I've just completed the first thousand miles in my S3 sportback. I moved from an 8P diesel and overall I’m very happy with the car. It’s better than my old car in pretty much every way, it uses a bit more fuel, but not so much as it makes a big difference (right side of 30mpg). While it is exactly the car I was hoping for, I can understand some of the negative comments and despite it being very fast, it manages to be a little bit boring.
The power delivery is very smooth but not very eventful as a result, however the thing flies along, I’m particularly impressed with the way it pulls at high speeds. I think the smooth/dull nature of the power delivery suits the car completely. Those that are disappointed probably bought the wrong car. A hot hatch it is not, although it clearly is a hatch, and is hot….oh…. you know what I mean. The comments about the dull steering don’t ring true to me either. I’ve had an M3 in the past, and yes it was more involving but I think the S3 has a completely different target audience and gets the steering about right. I’m also happy with the ride although it is a bit crashier than the old 8P sport, but I guess that’s no surprise. I’m obviously delighted I went with the manual transmission
but the gear change is epically notchy, especially when cold, I’m really hoping this improves with miles. While I think about it, drive select is a total waste of time for me. I just leave it in dynamic. It may make more sense with S-Tronic and adaptive dampers but in my spec it’s a waste of time.
The build quality is great and it feels like a really nice place to be inside. There are a few rattles that come and go, but I’m hoping these will sort themselves out. I love the steering wheel, it feels great, nice and chunky. I have black nappa, although part of me wishes I went for Alcantara and I’m glad I chose the silver headliner as it breaks up the blackness well.
As for options, I got some of it right and some of it wrong. I spec’d Panther Black and I’ve found it a bit boring if I’m honest. It’s been raining pretty much the whole time since I’ve had the car, so I’m hoping the dull weather just hasn’t given the paint a chance to shine, but it just looks black to me. The panoramic sunroof was a bit disappointing too, it wasn’t quite as big as I’d imagined. I don’t regret spec’ing it, but it hasn’t blown me away. The Tech Pack with Connect is a mixed bag as well. It was the first option I ticked, but I find the big screen a bit much and end up folding it away regularly. I think I could live without the screen entirely and just use the DIS. The Connect features are a bit hit and miss, I knew I wouldn’t use Twitter and Facebook but I really spec’d it for the live traffic data that I’ve found really useful on my TomTom. The data seems OK, but it’s not very in your face so I tend to miss it and end up in a jam. I’m hopeful that the more I use the Tech the more I will get from it. I spec’d parking sensors front and rear and they work well, and I really like the Interior Light pack that I spec’d as a result of feedback on this forum, THANKS!! My favourite option is the LED headlights though, they are fantastic and look amazing. They also came with automatic lights and wipers. I wouldn’t have spec’d these if they had been extras, but I really like both features. I’m weird about wipers and thought auto wipers would wind me up, but they don’t, they just work. There have been several negative comments about the reversible boot mat, but I like it and think it does what it says on the tin. The biggest issue with my spec was the lack of stereo upgrade, the standard stereo is pathetically bad. There’s no excuse for Audi fitting something this bad to car that starts at more than £30k. The standard stereo in my Fiat 500 is miles ahead, I didn’t think I’d be saying that. I’ve got to find an upgrade option but it doesn’t look simple. I also secretly wish I’d spec’d mono.pur and the through load (just for the cup holders). Stereo aside, I’m fairly happy with the spec.
Overall, I’m very happy. If you want a really well made luxury hatch that looks good, is economical yet flies past most things on the road then I’d definitely recommend it.
The power delivery is very smooth but not very eventful as a result, however the thing flies along, I’m particularly impressed with the way it pulls at high speeds. I think the smooth/dull nature of the power delivery suits the car completely. Those that are disappointed probably bought the wrong car. A hot hatch it is not, although it clearly is a hatch, and is hot….oh…. you know what I mean. The comments about the dull steering don’t ring true to me either. I’ve had an M3 in the past, and yes it was more involving but I think the S3 has a completely different target audience and gets the steering about right. I’m also happy with the ride although it is a bit crashier than the old 8P sport, but I guess that’s no surprise. I’m obviously delighted I went with the manual transmission
but the gear change is epically notchy, especially when cold, I’m really hoping this improves with miles. While I think about it, drive select is a total waste of time for me. I just leave it in dynamic. It may make more sense with S-Tronic and adaptive dampers but in my spec it’s a waste of time.The build quality is great and it feels like a really nice place to be inside. There are a few rattles that come and go, but I’m hoping these will sort themselves out. I love the steering wheel, it feels great, nice and chunky. I have black nappa, although part of me wishes I went for Alcantara and I’m glad I chose the silver headliner as it breaks up the blackness well.
As for options, I got some of it right and some of it wrong. I spec’d Panther Black and I’ve found it a bit boring if I’m honest. It’s been raining pretty much the whole time since I’ve had the car, so I’m hoping the dull weather just hasn’t given the paint a chance to shine, but it just looks black to me. The panoramic sunroof was a bit disappointing too, it wasn’t quite as big as I’d imagined. I don’t regret spec’ing it, but it hasn’t blown me away. The Tech Pack with Connect is a mixed bag as well. It was the first option I ticked, but I find the big screen a bit much and end up folding it away regularly. I think I could live without the screen entirely and just use the DIS. The Connect features are a bit hit and miss, I knew I wouldn’t use Twitter and Facebook but I really spec’d it for the live traffic data that I’ve found really useful on my TomTom. The data seems OK, but it’s not very in your face so I tend to miss it and end up in a jam. I’m hopeful that the more I use the Tech the more I will get from it. I spec’d parking sensors front and rear and they work well, and I really like the Interior Light pack that I spec’d as a result of feedback on this forum, THANKS!! My favourite option is the LED headlights though, they are fantastic and look amazing. They also came with automatic lights and wipers. I wouldn’t have spec’d these if they had been extras, but I really like both features. I’m weird about wipers and thought auto wipers would wind me up, but they don’t, they just work. There have been several negative comments about the reversible boot mat, but I like it and think it does what it says on the tin. The biggest issue with my spec was the lack of stereo upgrade, the standard stereo is pathetically bad. There’s no excuse for Audi fitting something this bad to car that starts at more than £30k. The standard stereo in my Fiat 500 is miles ahead, I didn’t think I’d be saying that. I’ve got to find an upgrade option but it doesn’t look simple. I also secretly wish I’d spec’d mono.pur and the through load (just for the cup holders). Stereo aside, I’m fairly happy with the spec.
Overall, I’m very happy. If you want a really well made luxury hatch that looks good, is economical yet flies past most things on the road then I’d definitely recommend it.
Seen the advert for this today, the Mrs has been made aware if my pay rise goes through this will be in order the next day.
