My RS3 Review

Schuey · Sep 3, 2015

I will try and post up a running review on my experience with the RS3 but this is a very simple overview of my first 24hrs.

Collection

It went smoothly, no delays, car was back in the handover area having been detailed. Car was already paid for so had a quick cuppa, picked up some freebies and off I went. The shine on the Mythos though was something else, it had a deep shine and the aluminium pack set it off just right. (Subjective comment I know but hey...)

First Drive

Well I left the forecourt in full sport/dynamic mode much to a few smiles and cheers from me as well as some techs stood outside. Inside with the panoramic roof, blue sky & sunshine it was awesome. The noise we all know is addictive but when its yours it just felt that much more special than the test drive.

Ride Quality

I was worried, I thought I had made a bad decision in not specifying mag ride but I must say it feels fine, more than fine in fact and we have some pretty bad roads around here!

Performance

We know its quick but I do run them in for a few hundred miles so I can't really comment accurately...Yet!

Interior

The comfort & sound pack with the B&O plus LEDS, lunar silver and panoramic is just fab. Other than that very similar to my S3.

First Impressions

Early days I know but S Tronic seems to cope fine on open road but here is my caveat, it gets confused and coupled with start/stop and hold assist did actually get frustrating

now I know I am not used to it yet but I had already watched a video on driving S tronic (Kindly posted up by Veeight, Thanks). I have been caught out at traffic lights, had the car cut out at junctions with stop/start and moving from D to R the engine stops?!

Funnily nobody ever mentioned any of this on their track reviews!

Anyway those points aside it has been fine, better than fine in fact. On a serious note watch how quickly it picks up speed, I mean this, I was surprised at how quickly it would get to the NSL. I passed a safety camera van & that prompted me to switch the DIS to speedo due to the ease of uptake of speed.

I have tried most drive select settings and the car is muted enough (I do not have the dynamic pack) on dual and motorway. Around our village I picked sport & dynamic and yes it turns heads at very low speeds. With regards the attention it gets I have had a lot of people try and race, sit on your bumper and undertake you. All I can say is what clowns they were, I work hard for such a nice car and would not jeopardise it, my family or anybody else's family racing mr aggro who in particular was clearly looking for an argument. Anyway, back to my quiet drive and onto the country lanes.

Why did I choose country roads? Mud, ***** and all things associated with country living, so I had visions of washing it when I got back but the dirt just didn't stick.

The car is now in the garage and I keep going out there, walking around it and smiling. My sum up..........Overall I am very grateful.

Keep you posted.

5pot · Sep 3, 2015

Great review! I guess the only way to stop the engine cutting out when going into reverse would be to disable the start/stop

mole-uk · Sep 3, 2015

Good man , it's good to read "real world" reviews
Keep em coming

RYuill · Sep 3, 2015

Car looks lovely. Especially with the bow

.

Enjoy.

Sandra · Sep 3, 2015

Lovely car. Excellent review. Enjoy it

x

Terminator x · Sep 3, 2015

Schuey said:
I have tried most drive select settings and the car is muted enough (I do not have the dynamic pack) on dual and motorway. Around our village I picked sport & dynamic and yes it turns heads at very low speeds. With regards the attention it gets I have had a lot of people try and race, sit on your bumper and undertake you. All I can say is what clowns they were, I work hard for such a nice car and would not jeopardise it, my family or anybody else's family racing mr aggro who in particular was clearly looking for an argument. Anyway, back to my quiet drive and onto the country lanes.

I am glad to hear this as I optioned the sports exhaust :rockwoot:

TX.

PS What does "sports mode" get you over and above dynamic mode?

Yeoy · Sep 3, 2015

Great review. Loving the Alu pack on the black

Schuey · Sep 3, 2015

terminator x said:
I am glad to hear this as I optioned the sports exhaust

TX.

PS What does "sports mode" get you over and above dynamic mode?

Sorry, I mean dynamic in drive select and gearbox in sport. Does that make sense? It seems to just alter the exhaust note at idle.

Colin A · Sep 3, 2015

Great review.

I also find the start stop over sensitive compared to the S3. Still I can switch it off if need be

RYuill · Sep 3, 2015

terminator x said:
I am glad to hear this as I optioned the sports exhaust

TX.

