RS3.....worth the premium over the S3?

[veeeight]

Maybe it's an age thing, but I've learned to accept that we all have opinions, and it's futile trying to cajole others into having the same views are yourself. Learn to accept differences of opinion, and also chill out. Getting wound up is a pointless exercise.

@veeeight is perfectly entitled to his views, and in the main I'm actually inclined to agree with him, he makes reasonably well argued posts, and doesn't retort to insults. Sure he is more active/vocal in defending his views than most, but if this forum just consisted of S3 fan boys it wouldn't be as much fun, or have a balanced view. He's wrong about the A45 though hahaha, it's a dull sounding, average looking, expensive 4 banger.

I always roll my eyes at the 'what do others think' posts, usually about colour etc. errrm pick the one you like, who gives a rats *** if someone else doesn't like it. I'm sure a lot of people will ridicule me, at 43, in my beany, in the winter, driving roof down in my bright red, girls car. Do you know what, I don't care, I'm happy

The thread question of whether the RS3 is worth the premium, is only a question you can answer yourself. Are you buying it outright? PCP? What's your driving needs? Do you track cars? How many miles do you do?

If I HAD to have a hot hatch, then for me it's likely I'd have an RS3. Purely for the noise. Thankfully I don't, and can look at all sorts, Boxsters, Caymans, Mustangs, the new M2 .. and for me, they are all preferable options. That's my opinion, I'm entitled to it and no you can't change it (and not just because I'm a stubborn *** lol)

You do have the luxury of speaking from an elevated position though, having made the leap out of a S3 to something more rewarding!

As @Pulp84 alluded to earlier, something that is missing for me, in a S3 or RS3, is the sheer sense of occasion when driving these 2 cars, which I'm sure, you're not missing when in your current drive!

 

[visionthing]

If it can do the things shown in this clip, it's a proper drivers car

Here are the videos in series, quite interesting..

 

[Raw40]

I'm picking mine up on Saturday ......

 

[Jay_A]

I'm picking mine up on Saturday ......

Enjoy it mate, they're brilliant cars.

 

[TheFiftheElement]

You do have the luxury of speaking from an elevated position though, having made the leap out of a S3 to something more rewarding!

As @Pulp84 alluded to earlier, something that is missing for me, in a S3 or RS3, is the sheer sense of occasion when driving these 2 cars, which I'm sure, you're not missing when in your current drive!

If you mean elevated by cash, my Boxster S was cheaper than my S3 Sportback, and even with the increase in APR (2nd hand) it's within @ £50 a month of the S3.

A lot of guys I see driving S3's are young, single and I wonder if they've ever consider jumping into a sports car, rather than reading the usual pistonheads reviews, getting caught up in numbers, 0-60, BHP and plumping for the quickest car they can get for a monthly amount. There is soooo much more to owning a car than numbers.

I think the RS3 will also lack a sense of occasion, but I think that also applies to the A45, and Focus RS to be honest. What you're effectively driving after all is a sensible hatch, no matter what you disguise it as. None of them will offer the occasion of flat 6s, v8s, open top motoring .. for me it's not how quickly you get there, it's how you get there.

I have a buddy with a mapped A45, he says on a hoon out for lunch, he'll get where we need to go about 5 minutes before me .. thing is, I arrive with a smile on my face, and a babe on the passenger seat, the sound of a flat 6 wailing in my lugs and the open sky all around. He arrives, hassled, trying to get his car to be fun by redlining it absolutely everywhere, while he tries to find where someone has hidden the Dyson, with no passengers as they think he's almost guaranteed to crash it .. he can then boast on pistonheads he wiped out a Porsche, and his car is 'mental' ... hmmmm not sure I'm swapping to his position ...

 

[Luken]

Moving on, if anyone lives near Guildford in Surrey and are after one, they have a Sepang Blue RS3 up for sale (even has the sports exhaust).

is this a used one or new??

 

[45bvtc]

All I know is .....

I've had two unaccompanied extended test drives of two different RS3's and on both occasions I absolutely 100% had a blast and thoroughly loved the car.

I'd already decided I had to have one but 4 hot laps on a race circuit with a Pro at the wheel demonstrated to me just how capable the car is too. It was so ****** exciting and I'd just been taken round in an R8 albeit standard V8. I will never drive like that on public roads or throw my own car about but it's good to know what the car is capable of.

