Going green - in an Exclusive spec PFL RS3

[The Cardinal]

Following on from a year in my 2018 S3 and deliberating about whether to tune it, I'm now joining the ranks of RS3 owners.

Our "anchor" vehicle since 2016 is a distinctive two-tone baby blue VW camper. Last year, I added a Skoda Fabia to the collection - it's been performing brilliantly as an urban runabout for the family. The S3 was shared with my wife originally, but later became "my" car with an annual mileage of c.5,000. This consists of weekend visits to parents, some family trips where a car is better than a van and monthly long business journeys. The S3 is a fabulous package but with that new usage profile and access to a small garage I decided that I could push the boat out a little further.

I'm a serial Audi A/S3 owner, with this RS3 now being my sixth of the series. Previous cars also include a supercharged Golf R32, two tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbos, all the 90s/00s hot Renaultsport Clios and various others. I do like the idea of compact, powerful cars - though I much prefer a label-in style and I'm definitely a more sedate driver than is typical.

Spec & history

Finding this car was serendipity - not judgement, just chance. I'd been looking at pre-facelift and facelift RS3s all over the country, but I also watch the stock at a local specialist dealer and saw this one appear on their list.

The factory options are:

- Audi Exclusive Camouflage Green metallic paint
- RS Super Sports seats in Fine Nappa leather with diamond-quilting and RS3 embossing, in Lunar Silver with Lunar headlining
- Electric lumbar support
- Aluminium Race design inlays
- ‘5-arm Rotor’ alloys (8.5J front, 8J rear) in anthracite black high-gloss finish, diamond cut with 255/30/19 front and 235/35/19 rear tyres
Dynamic package - including Audi Magnetic Ride with RS Sports suspension and RS Sports Exhaust System
Technology package - including HDD-based MMI Satellite Navigation Plus and MMI Touch with high-resolution 7-inch colour display
- Brake calipers painted in red with RS 3 logo
- High-gloss black styling package: radiator grille frame, side air intake funnels, front blades and window frames in high-gloss black; quattro lettering in matt titanium grey in the front air inlet
- Bang & Olufsen sound system
- Privacy glass
- Door Mirrors - Heated, Electrically Adjustable, Folding, w/auto dip on passenger side
- Exterior mirror housing in high-gloss black

I was a little surprised to find that the original owner had omitted cruise control, but otherwise it seems a pretty comprehensive spec as it should have been at around £50k list price when new. The private plate is included with the sale (though I will change it - let me know if interested) and, on top of that, it's a 1-owner car with Audi main dealer history:

Item	Mileage	Date	£	Detail	Note
Pre-delivery inspection	39	20/07/2016	-	Coulsdon Audi	Confirmed via Erwin
Inspection & oil service	9,998	24/07/2018	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. dust & pollen filter
Additional work, MoT	13,885	11/04/2019	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; brake fluid, Haldex fluid, NSF tyre replaced
Oil change service, MoT	14,816	27/06/2019	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. brake fluid, NSR tyre replaced
Inspection & oil service, MoT	18,796	18/09/2020	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. dust & pollen filter, NSF & OSR tyres replaced
MoT	21,931	22/07/2021	-	TBC

First impressions

At first, I was very intrigued by this RS3... I mean, come on, it's a real one-off isn't it? But I just wasn't sure about the style. It took me a good week of looking at it online over and over, before finally picking up the phone to the same person who'd sold me the S3. I must admit that I almost didn't go to my viewing the following day - but once I'd seen the car all doubts vanished. I paid what I thought was a very fair price considering the spec and mileage: around 20% more than the cheapest PFL models, but a good chunk less than the cheapest FL RS3.

The car has huge presence in flesh. It's very hard to capture the colour in photographs but clearly it's the star of the show. The bodywork has a few stone chips to the front, with tar & fine scratches all over, plus rusty brake bells and a whiff of a mature ex-owner - I guess it hasn't been pampered but seems clean, original and undamaged. The overall impression is just how it fills the space in front of your eyes and seems like a bigger car than the S3. (Apart from the front wings, it's not... I checked dimensions very carefully because my garage is very tight).

With its optional sports exhaust it barks on start-up, with both this noise and the general aural sensations seeming like a cross between my old supercharged R32 (6-cyl) and tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbos (5-cyl). I also can't stress enough how much more weighty the general feel of the car is to drive - it's basically a brute to the S3's sophisticate. I can see how some people find these cars wooden, but it's still an incredible experience. I will add driving notes in time.

