That and its not made by BMW or porsche of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Ooh! Sour grapes?

BTW, Porsche are developing a DSG system for forthcoming models...
I'd still take the manual though...
 
[ QUOTE ]
The whole thing with Manual vs DSG is all about the individual.
I personally enjoy DSG more than manuals, and would choose one over any manual box.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's the key, isn't it? Choice...


[ QUOTE ]

With magazines like Evo etc, all they are interested in is outright performance, which is fine if you can give the car a good thrash around an empty circuit and then give it back again, but not so good if you have to consider the ownership prospect for the next three years, every day, all conditions, on Britains overcrowded and rundown road system.


[/ QUOTE ]

I don't agree...
If they were interested in pure performance rather than the enjoyment of driving itself, why would the Clio have finished third on the car of the year test?

Surely all the others have better performance...?


[ QUOTE ]

Its all very well having this whole "driver involvement", but out of your three years (or whatever) ownership period, is driver involvement going to be more improtant than driver enjoyment?


[/ QUOTE ]

Aren't they the same in a decent car?


[ QUOTE ]

The majority of journeys involve very little driver involvement to the extent that having a manual outweigh the enjoyment and ease of a DSG, unless you drive like you're on a racetrack on the road all the time.


[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree...
Every journey (pretty much, every journey anyway) is an invitation to get involved with the car...
I don't drive like I do on the track...I have little congestion round where I live (except rush hour, which I avoid)...so I can make every journey a pleasure...
For me, the DSG just removes some of the experience...you are left with a left arm not doing much and a left leg doing nothing.


[ QUOTE ]

DSG is a lot of fun, very capable, and provides enough user involvment to enjoy the sportier qualities of a car, but if people are insistant that pressing a pedal and pushing a gear lever into place makes a car a proper drivers car, then thats fine, thats why there's a choice.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well put...
 
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EVO don't like the DSG because its too good, if you read the reviews!!


[/ QUOTE ]

Not so...they have issues with it because it removes some of the sensation...something which Audis in general could be done with adding...not removing.



[ QUOTE ]

That and its not made by BMW or porsche of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Ooh! Sour grapes?

BTW, Porsche are developing a DSG system for forthcoming models...
I'd still take the manual though...

[/ QUOTE ]


Disagree again, if you read their review of the F430 they say it adds to the enjoyment, they criticise the DSG system because its not as "harsh" as the ferrari system

Yeah, interesting on porsche eh? Giving up on tiptronic and going for DSG.... and its not sour grapes over the BMW/porsche comment, driven both (Owned 2 3 series, mate loaned me his 993 911 for a month) and I honestly think they are overrated, BMW expecially.

BTW - not comparing them to the A3 of course!!
 
Well, I can only speak from my experience of owning cars big on driver involvement, and id say that given modern conditions, involvement and enjoyment are not the same, even in a decent car.
Cars with a high degree of driver involvement can be very tiresome in day to day driving, because you dont want to have to be involved 100% in the car even when you're just getting to work and back, and can be a real pain in the butt.

Evo do tend to focus on a cars performance above everything else, which is fine. They dont have to consider whether it can lug a chest of draws around, or whether it guzzles petrol faster than Shell can produce it, or whether the ride over most roads is too hard when you're not trying to push on, so the main focus tends to be on how the car performs, and I know that when I buy the mag, so its not a complaint, its just that they can make it seem like driver focussed cars are the be all and end all, whereas the time you get to drive the car hard is only a small portion of the time its used (generally).

You're lucky you're in a low congestion area, its a dying luxury it seems, I used to have low congestion on my journey to work, but now to get 18 miles takes up to 45 mins, its like the population has exploded in the past 2 or 3 years, so for me, and I bet a lot of people, DSG offers a good blend of performance and fun, while making it very easy to drive when you want.

As mentioned, it all comes down to personal choice, but having owned an Integra Type-R, Clio 172 Cup, RX7 TT, and an S2000 over the past few years, Ill take the DSG diesel to do my journeys in, Ive been massively impressed by it.
 
According to the lastest Top Gear Magazine it'll be out sometime to middle to end of this year (hopefully). No firm date and Audi aren't saying anything about it.
 
<font color="black">wow, taken from the fourtitude link above:</font>

[ QUOTE ]

Assuming Audi were to build a new S3, it’s safe to expect the typical modern S-car styling cues. The Le Mans Concept-inspired wheels are a likely choice, as is the S-line body kit. Audi’s new gray and chrome S-grille with S3 badge and another badge at the rear would set it off from run-of-the-mill S3s.

[/ QUOTE ]

run-of the-mill S3's?? surely there will only be one (new) s3?

audi have really balls'd up if they're even confusing the motoring press with their s-line branding.
 
Should be released around November, according to the Audi dealers schedule.
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
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EVO don't like the DSG because its too good, if you read the reviews!!


[/ QUOTE ]

Not so...they have issues with it because it removes some of the sensation...something which Audis in general could be done with adding...not removing.



[ QUOTE ]

That and its not made by BMW or porsche of course /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Ooh! Sour grapes?

BTW, Porsche are developing a DSG system for forthcoming models...
I'd still take the manual though...

[/ QUOTE ]


Disagree again, if you read their review of the F430 they say it adds to the enjoyment, they criticise the DSG system because its not as "harsh" as the ferrari system

[/ QUOTE ]

""I drove a 355 with paddle change, the down change was "to die for" it blipped the throttle absolutely 100% perfect, the up change with right foot on the floor was absolute rubbish, made you twinge and think of driveshafts etc at every change, very very harsh""



[/ QUOTE ] Yeah, interesting on porsche eh? Giving up on tiptronic and going for DSG.... and its not sour grapes over the BMW/porsche comment, driven both (Owned 2 3 series, mate loaned me his 993 911 for a month) and I honestly think they are overrated, BMW expecially.

[/ QUOTE ]


""Porsche's tiptronic isn't in the same league as Audi's DSG, It acts like an old automatic, very slow lethargic changes, similar to BMW's SMG version!""



[/ QUOTE ] BTW - not comparing them to the A3 of course!!

[/ QUOTE ]

""It's each to their own with the DSG/Manual box thing, I went Manual, one reson was the 2.0T only has DSG with Front wheel drive, the other was I would like to live with one for a week at least before I commited to a couple of years of ownership, some tuning companies when you ask about upgrading the 2.0T and tell them it's a manual say "thats all right then?" but would'nt be drawn further""
 
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