I love the RS3 and it suits my tastes and lifestyle perfectly. It will do everything I want it to and .... go like hell and make a terrific sound to boot too

In 2011 I had an S3 with all the bells and whistles and I loved it never ever thinking to change but then with 300-bhp and clutch slip I let Stafford Audi fit me a new clutch but there on collection (Thursday 13th September 2011) was one of the first RS3s in Misano with the aluminium pack. The car was just in and the young salesman was desperate to get me to try it in fact I think he was desperate for anyone to try it just so he could go out in it. So off we went and I was gobsmacked and came back shaking as it just did everything I threw at it, I was a young 68-year old that day. Back home with the S3 and oh my... Big discussions at home as to could we afford one followed by a sleepless night and the next morning (Friday 14th) I'm onto Stafford Audi to order one. "ALL SOLD. Best you can do is find one." Onto Piston Heads and there were two in the UK, one in Daytona - the colour we'd have ordered but not the spec, and one in Cornflower blue and while not the colour the spec was 90% right. It was a looong day with telephone calls and waiting to see if it was sold or available but next morning, having been told late Friday, we'd driven the 130-miles to DK Engineering in Chorley Wood and at 7.45am were encamped on the doorstep waiting for the buggers to open. At 8.10 we'd agreed a price and paid a deposit and I hadn't even sat in the car but knew that if were anything like the demonstrator I'd be a H A P P Y man.

4-years on and I still am and there ain't another Audi I'd swap the RS3 for, period.

An audi-sport.net meet at Birmingham Audi (Solihull) on Sunday and we go in the RS3 using the M6 toll road (the noise when leaving them toll booths in an RS3 is something else...) and are provided with 310bhp TT with manual stick to drive - lets not go there. Back in the RS3 for the drive home and it ain't on the toll road but a considerable detour; to say that the RS3 disappoints after 4-years of ownership would be an outright lie. The cars amazing. And them that know me are aware I've driven all of the quicker Audis from the S1 to the R8 V10 plus but none excite me as much as does the RS3.

So back to the question: "RS3.....worth the premium over the S3?" ABSOLUTELY! There's nowt in the Audi emporium I'd swap my RS3 for; but each to their own.

 

[Jay_A]

is this a used one or new??

Used

 

[veeeight]

@45bvtc I take my hat off to you..... for your pure enthusiasm for the car, and your immaculate (petrol-doused) exhaust tips

Your post is a sterling example of how to spread the love and enthusiasm for your car, without having to resort to insulting anyone else, or rubbish the competition

 

[45bvtc]

@45bvtc I take my hat off to you..... for your pure enthusiasm for the car, and your immaculate (petrol-doused) exhaust tips

Your post is a sterling example of how to spread the love and enthusiasm for your car, without having to resort to insulting anyone else, or rubbish the competition

THANK you...

 

[Luken]

Used

thank you, found it on used audi now

 

[Nimbus265]

Yawn.....

 

[RGBARGEE]

Not sure I would buy a demo RS3 or any other performance car unless seriously cheap and this one isn't!

 

[MA3RC]

Not sure I would buy a demo RS3 or any other performance car unless seriously cheap and this one isn't!

My dealer told me "never ever buy a demo performance car". They have an RS3 demo there, being sold with 6000 miles on the clock. His words were "It's the hardest 6000 miles you could ask for, launched on a daily basis, red lined on a cold engine, it's gone through a set of brakes already".

Yet the price is only circa £3000 cheaper than one you could buy new. No brainer!!

 

[RGBARGEE]

And when you factor in a small discount virtually nothing!

 

[Jay_A]

And when you factor in a small discount virtually nothing!

And sadly higher interest rates.

 

[RGBARGEE]

So basically anyone buying a demo is financing the dealer for 3 months and has the benefit of a well rogered sorry run in example!

 

[Snake Pliskin]

In 2011 I had an S3 with all the bells and whistles and I loved it never ever thinking to change but then with 300-bhp and clutch slip I let Stafford Audi fit me a new clutch but there on collection (Thursday 13th September 2011) was one of the first RS3s in Misano with the aluminium pack. The car was just in and the young salesman was desperate to get me to try it in fact I think he was desperate for anyone to try it just so he could go out in it. So off we went and I was gobsmacked and came back shaking as it just did everything I threw at it, I was a young 68-year old that day. Back home with the S3 and oh my... Big discussions at home as to could we afford one followed by a sleepless night and the next morning (Friday 14th) I'm onto Stafford Audi to order one. "ALL SOLD. Best you can do is find one." Onto Piston Heads and there were two in the UK, one in Daytona - the colour we'd have ordered but not the spec, and one in Cornflower blue and while not the colour the spec was 90% right. It was a looong day with telephone calls and waiting to see if it was sold or available but next morning, having been told late Friday, we'd driven the 130-miles to DK Engineering in Chorley Wood and at 7.45am were encamped on the doorstep waiting for the buggers to open. At 8.10 we'd agreed a price and paid a deposit and I hadn't even sat in the car but knew that if were anything like the demonstrator I'd be a H A P P Y man.

4-years on and I still am and there ain't another Audi I'd swap the RS3 for, period.

