Why an S3 Sportback over a Golf R - thoughts please.

Firstname_lastname said:
Can someone explain to me in English how the suspension on an S3 is in any way soft and squishy or like a bouncy castle? and then go on to explain what would be the ideal suspension setup? because I really must have missed something here.

The only car i ever drove that I'd say comes near that description was a Vauxhall Vectra and i hated it. The last time I got in the S3 I did not think, "this S3 reminds me of that Vauxhall Vectra I once drove".
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Nope, because mine isn't.................. ;)
 
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WarwickL said:
A golf is a golf - look exactly the same

A3 and S3 the same

Handling - both are mumbling dinosaurs. Heavy and ham fished

Neither sound amazing. If you think they are, you need a good dose of drugs

Edit - oh and the saloon gets 19s, not that it matters :)
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End of thread.... Summed it up awesomely
 
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Firstname_lastname said:
Can someone explain to me in English how the suspension on an S3 is in any way soft and squishy or like a bouncy castle? and then go on to explain what would be the ideal suspension setup? because I really must have missed something here.

The only car i ever drove that I'd say comes near that description was a Vauxhall Vectra and i hated it. The last time I got in the S3 I did not think, "this S3 reminds me of that Vauxhall Vectra I once drove".
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Standard suspension is not soft and squishy it's quite compliant actually at normal speeds.... Now have a blast down a country B Road... Even without braking the speed limits.... 60 mph say,Hit any uneven undulating road surface on this said road... and the S3 will begin to loose shape combine this with the dead steering.... It can lead you to a very scary place indeed...l have had many a occasion when my car has done this..... and a ex moderator has technically proven the difference in suspension set ups between the R and the S3.....it's pretty well documented, if you care to search Threads on this matter, most people buy Audi's for there car interiors and there very fast straight line speed, like l did
 
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Firstname_lastname said:
Fair enough.

I don't think calling them ham fisted is fair unless you state what you are using to compare them against? in the segment they are made for they handle very well, Neither of them are track focused weapons, but they never claimed to be, its a family hatchback, if i chuck it into a corner and it flatters me into thinking i did a good job is that not a bad thing? If you compared either of them to the cars they are based on they'd seem razor sharp.

So the noise, i have stated a few times that "a turbo 4 pot is hardly the most inspiring thing in the world" when you compare the Golf R sound to the S3 the golf R sounds better, not when you compare the S3/Golf R against a higher cylinder count motor.

when taken in context of a "inline 4 turbo" (only) they both sound pretty good, in my opinion only the only "inline 4 turbo" that sounded better in that particular segment (which is the 2.0 litre turbo inline 4 hatchback with 300PS or more segment) was the A45 (which i would have taken over the S3 or the Golf R if i could have made it work)

These are of course just my opinions, feel free to disagree (again)
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Go drive a Audi TTS or even any Sline TT.....then you'll realise what Audi are capable of really doing....
 
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jassyo06 said:
Standard suspension is not soft and squishy it's quite compliant actually at normal speeds.... Now have a blast down a country B Road... Even without braking the speed limits.... 60 mph say,Hit any uneven undulating road surface on this said road... and the S3 will begin to loose shape combine this with the dead steering.... It can lead you to a very scary place indeed...l have had many a occasion when my car has done this..... and a ex moderator has technically proven the difference in suspension set ups between the R and the S3.....it's pretty well documented, if you care to search Threads on this matter, most people buy Audi's for there car interiors and there very fast straight line speed, like l did
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Happy to accept the R is better set up for speed, heard enough accounts of it from various members (still looks horrible so out the window for me).................however, any car can get undone on an undulating road surface.

If you think about it it's not rocket science, not much good having AWD, quattro, haldex call it what you like if you haven't got all 4 wheels in contact with the road surface yer ********!! (adjust speed accordingly) lol
 
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IMHO - the Golf R is a "boy racer" car and has more in common with those Subaru hatchbacks that people here are always putting "fart can" mufflers on. The S3 is much more elegant, especially the saloon, and has a refined look with some incredible performance when you want it.
The Golf R is the equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans, the S3 is a suit and tie, choose which one you want on a daily basis.
 