PS What does "sports mode" get you over and above dynamic mode?

Dynamic is the mode, sport is the gearbox. So in Sport the car holds the revs a lot longer. In Drive the gears change up quicker. However both can still be in dynamic which gives you quicker throttle response, louder note, firmer steering and sportier suspension.

Hope that makes sense, it did in my head

Schuey · Sep 3, 2015

Update # 1

I couldn't leave the car in the garage so been out for a random drive!

I tried to understand the gearbox a bit more and again I got stuck at a junction in gear with stop start activated and engine off........ Getting going meant accelerating in D?! This means waiting for a totally clear road, so, no gap spotting for me just now.

Performance again caught me out a few times despite being fairly light on the throttle, I have temporarily set the speed warning system. I can hear the laughter and scoffs right now, 'why buy an RS3 and set the speed warning?', seriously it's that responsive & we have a very proactive speed safety team around here even after dusk. With regards fuel consumption, I have averaged 28mpg which is pretty good.

A few other things, LED headlights, Wow! What a difference they make, it's a whiter more focused light but had a few people flash, waving hands to say I was dazzling them. Indicators seem equally bright & visible with the orange light reflecting off the street furniture. In terms of other kit I did not opt for the tech pack and so far I don't think I miss it, yes the screen is smaller (kind of prefer this, less distracting) and the resolution is frankly poor but for £1200 difference between SD nav & connect, I'm quite happy. In fairness though Audi do need to address the functionality & appearance of their MMI very soon, it's almost the same as the nav in my A3 from 8 years ago, although ironically that screen had better resolution.

Panoramic roof, makes such a difference to the cabin and there is definitely no extra road noise. I also like the SSS with the lumbar which my S3 lacked. ILP and B&O speaker lights make the cabin seem even more impressive at night, really does feel a quality place to be.

Finally just to wrap up for the night, the exhaust noise is addictive, had a few pops & bangs on the overrun & downshifts and it is probably one of the largest part of the cars character.

A few other random things I have remembered, insureAudi gave me 5 days cover but said they were unable to offer me insurance after that or even quote me ( clean license etc...) My own insurer gave me a 50% refund on my policy, so are they saying the RS3 is cheaper to insure than the S3?

RYuill · Sep 3, 2015

I'm sure the amount of pressure applied to the brakes is a contributor to the start/stop kicking in. If just lightly pressed to come to a stop the engine won't cut out, if pressed firmly it will cut out the engine. Also something to do with the Air con, If I remember rightly I think if it's set to below 18 the car won't cut out.

A few things to get used to

Schuey · Sep 3, 2015

RYuill said:
I'm sure the amount of pressure applied to the brakes is a contributor to the start/stop kicking in. If just lightly pressed to come to a stop the engine won't cut out, if pressed firmly it will cut out the engine. Also something to do with the Air con, If I remember rightly I think if it's set to below 18 the car won't cut out.

A few things to get used to

Ah ok, I thought I'd noticed that with the brake but as you say just need to get used to it.....! Thanks.

Raw40 · Sep 4, 2015

Schuey said:
Ah ok, I thought I'd noticed that with the brake but as you say just need to get used to it.....! Thanks.

Hi,

Great reviews keep them coming, one of my biggest gripes with both of our cars at the moment is the start/stop system, I have an A1 2.0 TDI 6speed manual and the other half has A1 1.6 TDI 7 speed S-Tronic. On mine with the manual box the stop/start is bearable at junctions, roundabouts etc. On the S-tronic it’s terrible the lag from start to pulling away is sometimes dangerous not just annoying.

My question to Audi would be why they don’t set the system up to be off as a default, allowing the driver the choice to have it on. I have actually got to the point now that when I get into either car as soon as it’s started I switch the system off it’s become second nature like putting the seat belt on.

Anyway great to see some real reviews from new owners starting up, mines build week 40, fingers crossed, so should be able to join in the reviews before too long.

Schuey · Sep 6, 2015

Update # 2

Oh no........gutted!

In the top photo you will see where my neighbour rubbed it with his hand to see if he could remove it. Not the first time either, he covered my R Line 2 years ago when spray painting his house on a windy day.