An audi-sport.net meet at Birmingham Audi (Solihull) on Sunday and we go in the RS3 using the M6 toll road (the noise when leaving them toll booths in an RS3 is something else...) and are provided with 310bhp TT with manual stick to drive - lets not go there. Back in the RS3 for the drive home and it ain't on the toll road but a considerable detour; to say that the RS3 disappoints after 4-years of ownership would be an outright lie. The cars amazing. And them that know me are aware I've driven all of the quicker Audis from the S1 to the R8 V10 plus but none excite me as much as does the RS3.

So back to the question: "RS3.....worth the premium over the S3?" ABSOLUTELY! There's nowt in the Audi emporium I'd swap my RS3 for; but each to their own.

Great comments & reflections

That is certainly how I hope to feel with the RS3 several years on too.

The RS3 will suit my needs perfectly and sounds like it does you too.
Having a car which brings a smile to your face every time you drive it will of course depend on many factors and personal tastes.

The RS3 is the first car I have really 'desired' in years.
Yeah I have enjoyed my last few cars greatly and each has had its own reason for purchase .... TT to TTS to S5.
The RS3 is a car I can't wait to get my hands on though - so understand and appreciate where you are coming from.
I feel some of your excitement already ... and I don't even have the car yet

 

[RGBARGEE]

Nicely put Snake...wait for killjoy to start telling us an A45 would be better. To me having had many performance cars in recent years I can't wait!

 

[Blackwhite]

What I don't understand is why when certain people give their opionion, or
even post a video, are put down___right
then and there. I might not agree with
everything the person says but I can
respect their opinion.
When it comes to my car, I
personally do not care if others don't
like it. People are not going to like the
same things I do, But that's alright with me.
All I am saying is everyone has the
right to their opionion. Without degrading the other person about it.

 

[RGBARGEE]

Well Black and white I think you will find that several of us who have chosen an RS3 are fed up with our choice being constantly criticised. Postings are fine but give it a break!

 

[Simon L]

Great comments & reflections

That is certainly how I hope to feel with the RS3 several years on too.

The RS3 will suit my needs perfectly and sounds like it does you too.
Having a car which brings a smile to your face every time you drive it will of course depend on many factors and personal tastes.

The RS3 is the first car I have really 'desired' in years.
Yeah I have enjoyed my last few cars greatly and each has had its own reason for purchase .... TT to TTS to S5.
The RS3 is a car I can't wait to get my hands on though - so understand and appreciate where you are coming from.
I feel some of your excitement already ... and I don't even have the car yet

......and that is exactly how I feel about my S3

The first car I genuinely fell in love with for more years than I can actually remember. When my wife gave it her blessing I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!! lol

Every single day I look forward to getting in and driving it

 

[RGBARGEE]

Absolutely Simon, I loved my S3 and lost very little between Mar 2014 and Sept 2015 but once I drove the RS the love/want one factor appeared. It's not perfect, different from S3 ... Worth the extra, maybe in the same way as the S3 is worth the premium over my wife's A3 150 Sline COD!

 

[veeeight]

Nicely put Snake...wait for killjoy to start telling us an A45 would be better. To me having had many performance cars in recent years I can't wait!

See, you couldn't leave it alone, could you, you just had to bring me back into the conversation instead of just talking about the car

The RS3 does not meet my needs, it lacks driver focus, does not have great steering feedback or precision, and the suspension is not suited to quick direction changes nor set up to be a great car that rewards driver inputs.

It is immensely frustrating to drive on the limit, and is not a car that you can constantly drive hard, brake fade sets in relatively quickly.

It's a quick point to point car, immense in straight lines, but not a quick car to go around corners in. There are much better car that excel in this area.

The S3 also has the same shortcomings, so, whilst the RS3 has some improvements in some areas, it isn't enough to warrant a £10k premium, for what in my eyes is still a fundamentally flawed car

In the same class (if you wanted to stay with a hot hatch), competitors such as the A45 address these deficiencies and provide a much more focussed drive, if that is your priority, which mine is.

 

[RGBARGEE]

Your opinion. Is the A44 a new MB model or just an error?

Enjoy your A45 and hope you have pleasure raving about it on another Forum.

 

[Simon L]

Absolutely Simon, I loved my S3 and lost very little between Mar 2014 and Sept 2015 but once I drove the RS the love/want one factor appeared. It's not perfect, different from S3 ... Worth the extra, maybe in the same way as the S3 is worth the premium over my wife's A3 150 Sline COD!

You make a very good point there. I'm sure a lot of A3 owners think S3's are a total waste of money! After all they look pretty damn similar if you ignore the rims and lower suspension.

To be fair I don't think anyone's really bashing the RS3, it is after all very similar again to an S3. The problem is the thread title!! Everyone will have their own views as to whether it's worth the extra premium................ but I have reevaluated my opinion to some extent given your S-line v S3 comparison!