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Reznor said:
IMHO - the Golf R is a "boy racer" car and has more in common with those Subaru hatchbacks that people here are always putting "fart can" mufflers on. The S3 is much more elegant, especially the saloon, and has a refined look with some incredible performance when you want it.
The Golf R is the equivalent of a t-shirt and jeans, the S3 is a suit and tie, choose which one you want on a daily basis.
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@Reznor l aint a Suit n Tie type of guy and the Golf R...is only a T-Shirt n Jeans type of guy car,because of the cheap leasing deals,both are the same price roughly....but the underlying theme here is the VAG....are making a mint because the Golf R is so popular and has been made more affordable to the younger generation...via Personal leasing,its all down to bleedin marketing and badge snobbery....
 
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jassyo06 said:
@Reznor l aint a Suit n Tie type of guy and the Golf R...is only a T-Shirt n Jeans type of guy car,because of the cheap leasing deals,both are the same price roughly....but the underlying theme here is the VAG....are making a mint because the Golf R is so popular and has been made more affordable to the younger generation...via Personal leasing,its all down to bleedin marketing and badge snobbery....
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You might not be a suit n tie man but you don't look like this either...............lol


hate_chav_car.jpg
 
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Jesus, that's looks like some sort of car crash.
Agreed the S3 saloon is a looker, the Sportsvan and Golf R are the same for me. Seen enough boy racers in both
 
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batch said:
No-one has - cos he never stops at two!
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And you lot are all tea total lol l have the odd few cans lol 3 cans most of the time... As they say...l am a cheap date
 
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We considered a Golf R when looking for a change (from our BMW M135i). We were actually all set to order an M140i as in truth were very happy with the BMW. However, we decided that before committing, we would 'check out the competition'. Our local Audi dealer bent over backwards to welcome and accommodate us. Gave us the keys to take an extended unaccompanied test drive. We were totally 'taken' with the car and then (after a bit of haggling, using the BMW deal as a benchmark) a deal was struck that was acceptable to us. The local VW dealer (actually part of the same group) couldn't have been more different in attitude. Treated us like an inconvenience rather than a potential customer, even getting the keys to view the demonstrator on the forecourt involved far too many questions to ascertain if we were 'potential customers'. So we thought 'stuff you' if this is how you are before we've even bought a car we'll go somewhere that will appreciate our custom. So - we never had a test drive of a Golf R. The Audi had the looks that we preferred and we felt the drive probably wouldn't be that different in the Golf. A week in, we are still very pleased with our choice.

I would add that we were a couple in our 50s, smartly dressed and driving a M135i, not a couple of 20 year old chavs in a beat up Corsa. The job of the salesman was to talk us out of a new BMW order that we were all but committed to and into their product. Audi did this, VW failed miserably.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
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Before moving onto Audi's I had an EP3 Type R which, in my opinion, is the best Type R ever made. The subsequent models I wasn't a fan of and the 16/17 models i'm not sure about. Just look to be too OTT with the styling.

Anyways, back to Golf R v S3...
I was in the same position earlier this year - It was always going to be between these 2. I did spare a thought for the M135i but the lack of 4WD and 3.0l engine was too much of an off-putter for me. I decided on the S3 mainly because of the interior. I like the extra space and cockpit view compared to the R. Plus as a few people have mentioned, even though the S3 is maybe a little more pricey, you just don't see as many on the road compared to the R's.
 
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Falmouthboy said:
The local VW dealer (actually part of the same group) couldn't have been more different in attitude. Treated us like an inconvenience rather than a potential customer, even getting the keys to view the demonstrator on the forecourt involved far too many questions to ascertain if we were 'potential customers'.
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Had similar experience at Mercedes before I got my S3. Turned up at a local Mercedes dealer in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, took 10 minutes for someone to begrudgingly open the doors of car. When he realised my car was the 10 month old A3 opposite in the visitor car park his attitude changed completely. I turned round and said don't bother and left and went to another dealer.
 