Maybe, just maybe, I might have the brake callipers painted a less garish colour and possibly repaint the wheels in the Matt Titanium. For now, I've arranged for this RS3 to have a full back-to-basics paint correction, protection and painting of the brake disc hubs. I will miss a little of the tech compared to my FL S3 with its digital dash, wireless charging etc as part of the Tech pack - but will take it on a case-by-case basis, probably starting with a retrofit of cruise control and possibly a reversing camera.

I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[Terminator x]

Hubs always rust up, they all do that Sir! PFL has such a fantastic noise, will never forget my old one

TX.

 

[K96]

Nice colour and spec ! I'm sure you'll enjoy it..I've moved to BMW now but do have a look at RS3s on autotrader every now and then..maybe one day I'll be back.

Enjoy the new motor

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

 

[Jcbmally]

Following on from a year in my 2018 S3 and deliberating about whether to tune it, I'm now joining the ranks of RS3 owners.

Our "anchor" vehicle since 2016 is a distinctive two-tone baby blue VW camper. Last year, I added a Skoda Fabia to the collection - it's been performing brilliantly as an urban runabout for the family. The S3 was shared with my wife originally, but later became "my" car with an annual mileage of c.5,000. This consists of weekend visits to parents, some family trips where a car is better than a van and monthly long business journeys. The S3 is a fabulous package but with that new usage profile and access to a small garage I decided that I could push the boat out a little further.

I'm a serial Audi A/S3 owner, with this RS3 now being my sixth of the series. Previous cars also include a supercharged Golf R32, two tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbos, all the 90s/00s hot Renaultsport Clios and various others. I do like the idea of compact, powerful cars - though I much prefer a label-in style and I'm definitely a more sedate driver than is typical.

Spec & history

Finding this car was serendipity - not judgement, just chance. I'd been looking at pre-facelift and facelift RS3s all over the country, but I also watch the stock at a local specialist dealer and saw this one appear on their list.

The factory options are:

- Audi Exclusive Camouflage Green metallic paint
- RS Super Sports seats in Fine Nappa leather with diamond-quilting and RS3 embossing, in Lunar Silver with Lunar headlining
- Electric lumbar support
- Aluminium Race design inlays
- ‘5-arm Rotor’ alloys (8.5J front, 8J rear) in anthracite black high-gloss finish, diamond cut with 255/30/19 front and 235/35/19 rear tyres
Dynamic package - including Audi Magnetic Ride with RS Sports suspension and RS Sports Exhaust System
Technology package - including HDD-based MMI Satellite Navigation Plus and MMI Touch with high-resolution 7-inch colour display
- Brake calipers painted in red with RS 3 logo
- High-gloss black styling package: radiator grille frame, side air intake funnels, front blades and window frames in high-gloss black; quattro lettering in matt titanium grey in the front air inlet
- Bang & Olufsen sound system
- Privacy glass
- Door Mirrors - Heated, Electrically Adjustable, Folding, w/auto dip on passenger side
- Exterior mirror housing in high-gloss black

I was a little surprised to find that the original owner had omitted cruise control, but otherwise it seems a pretty comprehensive spec as it should have been at around £50k list price when new. The private plate is included with the sale (though I will change it - let me know if interested) and, on top of that, it's a 1-owner car with Audi main dealer history:

Item	Mileage	Date	£	Detail	Note
Pre-delivery inspection	39	20/07/2016	-	Coulsdon Audi	Confirmed via Erwin
Inspection & oil service	9,998	24/07/2018	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. dust & pollen filter
Additional work, MoT	13,885	11/04/2019	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; brake fluid, Haldex fluid, NSF tyre replaced
Oil change service, MoT	14,816	27/06/2019	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. brake fluid, NSR tyre replaced
Inspection & oil service, MoT	18,796	18/09/2020	-	Crawley Audi	Confirmed via Erwin; inc. dust & pollen filter, NSF & OSR tyres replaced
MoT	21,931	22/07/2021	-	TBC

First impressions

At first, I was very intrigued by this RS3... I mean, come on, it's a real one-off isn't it? But I just wasn't sure about the style. It took me a good week of looking at it online over and over, before finally picking up the phone to the same person who'd sold me the S3. I must admit that I almost didn't go to my viewing the following day - but once I'd seen the car all doubts vanished. I paid what I thought was a very fair price considering the spec and mileage: around 20% more than the cheapest PFL models, but a good chunk less than the cheapest FL RS3.

