My brother in law is about to replace his A3 Sport 3.2 DSG and his been eyeing up the S3 so he asked me to come along.
We booked a double test drive so that we both can get a go.
Here is
We both love the new front bumper on the S3. It really makes it stand out next to the Sport and S-line.
We both agreed the S3 Side skirts are way too under styled and that the rear skirt was a little odd looking.
We where both shocked to hear the engine on start up resembles a TDi, the tappets are really load and you get a Diesel like GERRRRR when pulling away.
First up was my Brother in law, now you need to bear in mind his been driving a DSG for the last 3 years so comparing a Manual 2.0T to a DSG 3.2 V6 was going to be hard. First impressions where 'Oh Hello!' you can definitely feel the take off once the turbo has spooled up we both had a smile on our faces. He drove it softly around town traffic to simulate every day driving. More then anything he started to notice the difference DSG makes to a relaxing drive around town. (90% of his driving is around central London)
Once we got to the dual carriageway he started to open it up. We both thought the pull in the higher gears was very good, however no different to the V6 in performance.
Once on the motorway we where able to test how much speed we could rack on and again it performed pretty much like a V6.
Off at a service station, around the quick twisty bends and around abouts and back onto the motor way for the journey back to the dealership. This time driven like he normally does his car (quickly).
We swap over and its my go.
My initial thought was, where is the power? Oh there you are I thought to myself once I floored it more. Then it was WOW these brakes are crap as I fump a speed bump too quickly. (Realising the brakes haven't been bedded in).
First set of lights and I leave it in 3rd gear until I stop like I normally do. I had to press the clutch down much sooner then I would normally. Pulling away off the lights went like this. Select gear,2.5kRPM, gas and take off. Um No more like select gear,2.5kRPM, gas and 2secs I'm just going to make a cup of tea before I decide to overtake that van that has just got a car length in front of me.
We stop at a next set of lights 100 meters down the road and I think to my self right the power delivery is obviously different to a V6 lets try something else. Much higher revs this time and take off was stonking. Second gear acceleration is REALLY REALLY fun much better then in the V6 which dies out towards the higher revs.
Now on the dual carriageway I tested to see what happens when you floor it in 4th. Again nothing happens for just under 2 secs and then the sledge hammer comes.
I didn't go on the motorway instead opted to take the back roads back to the dealership to test the handling out.
Without question the S3 feels lighter up front, you don't have to compensate for the weight when your doing a sharp turn into a side road, you just point and it turns. I was very impressed with the transformation. The S3 had the same 20 Spoke wheels as on my car and the suspension is lowered about the same as an S-Line but the dampers definitely felt harsher as the S3 wasn't as forgiving on speed bumps I drive over all the time in my car.
The Verdict.
Hands down the S3 is a nice package, it fun, quick, extremely well priced compared to the rest of the A3 range, should hold its value batter then anything else in the range and should be pretty rare as well.
If you are a 3.2 owner you really don't need to worry, the smooth delivery of the v6 power is in a different league to the 2.0T and the power is much more usage in every day driving.
DSG lovers stay where you are as i think you will regret it in the long run.
And this is just what my brother-in-law has done. So he has decided to get the 3.2 DSG S-Line.
This turned out to be a nightmare!
Its impossible to spec up a S-line the way you want.
You cant pick half Alcantara seats with out paying £2.2k extra on the S-line. These are a no cost option on the S3!
And once you fully load up the options the car comes in at well over £2k more then a identicly spcced S3! And thats not including the Alcantara seats upgrade on the S-line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Audi are giving the S3 away!
Which ever way you look at it its a total no brainer to go for the S3, he almost feels bulled into changing his mind, his sleeping on it, but I think he will.
What are Audi up to?
We booked a double test drive so that we both can get a go.
Here is
We both love the new front bumper on the S3. It really makes it stand out next to the Sport and S-line.
We both agreed the S3 Side skirts are way too under styled and that the rear skirt was a little odd looking.
We where both shocked to hear the engine on start up resembles a TDi, the tappets are really load and you get a Diesel like GERRRRR when pulling away.
First up was my Brother in law, now you need to bear in mind his been driving a DSG for the last 3 years so comparing a Manual 2.0T to a DSG 3.2 V6 was going to be hard. First impressions where 'Oh Hello!' you can definitely feel the take off once the turbo has spooled up we both had a smile on our faces. He drove it softly around town traffic to simulate every day driving. More then anything he started to notice the difference DSG makes to a relaxing drive around town. (90% of his driving is around central London)
Once we got to the dual carriageway he started to open it up. We both thought the pull in the higher gears was very good, however no different to the V6 in performance.
Once on the motorway we where able to test how much speed we could rack on and again it performed pretty much like a V6.
Off at a service station, around the quick twisty bends and around abouts and back onto the motor way for the journey back to the dealership. This time driven like he normally does his car (quickly).
We swap over and its my go.
My initial thought was, where is the power? Oh there you are I thought to myself once I floored it more. Then it was WOW these brakes are crap as I fump a speed bump too quickly. (Realising the brakes haven't been bedded in).First set of lights and I leave it in 3rd gear until I stop like I normally do. I had to press the clutch down much sooner then I would normally. Pulling away off the lights went like this. Select gear,2.5kRPM, gas and take off. Um No more like select gear,2.5kRPM, gas and 2secs I'm just going to make a cup of tea before I decide to overtake that van that has just got a car length in front of me.
We stop at a next set of lights 100 meters down the road and I think to my self right the power delivery is obviously different to a V6 lets try something else. Much higher revs this time and take off was stonking. Second gear acceleration is REALLY REALLY fun much better then in the V6 which dies out towards the higher revs.
Now on the dual carriageway I tested to see what happens when you floor it in 4th. Again nothing happens for just under 2 secs and then the sledge hammer comes.
I didn't go on the motorway instead opted to take the back roads back to the dealership to test the handling out.
Without question the S3 feels lighter up front, you don't have to compensate for the weight when your doing a sharp turn into a side road, you just point and it turns. I was very impressed with the transformation. The S3 had the same 20 Spoke wheels as on my car and the suspension is lowered about the same as an S-Line but the dampers definitely felt harsher as the S3 wasn't as forgiving on speed bumps I drive over all the time in my car.
The Verdict.
Hands down the S3 is a nice package, it fun, quick, extremely well priced compared to the rest of the A3 range, should hold its value batter then anything else in the range and should be pretty rare as well.
If you are a 3.2 owner you really don't need to worry, the smooth delivery of the v6 power is in a different league to the 2.0T and the power is much more usage in every day driving.
DSG lovers stay where you are as i think you will regret it in the long run.
And this is just what my brother-in-law has done. So he has decided to get the 3.2 DSG S-Line.
This turned out to be a nightmare!
Its impossible to spec up a S-line the way you want.
You cant pick half Alcantara seats with out paying £2.2k extra on the S-line. These are a no cost option on the S3!
And once you fully load up the options the car comes in at well over £2k more then a identicly spcced S3! And thats not including the Alcantara seats upgrade on the S-line!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Audi are giving the S3 away!
Which ever way you look at it its a total no brainer to go for the S3, he almost feels bulled into changing his mind, his sleeping on it, but I think he will.
What are Audi up to?