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Falmouthboy said:
We considered a Golf R when looking for a change (from our BMW M135i). We were actually all set to order an M140i as in truth were very happy with the BMW. However, we decided that before committing, we would 'check out the competition'. Our local Audi dealer bent over backwards to welcome and accommodate us. Gave us the keys to take an extended unaccompanied test drive. We were totally 'taken' with the car and then (after a bit of haggling, using the BMW deal as a benchmark) a deal was struck that was acceptable to us. The local VW dealer (actually part of the same group) couldn't have been more different in attitude. Treated us like an inconvenience rather than a potential customer, even getting the keys to view the demonstrator on the forecourt involved far too many questions to ascertain if we were 'potential customers'. So we thought 'stuff you' if this is how you are before we've even bought a car we'll go somewhere that will appreciate our custom. So - we never had a test drive of a Golf R. The Audi had the looks that we preferred and we felt the drive probably wouldn't be that different in the Golf. A week in, we are still very pleased with our choice.

I would add that we were a couple in our 50s, smartly dressed and driving a M135i, not a couple of 20 year old chavs in a beat up Corsa. The job of the salesman was to talk us out of a new BMW order that we were all but committed to and into their product. Audi did this, VW failed miserably.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Had a similar experience last year with VW..After having an engine replaced on my A3 8p I decided to look into getting a new car.So whilst on my way to pick up paperwork for my new engine I popped into the VW dealership and enquired on a new R..
Some 'pimple faced' salesman came upto me and so the sales pitch started...I told him from the get go that I wanted a new build car.He then started going on about a used R they had on the forecourt (older shape)....He could see that I wasn't interested and decided to get the sales manager involved...Talk about pressure sales....After an hour of these two going on about how great the used R was they finally started talking figures...
They offered me 7k for my A3 (with brand new engine!) and wanted over £300 a month over 3 years.....I told them I would think about it and then walked out across the road to the Audi dealership to collect my paperwork......Well a very nice salesman Oliver James came over and we started talking about the experience I had at VW...He told me I could get a new S3 for less than that.....I had a choice of 3 S3's and as soon as I saw the saloon I was hooked and they gave me 10k for my A3..So I put 8k down and now I'm in the best car I have ever owned(rented...lol)...
 
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pburv said:
Had a similar experience last year with VW..After having an engine replaced on my A3 8p I decided to look into getting a new car.So whilst on my way to pick up paperwork for my new engine I popped into the VW dealership and enquired on a new R..
Some 'pimple faced' salesman came upto me and so the sales pitch started...I told him from the get go that I wanted a new build car.He then started going on about a used R they had on the forecourt (older shape)....He could see that I wasn't interested and decided to get the sales manager involved...Talk about pressure sales....After an hour of these two going on about how great the used R was they finally started talking figures...
They offered me 7k for my A3 (with brand new engine!) and wanted over £300 a month over 3 years.....I told them I would think about it and then walked out across the road to the Audi dealership to collect my paperwork......Well a very nice salesman Oliver James came over and we started talking about the experience I had at VW...He told me I could get a new S3 for less than that.....I had a choice of 3 S3's and as soon as I saw the saloon I was hooked and they gave me 10k for my A3..So I put 8k down and now I'm in the best car I have ever owned(rented...lol)...
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I've been in a kinda similar situation before, and it's sooooo tempting to go back to the dealer and speak to someone more senior and tell them exactly why you didn't buy from them.

Rule number 1 in sales... listen to the customer!
 
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Daveotto said:
Had similar experience at Mercedes before I got my S3. Turned up at a local Mercedes dealer in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, took 10 minutes for someone to begrudgingly open the doors of car. When he realised my car was the 10 month old A3 opposite in the visitor car park his attitude changed completely. I turned round and said don't bother and left and went to another dealer.
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I've dealt with Glasgow Mercedes twice... first time was a female sales exec, very nice and helpful, even a bit flirty. :p Bought an SLK there and then and got a great deal. Second visit I spoke to an uppity, obnoxious arrogant little **** of a sales guy and ended up walking away and buying an Audi.
 