However.....Given everything going on in the world right now this is not really that bad.

mole-uk · Sep 6, 2015

Mortified for you :grumpy:

Is neighbour full of remorse

CraigI · Sep 6, 2015

Time to move house or build a garage!

Terminator x · Sep 6, 2015

Wtf after just a few days of ownership! I'd be

TX.

RYuill · Sep 6, 2015

Is that paint?

Spaceman_RS3 · Sep 6, 2015

Off to a good dealer and give neighbour the bill. What a tit no common sense some folk or respect awareness for other people's pride and joys

Schuey · Sep 6, 2015

Update # 3

Below is a before & after and thankfully I managed to get the car back to this:

I tried to avoid anything other than jet wash, snow foam and then open ended hose, the last thing I wanted to do was wash or dry or make any other contact with it. There are a lot of water marks now as this happened between 11-12 noon so it was a good 20 degrees plus so the paintwork was really hot.

I will say if it had not been for getting the the paint work prepped this week it would've been a whole lot worse! I only had wax applied but seems to have done its job.

I did manage to get a trip out after, I'll post this up shortly but I am so pleased with this car & if you have one on order then believe me it's worth the wait!!!!

Schuey · Sep 6, 2015

Today's Drive:

The plan was to go for a couple of hour drive over some really good mountain roads and stop over for Sunday lunch somewhere. It was all planned, car was ready, route set, venue for lunch agreed and the weather, blue sky, zero wind, perfect! Then my neighbour and his DIY skills put a stop to that as you will have seen in my post above.

So, alternative plan after cleaning the car to minimise any damage potential, was go see some family, pick up some countryside & deserted hilly roads.

With regards my specific options, I have panoramic roof with the light headlining and the feel in the cabin on such a bright day was incredible, B&O was tested but I'm not really convinced as to how much better it is than my previous Audi Sound?

Performance was tried out a little more today including the moment someone in a Toyota ( sporty one?) tried to accelerate as I was overtaking on a short dual, ummmm, No! All I did was push my foot to the floor & off we went with such speed it was incredible, I mean it shocked me, so can't imagine what he must have thought?!

Heading towards a mountain/hill climb I tried out the handling on a series of bends, some long hairpin types, other long flowing 90 degree turns and you genuinely felt the car just dig in, no roll, no under steer and giving enough confidence to floor it that bit earlier on the exit of the corner and the smile factor was there.

Coming over the hill/mountain top there was a cattle grid that caused the slightest rumble but overall very compliant, I still hate those things though.

About a mile after was a tunnel so on approach I slowed down, stopped, selected S/Dynamic, roof on tilt stereo off & off we went, the roar was unbelievable, then a short pop from the exhaust on up change and the roar went on before I eased off as we approached the speed limit. That could become addictive!

With regards the car you do get a lot of people either look or stop & look with a few smiles! Even my in laws neighbour came over and said 'wow you've got one of those' then spent 15 minutes going around it. Kids walked past in the village and all you could here was 'look at that, wow, cool' topped off by 'and it's a 65 plate'........ Ha ha I remember doing the same many years ago!!

Now there are still a few niggles but its more S Tronic and stop start related. An example, I approached a turning I needed to make at about 20mph, braked and then brought the car to a stop due to traffic ( one other car approaching) as soon as I stopped the car cut out again, literally as I was about to accelerate & turn into the junction, all this did was engine off, engine on in a single second or less, wasteful & irritating if you ask me. Yes I may get better using it with more miles but it is my biggest issue with the car right now, but then not specific to the RS3. The next part is going from D to R and it cuts out, why does stop start engage so quickly??? Then when you finish reversing the car to park, it stops and I normally let the engine tick over for 30 secs to a minute but to do that it now restarts.

In summary I am really pleased with the car, today's incident aside, I really feel grateful to have such a great car!

I will post some pictures shortly.

Yeoy · Sep 6, 2015

Another great review.
You can just turn the engine cut out off?

Schuey · Sep 6, 2015

Yeoy said:
Another great review.
You can just turn the engine cut out off?