 

[RGBARGEE]

You can even get S3 'height' lowered suspension on A3 Sline, We have 18in Diamond cut 10 spoke Titanium alloys , Pan roof and a few bits. Probably 99% of the population wouldn't know the A3 from S3 and RS3.. Am I bothered.. not in the least. Doesn't handle as well as an A45 though IMHO before anyone points that out.

 

[illingworth22]

21,000 euro here in Ireland = No unfortunately

 

[Jassyo06]

My dealer told me "never ever buy a demo performance car". They have an RS3 demo there, being sold with 6000 miles on the clock. His words were "It's the hardest 6000 miles you could ask for, launched on a daily basis, red lined on a cold engine, it's gone through a set of brakes already".

Yet the price is only circa £3000 cheaper than one you could buy new. No brainer!!

Prior to getting my S3,l studied used/ex demo's S3's for a few months as that's what l wanted,now when a demo becomes available they are roughly 5-6 months...old with 3-6 k miles but if that demo does'nt shift,the price does drops,the one l had my eye on had dropped in price by £2400 same mileage over a 2 month period,as they are just left to pose on the forecourt,the same will happen to the RS3
someone will buy it,most dealerships only have one anyway

 

[jaypers777]

......and that is exactly how I feel about my S3

The first car I genuinely fell in love with for more years than I can actually remember. When my wife gave it her blessing I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!! lol

Every single day I look forward to getting in and driving it

This sums up exactly how I feel (except the bit about your wife......I bought mine without her blessing!). Anyway, the S3 has ticked all of the boxes for me. I don't drive to the limits at all, and nor do the majority of drivers. It does everything I want very very well. I shall borrow an RS3 when mine goes in for its first oil change shortly. My mate did similar recently when he took his S3 in, and aside from the noise, was not particularly blown away by the differences. He was also surprised how cramped it was compared to the HB. Anyone else feel this way?

 

[RGBARGEE]

Don't understand why the RS3 should feel cramped compared to A or S3 unless it's the optional seats?

 

[CraigI]

Well Black and white I think you will find that several of us who have chosen an RS3 are fed up with our choice being constantly criticised. Postings are fine but give it a break!

Look elsewhere then.
In fact the Internet is full of things you won't like, perhaps it's not for a sensitive soul like you.

 

[veeeight]

It's been said before, no one has a gun to your head forcing you to read all those nasty posts about the RS3.

Other channels are available
Mute buttons are available
Ignore functions are available
Or just simply gloss past the posts you don't like.


Last time I checked, we still have freedom of expression and speech in this country, the Corbynistas haven't quite got their way yet

 

[DAYTONA 500]

 

[Simon L]

 

[veeeight]

It doesn't help when people start deleting their posts, leaving a disjointed trail

eg: There was something in between #312 and #313, and in between #313 and #314.

 

[A3_Rider]

My dealer told me "never ever buy a demo performance car". They have an RS3 demo there, being sold with 6000 miles on the clock. His words were "It's the hardest 6000 miles you could ask for, launched on a daily basis, red lined on a cold engine, it's gone through a set of brakes already".

Yet the price is only circa £3000 cheaper than one you could buy new. No brainer!!

When I test drove the S3 (I was the first) car was fine, came back and saw a new RS4 demonstrator....all four tyres bald and front two had wires showing...mileage was just above 1k!! I even asked what the hell must a test drive entail to get that sort of result?!

 

[Jassyo06]

Av got a test drive with the wee beast on friday,l want to find out for myself how good it is for myself,trolled the internet for the used RS3's...they do look ordinary most of them but 2 stuck out like a sore thumb/same can be said of the S3 its how you spec them externally,the White one looks awesome...l personally would prefer Sepang blue with the BSP/PANROOF/ROOFRAILS/HIGH GLOSS BLACK WHEELS...LOL

Ps...Cough,cough the white RS3 is 50,000 bangers.........Full Monty

 

[Simon L]

Av got a test drive with the wee beast on friday,l want to find out for myself how good it is for myself,trolled the internet for the used RS3's...they do look ordinary most of them but 2 stuck out like a sore thumb/same can be said of the S3 its how you spec them externally,the White one looks awesome...l personally would prefer Sepang blue with the BSP/PANROOF/ROOFRAILS/HIGH GLOSS BLACK WHEELS...LOLView attachment 71430 View attachment 71431

Totally agree mate, the white looks superb!

I just wish they'd given the RS3 some exclusive rim choices, seems a bit of a cop-out tbh. Will have a test drive though sometime as I'd like to know what they sound like from inside..........whet me appetite for the RS3 saloon

 

[RGBARGEE]

white looks good ...wife's A3