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Gordo77 said:
I've dealt with Glasgow Mercedes twice... first time was a female sales exec, very nice and helpful, even a bit flirty. :p Bought an SLK there and then and got a great deal. Second visit I spoke to an uppity, obnoxious arrogant little **** of a sales guy and ended up walking away and buying an Audi.
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damn....lol
 
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There are salesman and there are salesman. I was looking at at a 2017 A3 sports package 2.0T and booked a test drive. I arrive at the dealer for a 3 hour test drive by myself. The salesman asks a few questions and I note this guy knows his stuff. He states "Hmmm I think you should take an S3 rather than an A3". I state Ok but that 25mm drop in the suspension and 19" wheels as apposed to the A3 15mm and 18" wheels has me concerned. He states try it and adjust the mag drive. Well, wee Dougie came back four hours later and still had a big grin stuck on his face.
Then tested various other vehicles including the Golf R.
I returned to the original salesman and placed an order after some haggling. I also stated to the sales manager "this is one very good salesman" he replied "we know he has been promoted to a position as an Audi performance sales professional"
 
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Flying Scotsman said:
There are salesman and there are salesman. I was looking at at a 2017 A3 sports package 2.0T and booked a test drive. I arrive at the dealer for a 3 hour test drive by myself. The salesman asks a few questions and I note this guy knows his stuff. He states "Hmmm I think you should take an S3 rather than an A3". I state Ok but that 25mm drop in the suspension and 19" wheels as apposed to the A3 15mm and 18" wheels has me concerned. He states try it and adjust the mag drive. Well, wee Dougie came back four hours later and still had a big grin stuck on his face.
Then tested various other vehicles including the Golf R.
I returned to the original salesman and placed an order after some haggling. I also stated to the sales manager "this is one very good salesman" he replied "we know he has been promoted to a position as an Audi performance sales professional"
Click to expand...


Your on about car sales people, good n bad yeah there sure are, but awkward time wasting customers are in far more abundance, as l hear every week from my son, who has sold Audi's for the last 3 years
 
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Jassy, I have been in sales for 40 years and was an International Sales Manager...now retired thank God. A sales guy has to recognise the tyre kickers and move on....just wasting your and company time. There are nice ways to do this. The customer might think you were not paying attention but that is life.
I am sure your son knows and applies this but tyre kickers are just part of being in sales.
 
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I have a Golf R and when I was originally looking, the S3 was cheaper on a pcp but the steering felt very light in comparison and just didn't feel as good on a blast which Putnam me off. Also preferred the Pretoria wheels as opposed to any of the wheels on the S3. Do like the Golf R but the interior is nowhere as nice as the S3. Those super sport seats are just ****** superb!!!!!!! As is the dashboard and the plastics. Does feel very premium. The R just doesn't.

The S3 seems to hold its value better also, so you need to take that in to consideration. The onslaught of the leased Rs coming to the market has screwed me over with the value of mine. But end of the day, it's each to their own. Chose what you prefer!!!! It's a Golf yeh as so many have said, but then again, S3 is also just an A3.
 
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jassyo06 said:
Your on about car sales people, good n bad yeah there sure are, but awkward time wasting customers are in far more abundance, as l hear every week from my son, who has sold Audi's for the last 3 years
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@jassyo06 How does it work about allocating sales people to customers? When you go into a showroom and tell the "meet and greet" people you're interested in a new car, how do they choose a sales exec to speak to you...?
 
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jassyo06 said:
And you lot are all tea total lol l have the odd few cans lol 3 cans most of the time... As they say...l am a cheap date
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I'd take you out for some Corona time any day Jassy baby!
 
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batch said:
I'd take you out for some Corona time any day Jassy baby!
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.......go for it mate, he's got gash taste in cars just lately!! lol
 
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jassyo06 said:
And you lot are all tea total lol l have the odd few cans lol 3 cans most of the time... As they say...l am a cheap date
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Can't get cheaper than me........Will do anything for an RS3 saloon....Hint Hint...lol
 
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