Unfortunately my memory lets me down

but I did remember to deactivate start stop when arriving home tonight so I'm getting there.

I do wish there was a way of having SS disabled for shifts between D and R easily.

Danner3342 · Sep 6, 2015

Schuey..... Really liking your reviews, good honest reviews.

Can I ask.....you made a comment on the B&O sound system that you weren't conivinced it was better than your previous Audi sound ......
On your previous Audi was it the standard or the uprated Audi sound system.

I currently have the uprated Audi system in my S3 2014 not B&O and think it's really good, but with the RS3 I have on order have so far only stuck with the standard system. Not quite sure how good it is though !

Schuey · Sep 6, 2015

I previously had Audi sound as an option and so far I cannot tell the difference between Audi sound and B&O.

The only problem you may have is that B&O is part of a pack on the RS3 so you may lose out on other options.

Nardo-RS3 · Sep 6, 2015

i can't believe that happened with your new car. I don't know how you kept your cool (if you did), take my hat of too you :hi:

i would of lost it, i even felt angry when i read what he did

Yeoy · Sep 7, 2015

Makes you wonder if they just put the B & O label on the speakers

RYuill · Sep 8, 2015

Schuey said:
I previously had Audi sound as an option and so far I cannot tell the difference between Audi sound and B&O.

The only problem you may have is that B&O is part of a pack on the RS3 so you may lose out on other options.

At lower sound levels it sounds the same. It's when you turn it up you notice the difference. With *** the base will cut out at a certain level.

Mgharris2182 · Sep 8, 2015

i had a rs3 from south hereford garages for a few hours. I'm totally hooked. now got the booked out sussing out what extras to have

Schuey · Sep 10, 2015

1st Week Review

So, we're a week in & the summary is, what a car, some niggles yes but got to get over it & appreciate what the car can do rather than what it can't, of which there honestly is not much.

Normally I pick up a new car and it either rains or in some cases snows but this week has been fine, dry, with plenty of sunshine to enjoy the pano roof! A great option that really does brighten up the interior and adds a bit more of a smile factor when driving.

Now the important stuff, I'll start off with the handling, I have standard suspension and have started to push the car a bit more & so far very compliant over bumps, camber and offering plenty of grip which in turn delivers driver confidence. I find the steering best in comfort (yep really) and the feedback is as good as you would expect for a system not actually directly connected to the front wheels. The best thing is keep a constant throttle position on approach, turn in feel the grip and floor the throttle, great feeling! This isn't a review about track limits, it's everyday driving by an everyday average driver. I'm not sure how much of a difference the Pirellis make against the continental on the S3?

The mid range performance is still pretty impressive and I still have the speed warning set due to the rate this car gathers pace! The S Tronic does get a bit jumpy on kick down, a jolt felt quite often? I also had an instance where I accelerated and the engine just revved?! So trying to be a bit more clear in my throttle positioning by progressive acceleration. Will see how that goes....... Noise is as addictive as when I first started an RS3 and on first starting up I leave it idle for 30secs to a minute to really appreciate the noise.......I mean sound! Although the DIS says don't idle to warm up? Yeah whatever.......... I do actually keep the revs low until the oil reaches 90 anyway.

The car still attracts people in 4-8 year old ex rep mobiles that want to race or just p1ss you off? Is it the car? is it the 65 plate? I honestly don't know & I certainly don't go out to race and I am actually keeping my revs and gears to below 4000rpm (ish).

Fuel consumption has been 31mpg at its best and 22mpg at its worst.

Interior is as good as we know Audi's to be so not much to say other than Lunar Silver SSS and panoramic

The car is set for a proper clean after last weekends events which I will do tomorrow, hopefully the paintwork will be ok?!

On that I still think the Mythos Black gives a superb shine, even when dirty (one week old, minor dusting

) Not seen any others around but my dealer has a few more orders in now but with BW16

That's it for now, pics will follow!!!

A quick fuel question, it's on its first fill which was Tesco Momentum? apparently, any other you would choose?

Spaceman_RS3 · Sep 10, 2015

Tesco momentum is good fuel its that or shell v power for me only.
Usually always tesco stuff tho. As it's closer and the wife always has money off too.

