Facelift S3 FL - 3 door v 5 door (differences and opinions)

[New S4 Man]

Lets just say...apart from yer potential banning for Audi Blasthemy that is....???av got contacts ye know....???lol.........the Audi A3 Saloon without a doubt is thee best looking variant....now go and wash yer mouth out or its 10 of the belt for ya....

Honestly, Saloons are fine - as long as you wear cream slacks and a bomber jacket. Think Jeremy Clarkson fan. The Saloon style invokes memories of this car:

Only acceptable saloon would be in coupe form or an M5.

 

[New S4 Man]

M5 = awesome car.

Yup, The M5 is mighty despite the fact that it's a saloon . It certainly isn't going to win any prizes in the looks department.

 

[Carefree69]

5 door not only looks much better but it’s much more practical as well.

From behind the 3 door looks very dated, those light clusters are horrendous.

 

[SamR92]

I went from a 15 plate 3dr to an 18 plate Sportback, and wouldn’t go back to 3dr. 5dr Much more practical, looks better, and much easier to get out of in tight spaces

Only downside is two extra door shuts to clean

 

[TYb]

Don’t forget that the 3 door is the speediest of the lot...... that 0.1 could be all the difference ;-)

 

[msdmjb]

I wouldn't buy a 5dr A3 nor A1, shame that for both the next versions will only be 5dr (ignoring the 4dr saloon A3 so effectively I will not be buying another Audi. R9 is too showy for me.

Looks are pointless debating, the 5dr way outsells 3dr so the market prefers 5dr. My 3dr never has anyone in the back (4years!) and 99% of the time is just me so why buy an 5dr estate My 3dr does look a little heavy around the rear quarter from side on though, needs less metal or bigger wheels.

 

[JM 772]

Go with the one that you like the best, its all personal preference & as its you that will be paying then you decide, all the S3's are great cars, styles & options are all down to your taste.

 

[msdmjb]

^^ no S3 (possibly no current Audi) is a great car. Good road cars yes but something that will be looked back on in 20years and defined as great....nah.

 

[Jassyo06]

^^ no S3 (possibly no current Audi) is a great car. Good road cars yes but something that will be looked back on in 20years and defined as great....nah.

I think you'll find that in 20 years time the current R8 and RS6 will be held in high respect by the motoring fraternity

 

[Jassyo06]

Don’t forget that the 3 door is the speediest of the lot...... that 0.1 could be all the difference ;-)

Aye and my saloon with the pano-roof is the slowest lol

 

[Rahmon_22]

IMO the 3 door was by far the more attractive car on the 8P model, but have to agree with the majority here - the sportback 8V is much more aesthetically pleasing. I'm planning to buy a FL 8V in the coming months, and have been going through the exact same debate myself... but settled on the 5dr!

 

[TYb]

Aye and my saloon with the pano-roof is the slowest lol

Haha I’d sacrifice my 0.1 second for a voodoo with pano.... I have been enjoying mine a lot more now the sun is shining though, pano would be a nice addition.

 

[Daveotto]

The saloon is the worst of the lot. Saloons look outdated and are old fashioned.

Having owned both, wisdom comes with age .....Saloon is the best IMHO

 

[Daveotto]

S3 saloon would look good with two massive doors, more slope on the back window, rear seats that have to be crawled into with much less head and leg room that can't be sat on by anyone above 4'8" or legs that dangle over the edge of the seat.
Or is that BMW territory?

That’s the unicorn like sports coupe that rears its head every now and then

 

[wab172uk]

I use to despise the Sportback car. Thought it looked an afterthought in the A3 line-up.

That was until the current 8V model, where I think the Sportback in both S3 and RS3 look genuinely pretty damn smart.

Up until the Saloon came out (which I bought) I was going to buy the 3 Door S3, as I thought the 3 door looked better and more sporty than the Sportback. When I was deciding whether or not to buy the new RS3, I was also indecisive whether or not to buy the Sportback over the Saloon. That's how much the Sportback has grown on me.