The car has huge presence in flesh. It's very hard to capture the colour in photographs but clearly it's the star of the show. The bodywork has a few stone chips to the front, with tar & fine scratches all over, plus rusty brake bells and a whiff of a mature ex-owner - I guess it hasn't been pampered but seems clean, original and undamaged. The overall impression is just how it fills the space in front of your eyes and seems like a bigger car than the S3. (Apart from the front wings, it's not... I checked dimensions very carefully because my garage is very tight).

With its optional sports exhaust it barks on start-up, with both this noise and the general aural sensations seeming like a cross between my old supercharged R32 (6-cyl) and tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbos (5-cyl). I also can't stress enough how much more weighty the general feel of the car is to drive - it's basically a brute to the S3's sophisticate. I can see how some people find these cars wooden, but it's still an incredible experience. I will add driving notes in time.

Maybe, just maybe, I might have the brake callipers painted a less garish colour and possibly repaint the wheels in the Matt Titanium. For now, I've arranged for this RS3 to have a full back-to-basics paint correction, protection and painting of the brake disc hubs. I will miss a little of the tech compared to my FL S3 with its digital dash, wireless charging etc as part of the Tech pack - but will take it on a case-by-case basis, probably starting with a retrofit of cruise control and possibly a reversing camera.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Looks fantastic and a great spec. Thumbs up from me mate.

 

[Mr Freeze]

Looks greats and looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it compared to the FL S3

 

[The Cardinal]

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone.

The car has had an intensive paint correction, ceramic coat, wheel centres painted and de-badge at the place I bought from. Pictured here next to its predecessor:

The S3's silver accents and non-tinted windows etc were more to my usual taste (and, increasingly, a minority one at that), so this is quite a style departure for me.

New purchases can present mechanical or service-related needs after a few weeks of ownership, so I'll take time to assess things as these would be a priority. The car will need oil, Haldex & brake fluids, plus spark plugs later this year according to my first assessment. I've got a few months to decide whether or not to continue with the full Audi maintenance history.

In the meantime I've booked to have cruise control and reverse camera (OEM parts) fitted this week. The former is pretty essential to me and the latter will help when manoeuvring into my very tight garage.

I've also transferred over the boot liner and a few other things from the S3 and bought some wheel nut covers to replace missing ones on the new car. My own plate will be going on and this current one will be sold.

The sunlight certainly helps bring out what is an very difficult colour to photograph. In real life it looks more like the rear of this pic below, while the following photo and those above are more typical of what a camera captures:

Incidentally, my youngest loves it and has the RS3 badge in his bedroom somewhere. We took a quick trip to the supermarket last weekend and just bimbling around at 20-30mph is such a pleasure on account of the noise - all full of warble and gentle turbo whooshing.

Is there a performance difference compared to the S3? Unequivocally - yes. My S3 was a remapped to around 350hp / 335lb.ft and so it was quite close in terms of peak power to this pre-facelift RS3 with 367hp / 343lb.ft. In real life, day-to-day driving the performance isn't as close as those numbers would suggest because of the power and torque bands (plus many dynos showing closer to 400hp standard). There's a really deceptive nature to how it builds speed and, as mentioned earlier, an overwhelming sense of heft despite near-identical weight. Special, undoubtedly - not least because it's a much noisier engine and exhaust.

We're took the van away on a holiday with us just after the RS3 arrived, meaning it's been tucked-up in its garage for a little while. I will be doing a around 1,000 miles of trips in the coming fortnight though, so I'll report back on how it goes.

 

[Jcbmally]

Interesting how vey similar cars can feel worlds apart. Look forward to your update review mate, car is stunning.

 

[Sandra]

@The Cardinal car is stunning. Enjoy

 

[Harvey]

I'm afraid to say I seem to be following you on here as I do enjoy reading your threads and detailed write-ups. It seems your previous hot hatches have been building to this point and it sounds like your limited time thus far with your new RS3 has been most joyous. Looking forward to future ramblings, possible remaps, mpg figures and general ownership reviews, keep it coming

 

[The Cardinal]

The car now has cruise control and a reversing camera, with original parts courtesy of a local retrofitting company. Not cheap, but good value for me as it finishes the package.

