I just love this car.
Big achey face grin going on and still sober at this time of the evening because I'd rather be driving
It's been more than a decade since I had a nice car so I have lower expectations than many on here. As a younger chap I drove 'sporty' versions of family cars. Had a Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth, then a Vaxhaull Calibra Turbo, a BMW 330i Coupe and a Volvo S60 T5 etc. 6 years of city living with no car caused me to lose interest completely, then I retired, went suburban and bought a Polo 1.4 to do the shopping with....
.... so my impression of the S3 is based on someone who drove to the dealer with 85PS and drove away with 300 PS.
That said: OMG WTF STFU Etc.... This car is the doggies danglies. Seriously some of the posts on this, and other forums had me expecting a skittish bouncy thing with no steering feel; talking to my insurer about overcoils and being circumspect about B roads. (Confession: I didn't test drive the car). But this thing is just so capable. Funnily enough, my wife in the passenger seat did think the car was 'floaty' intially although it never felt that way to me. When I really dug in though we both had the impression of something really settling down, even over greasy roads and fresh tractor mud, exit speeds from bends are ludicrous compared to what I have encountered before.
Meh. It's all subjective I suppose. Maybe the car just suits me. Dunno. I'll be surprised to get 10,000 miles out of a set of tyres at this rate though. First time in a long time I'll be setting the alarm early for a morning B road squirt. Love this car.