I still think the 3 door looks good, and if I didn't need back seats now, I'd be tempted to still order a 3 door if I was wanting a new S3. But for resale, the sportback will be easier to sell than the 3 door.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

 

[KenL]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

View attachment 154005

Agreed - that car looks great. Just think about how much better it could look!
3 door or saloon I'm talking...

It would also look way better in any colour apart from white ;-)

 

[Jassyo06]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

View attachment 154005

Back at cha bawbag lol my favourite photo of a proper specced RS3 saloon

 

[New S4 Man]

The problem with the car pictured is the absolute mess of an area around the C pillar - that small window is a compromise made to fit another door in and means it isn't as clean as the 3 door. It would actually look better if it wasn't as squashed -i.e like an actual estate shape (see the A4 or A6 Avant).

Edit - i'm talking about the picture of the sportback

 

[MattSedg]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

View attachment 154005

sportback with roof rails wins me over anyday!
Shame this one doesnt have them.

 

[TYb]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

View attachment 154005

What colour is that?

 

[New S4 Man]

Back at cha bawbag lol my favourite photo of a proper specced RS3 saloon View attachment 154013

That looks OK I suppose apart from that vulgar "quattro" sticker on the front and the amount of cheap looking chrome.

 

[KenL]

Back at cha bawbag lol my favourite photo of a proper specced RS3 saloon View attachment 154013

Sorry. A bit boy racer for me!

 

[Rahmon_22]

What colour is that?

Glacier white i believe


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TYb]

Glacier white i believe


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It looks like it’s almost between nardo and white. Looks great in the picture

 

[KenL]

It looks like it’s almost between nardo and white. Looks great in the picture

Will it look like that in the metal though? Doubt it...

 

[Jassyo06]

It looks like it’s almost between nardo and white. Looks great in the picture

Looks colourless lol

 

[oli356]

It looks like it’s almost between nardo and white. Looks great in the picture

Yeah it does.. I wasn't sure either what it was... I like it though

 

[Snake Pliskin]

What colour is that?

Yeah glacier white.

Massively waxed up as yes it looks stunning doesn’t it.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Back at cha bawbag lol my favourite photo of a proper specced RS3 saloon View attachment 154013

Yeah that does look good agreed.

Great colour combo.

Would look awesome on a sportback

 

[Mythos]

this car looks stunning IMO.

Oh and its a sportback

View attachment 154005

I've watched that video loads of times. He also done one for the RS3 which is just as good

 

[Marky-s3]

Argument over

 

[KenL]

Lovely yellow A3. But, please reassure me that you don't have tinted front windows??????

 

[Marky-s3]

Lovely yellow A3. But, please reassure me that you don't have tinted front windows??????

S3 100% stock in the pic with factory rear tints

 

[Bells]

Went with a 3 door mainly because I couldn’t justify the extra cost of a sportback / saloon. The deposit contribution on the 3 door was something crazy like £2500 when I ordered and the overall discount offered by the dealer was about 18%, the dealer couldn’t get close to the same figures on a saloon / sportback. A year on I still think the 3 door looks more sporty though.

Although saying that I did like the demo S3 Saloon I had before ordering which did make my decision a little harder. But if I want to upgrade to a PFL RS3 soon I’ll have no choice other than go with a sportback...

 

[KenL]

5 door not only looks much better but it’s much more practical as well.

From behind the 3 door looks very dated, those light clusters are horrendous.

Could you educate me and post pictures of both so I can see how horrendous my light clusters look?

 

[Ormesome]

Could you educate me and post pictures of both so how I can see how horrendous my light clusters look?

was gonna say something about that too! think he's on about spec rather than style! My halogen front and rear lights look awful but this is because of spec! they still look awful on the Sportback!

 

[Mythos]

Probably my personal favourite 3 door spec I've seen. Panther black, 19 inch wheels, red brake caliper on the black edition looks really good to me and suits the car perfectly.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

The black S3 does look good.

It’s just the up keep of black paint that demoralised me when I had a black car (TTS) but looks amazing when sparkling clean

 

[Jassyo06]

Probably my personal favourite 3 door spec I've seen. Panther black, 19 inch wheels, red brake caliper on the black edition looks really good to me and suits the car perfectly.

That S3 has far too much black going on inside and outside for my liking but hey where all different