Also while logging data on my Subaru back in the day the tesco 99 had less knock recorded over a few tanks than the v power x

chungster · Sep 10, 2015

We've experienced the same bit of jerky down shifts on our car on odd occasions - wondering if the DSG ECU needs an update.

Eigdoog · Sep 10, 2015

Great little review this, nice knowing whats its really like to live with and not just a racing driver telling us its got loads of understeer...

Schuey · Sep 12, 2015

Now today saw somebody reverse into the front of my car!!

Short version is that I'd parked in a lay by that pretty much runs the length of the high street in our town. There's a few pubs and the usual stuff and one hotel where they have weddings and regularly 'cone off' the parking outside.

Today was no exception so arrived and ahead of their coned area were a few spaces, great, car parked up and off I went. Walking back up the high street and noticed a new shop opening & they started placing 'police' cones opposite their shop so about 3 car spaces from mine....ok fine, I carried on walking to get a paper.

Walking back I noticed the woman from the shop coning around the 2 cars parked in front of me, a bit naughty really & one guy in a 4x4 clearly laid challenge before driving off. She coned that space off as he left. That left one space in front of me & here arrives a Ford Ka driven by an elderly couple. They parked up fine and then the woman moving the cones came out and moved her cones right to his front bumper?! She then directed the elderly gent to reverse back, right, time to get out of here I thought, with that ran I across the road to move the car and as I stepped onto the road, BANG!!!!

The guy had gone into the RS3........ I mean seriously what the........

Old guy gets out on walking sticks, clearly shaken & says to my other half, " I'm so sorry she was putting me under pressure". I said ok understand you leave this to me.....

I stormed into the shop where the cone woman had retreated & asked were they responsible for the said cones, answer YES, great where is your written authority from highways or the Police? Answer, don't have any they just dropped them off. With that some cheeky cow said 'its not our problem we didn't reverse into you', now I'm a very calm person so politely turned to her and said 'one of your employees is outside on a public highway with Police cones directing traffic........ That is not legal and given the driver was following instructions of your employee waving around Police cones on a public highway this will get serious as you have caused an RTC.

They clearly started getting flustered and I stated again that what they were doing was not legal and told them I would be in touch Monday after consultation with Highways & the Police.

For now I have lots of photographic evidence so will see what happens. With regards the old gentleman, I told him don't worry, I will sort it out with the shop. You could see the relief and anxiety in him.

I then turned to the shop manager & said under no circumstances was he to challenge the Ka driver after I had gone and I would follow it up.

With that we left. Life in an RS3 or any expensive car these days can be tense and stressful, society needs to change, respect is being lost fast.

I have now decided to park the car up & am already looking for something more heavy duty like a defender.

For all those awaiting delivery & build dates, at least you know your cars are safe :blush:

Gutted!

Spaceman_RS3 · Sep 12, 2015

Well handled bud. Spot on,
And a defender is a joy to own and drive. And nobody messes with a steel box section bumper

Eigdoog · Sep 12, 2015

This is unreal! Even worse you watched it in what must of been slow motion.

So does this mean you will be getting rid of? You have had a lot of bad luck with this.

RYuill · Sep 12, 2015

Your not having much luck.

Well handled though.

Schuey · Sep 12, 2015

The difficult part is as the owners we know the value of the car & how much time & effort goes into keeping them well presented, when other folk just dismiss it as a car, thats when the concern sets in about what if someone scuffs it etc..... I certainly won't get rid of it, but for now, I shall be a bit more cautious about where I take it.

My VWR was damaged a few months back when it is was less than a week old, scuffed the front bumper, unfortunately small town rural folk and the visitors we get probably doesn't help. That happened when it was parked up as well.

Anyway, always wanted the defender, this has given me the reason to go find one!

Schuey · Sep 12, 2015

On a brighter note, I did get a lot of glances today when I popped out of town to a retail park to get some tyre dressing, a new Focus ST just crawled past as I was getting ready to leave giving that nod in acknowledgement of 'nice car mate' :friends:

Also the local supermarket car park guy always gives a wave as we drive in, even going back to our S1/S3 and today he saved that one parking space that everybody envys, single space, no cars either side....Landed!! (A bit too late maybe

)

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