I turned my attention to the interior during a little break today. Just as with the exterior colour, the interior is hard to capture on camera and tends to look beige whereas it's definitely more of a grey in the flesh. Either way, it's pretty distinctive compared to my other A3s and is full of little details.

The quilted seats are in good shape as you'd expect at still under 24k miles. I doubt they've been given any treatment before and so any dirt has improved after a quick leather clean.

Detail differences include RS3-specific door handles, alcantara inserts and matching armrests / pulls. The car is spec'd with the Bang & Olufsen sound system and deep-pile RS3 mats, together being well over £1k of the options. The mats' piping matches the interior colour as well.

There's even an RS logo on the key...

I dressed the interior plastics, vynils and cleaned the glass. Ingrained dirt around places like the seat belt holder was removed, but on the whole it's in very clean condition and remember everything shows up with this trim colour.

There remain just a few scuff marks like across the passenger thigh bolster here, which have improved but will probably show more than on a dark interior.

The engine bay was in pretty good shape, too:

Hopefully the smell of the previous owner will lift a bit, as that's still pretty evident. I'll give the interior another go-over in the next couple of weeks as I'm noticing what seems like an OAP scent a lot. I am getting carried away, perhaps unkindly, imaging this was some sort of big 75th birthday present to the original owner.

Whoever they were, they certainly didn't abuse the car. There are almost no stone chips to the front and the tyres are all on 5-8mm all round. All are Pirelli P-Zero, but one of the fronts don't match - one has a massive, and I mean massive, kerb protector like the rear... while the other front doesn't. It seems that several of the tyres had perishing, cracking and bulging issues that are common to these tyres (based on MoT advisories) and I guess they were replaced at those times. I'll need to check that the two front ones actually match size.

I have about 900 miles of driving coming up this week and though mainly motorway it should give me a good sense of what the car's like.

 

[The Cardinal]

I'm just back from a mammoth few days of driving - nearly 900 miles in all for a variety of reasons. Mainly motorway and dual carriageway, but plenty for me to get to know the car.

So, what did I learn?

Not so good?

Getting straight to it... I think my old facelift S3 was slightly more suitable as a straight line cruiser. This is because it could crack 50mpg in warm weather and had the Tech pack, which included the digital dash / auto-dimming mirrors all round / wireless phone charging / bigger map display / touch pad etc. I certainly missed these when faced with about 18 hours of driving this week - I do between 3-5,000 miles a year driving this sort of journey.

I also have to find time to visit three different people to sort some things out:

- The retrofitted rear camera has gone all fuzzy - temporarily fixed by opening and closing the boot lid! I'll need to take it back to the retrofitter.
- An intermittent front end squeak / creak has appeared at low speeds at the end of my journeys. Sounds like suspension top mounts or the subframe as it's across the whole front end - and I'm a bit baffled as it seems to only happen once the car has been on a long run. I'll take it back to the seller to have it remedied.
- The offside front P Zero is thankfully the same 255/30/19 size as the nearside one, but isn't an exact matching RO2 (no tyre wall protector) and looks to be at the early stages of cracking. A new matching one is therefore justified.
- The steering pulls right, so I'll get the alignment done at the same time as the above.

I've also got some boring jobs to do like OEM wiper blades and rear door sill protectors to fit (can't believe the latter aren't standard):

Definitely, definitely good

As I walked out of the BP garage in York after filling up, the mid-afternoon light fell on the car just as the sun started to set. You know, the sort of light you get in car adverts. "Wow", I thought - "That car is lush and I really, really like it". Isn't that what ownership is about?

It certainly gets a lot of attention on the road with lots of cars slowing for a look and a drop of the window on the motorway. Thankfully it's all good... but I can see that with a different attitude to my own this car would end up duelling a lot of M2/3/4 and 140is, probably rather unsafely given how quick these cars are.

Unfortunately the 8am light afforded by the Shell garage in Bristol didn't quite recreate the York forecourt scene, but I had a go!

To be fair, the cruising MPG isn't that bad either. It basically splits the difference between a Mk5 Golf GTI / 8P A3-era 2.0T and 3.2 VR6 in the R32, both of which I've done many tens of thousands of miles on similar journeys in.

Then there's the noise - oh wow! It just makes every journey a pleasure. I don't need to drive fast to enjoy it; I just drop the windows at slow speeds, flip the paddles (manual mode holds the gear, unlike most VW Group DSG boxes) and let the melodious and very rich tones reach into the parts that other hot hatches can't.

