First of all, there hasn't been too much for us 'exclusives' to talk about on this forum these last few months, partly because we are such a small and uniquely numbered club but equally because, well basically, we are still joined at the hip to our beloved RS3's.....and why wouldn't or shouldn't we.
They are simply the perfect ride for most owners....they are.......discreet (when they need to or we want them to be); sporty; fast; affordable running costs; practical for families (and don't just take my word for it, my 5 year old son has been saying RS3 for the last 3 years and even before he was saying "daddy" and "mummy"...i swear!); fuel economy (what....isn't 19.4mpg over 19.5k miles good?).....plus she starts first time, has nice rims, bears old school dotted eyelashes and a set of rear pipes that compared to her successor, make her look like a ford fiesta pop plus impersonating an XR2!
Therein lies the problem.....
Probably like most of you I have been sitting dormant these last few months, awaiting the release of our next descendant and generation of performance pedigree ;-)
Like most of us, ... owners, the natural thing to do is look for what our successor doesn't have - 400bhp plus, carbon fibre front wings, extreme flared arches.....and so on.... And to be fair, with most of these constructive points we are indeed correct.
I recon my baby (check out my signature) would fetch somewhere between £28-33k in today's market.....and who knows.... the new release might even hold prices?
Either way I recon I'm looking at the best part of £20k on top of my current baby for the newbie.....is it worth it?
For the power no.....for the looks no.....for the improved sat nav no.......I could go on.....
Add them all up and I still want to say NO.
But with an approx 10% improvement all round its got to be interesting.....infact these last few days, reading all the posts and feedback have started to make our descendant all the more intriguing.....appealing and possible the idol we expected. Anyone remember the 8P S3 vs its predecessor.......
Personally, I sort of like the new front end, and I am starting to adore the back end, i've already fallen in love with the interior assuming the addition of the quilted buckets, but the sides still just look too buckled...hhmm?!?
Anyway, I'm guesstimating here......but standard issue plus buckets, plus Bose or Harmon, plus tints, folding wing mirrors, sports zorst, interior lighting, etc amongst no doubt a few other needs then I guess I'm looking at about £48-49k......if I hit the £50k mark then psychologically I'm demented.....as my heart says find another 'belter' in the price bracket, but given my practical requirements (and circa 18mpg fr my 10 mile daily return journey) my head comes back to an RS3....probably the one I currently drive -......and I'm not buying her back three times he he..... thoughts???