Nothing ungracious, just well-judged and sociable...ish.

The road noise is a lot better supressed than in my old S3. I think this is because it has more soundproofing in the front wings and the tyres are noise-supressing apparently (well, 3 of them anyway!). That new cruise control has been a god-send as well.

Finally, after thinking about it hard I am replacing the "RS" number plate as it isn't quite my cup of tea. Our van has a colour-themed plate so this one felt a bit more personal:

 

[Harvey]

Rather impressive mpg sir, what sort of crusing speeds are you plodding at to obtain that?
I must say the exterior colour is lovely and great to see the OEM+ coming along with the rear sill plates which I admit I copied after reading you did this on your S3

 

[8YARWY]

I'm just back from a mammoth few days of driving - nearly 900 miles in all for a variety of reasons. Mainly motorway and dual carriageway, but plenty for me to get to know the car.

So, what did I learn?

Not so good?

Getting straight to it... I think my old facelift S3 was slightly more suitable as a straight line cruiser. This is because it could crack 50mpg in warm weather and had the Tech pack, which included the digital dash / auto-dimming mirrors all round / wireless phone charging / bigger map display / touch pad etc. I certainly missed these when faced with about 18 hours of driving this week - I do between 3-5,000 miles a year driving this sort of journey.

I also have to find time to visit three different people to sort some things out:

- The retrofitted rear camera has gone all fuzzy - temporarily fixed by opening and closing the boot lid! I'll need to take it back to the retrofitter.
- An intermittent front end squeak / creak has appeared at low speeds at the end of my journeys. Sounds like suspension top mounts or the subframe as it's across the whole front end - and I'm a bit baffled as it seems to only happen once the car has been on a long run. I'll take it back to the seller to have it remedied.
- The offside front P Zero is thankfully the same 255/30/19 size as the nearside one, but isn't an exact matching RO2 (no tyre wall protector) and looks to be at the early stages of cracking. A new matching one is therefore justified.
- The steering pulls right, so I'll get the alignment done at the same time as the above.

I've also got some boring jobs to do like OEM wiper blades and rear door sill protectors to fit (can't believe the latter aren't standard):

Definitely, definitely good

As I walked out of the BP garage in York after filling up, the mid-afternoon light fell on the car just as the sun started to set. You know, the sort of light you get in car adverts. "Wow", I thought - "That car is lush and I really, really like it". Isn't that what ownership is about?

It certainly gets a lot of attention on the road with lots of cars slowing for a look and a drop of the window on the motorway. Thankfully it's all good... but I can see that with a different attitude to my own this car would end up duelling a lot of M2/3/4 and 140is, probably rather unsafely given how quick these cars are.

Unfortunately the 8am light afforded by the Shell garage in Bristol didn't quite recreate the York forecourt scene, but I had a go!

To be fair, the cruising MPG isn't that bad either. It basically splits the difference between a Mk5 Golf GTI / 8P A3-era 2.0T and 3.2 VR6 in the R32, both of which I've done many tens of thousands of miles on similar journeys in.

Then there's the noise - oh wow! It just makes every journey a pleasure. I don't need to drive fast to enjoy it; I just drop the windows at slow speeds, flip the paddles (manual mode holds the gear, unlike most VW Group DSG boxes) and let the melodious and very rich tones reach into the parts that other hot hatches can't.

Nothing ungracious, just well-judged and sociable...ish.

The road noise is a lot better supressed than in my old S3. I think this is because it has more soundproofing in the front wings and the tyres are noise-supressing apparently (well, 3 of them anyway!). That new cruise control has been a god-send as well.

Finally, after thinking about it hard I am replacing the "RS" number plate as it isn't quite my cup of tea. Our van has a colour-themed plate so this one felt a bit more personal:

They are quite intoxicating cars aren’t they.

Lol I’m on my 4th RS3.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DW81]

38mpg is pretty much the best you are going to get.
When I was using mine daily, 160mile round trip my range on the tank improved from 300 380miles.
Long drives through France would see the top mpg figure. Most of the time it was 32/35. More than happy with that given the on tap power thus car had.

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

 

[The Cardinal]

Ha! I'm under no illusion that the RS3 will be great on fuel.

I have a national job that has involved long trips across the UK for 10 years. Some people would just get an economy car, but having tried all the options I prefer to travel by train & bike and buying a car I actually want, which I use less often.

My driving style is to stick to the inside lane, cruise control set at 60-65mph and dropping to even lower speeds for the M25 etc. It's my default for driving family and passengers, too.

The first benefit is that it's actually a pretty speedy way of covering distance on congested roads - the outside lanes are almost never faster once traffic builds. It also means I always have space and options around me, making fewer manoeuvres. Most importantly it's a very effective way of keeping down the speed, temptation and "red mist" when you drive a performance car that can get you into a lot of trouble. I have a clean license and need to keep it that way for my job, not to mention reducing the risk of accidents.

That's why a good sound system is important to me and why I like the look, sounds & sensations of this car - it just makes me feel good at any speed. Obviously I enjoy the roundabouts, tunnels, bridges etc too.

 

[DW81]

I've never used cruise control. My figures were driving like you, Lane 1 70mph overtaking were I need to and everything in dynamic suspension in comfort. Gearbox switched to manual mode for flexibility were its required.


Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

 

[Jcbmally]

I'm just back from a mammoth few days of driving - nearly 900 miles in all for a variety of reasons. Mainly motorway and dual carriageway, but plenty for me to get to know the car.

So, what did I learn?

Not so good?

Getting straight to it... I think my old facelift S3 was slightly more suitable as a straight line cruiser. This is because it could crack 50mpg in warm weather and had the Tech pack, which included the digital dash / auto-dimming mirrors all round / wireless phone charging / bigger map display / touch pad etc. I certainly missed these when faced with about 18 hours of driving this week - I do between 3-5,000 miles a year driving this sort of journey.

I also have to find time to visit three different people to sort some things out:

- The retrofitted rear camera has gone all fuzzy - temporarily fixed by opening and closing the boot lid! I'll need to take it back to the retrofitter.
- An intermittent front end squeak / creak has appeared at low speeds at the end of my journeys. Sounds like suspension top mounts or the subframe as it's across the whole front end - and I'm a bit baffled as it seems to only happen once the car has been on a long run. I'll take it back to the seller to have it remedied.
- The offside front P Zero is thankfully the same 255/30/19 size as the nearside one, but isn't an exact matching RO2 (no tyre wall protector) and looks to be at the early stages of cracking. A new matching one is therefore justified.
- The steering pulls right, so I'll get the alignment done at the same time as the above.

I've also got some boring jobs to do like OEM wiper blades and rear door sill protectors to fit (can't believe the latter aren't standard):

Definitely, definitely good

As I walked out of the BP garage in York after filling up, the mid-afternoon light fell on the car just as the sun started to set. You know, the sort of light you get in car adverts. "Wow", I thought - "That car is lush and I really, really like it". Isn't that what ownership is about?

It certainly gets a lot of attention on the road with lots of cars slowing for a look and a drop of the window on the motorway. Thankfully it's all good... but I can see that with a different attitude to my own this car would end up duelling a lot of M2/3/4 and 140is, probably rather unsafely given how quick these cars are.

Unfortunately the 8am light afforded by the Shell garage in Bristol didn't quite recreate the York forecourt scene, but I had a go!

To be fair, the cruising MPG isn't that bad either. It basically splits the difference between a Mk5 Golf GTI / 8P A3-era 2.0T and 3.2 VR6 in the R32, both of which I've done many tens of thousands of miles on similar journeys in.

Then there's the noise - oh wow! It just makes every journey a pleasure. I don't need to drive fast to enjoy it; I just drop the windows at slow speeds, flip the paddles (manual mode holds the gear, unlike most VW Group DSG boxes) and let the melodious and very rich tones reach into the parts that other hot hatches can't.

Nothing ungracious, just well-judged and sociable...ish.

The road noise is a lot better supressed than in my old S3. I think this is because it has more soundproofing in the front wings and the tyres are noise-supressing apparently (well, 3 of them anyway!). That new cruise control has been a god-send as well.

Finally, after thinking about it hard I am replacing the "RS" number plate as it isn't quite my cup of tea. Our van has a colour-themed plate so this one felt a bit more personal:

But am I correct in saying the couple of minor issues are outweighed by the looks, sound and feel of the RS. Oh and I agree on the plate change, will make it look a little classier no ?

 

[The Cardinal]

Absolutely! I will soon have forgotten about my old S3’s Tech pack - as you say, it’s a price I am more than happy to pay for the looks, sound and feel that you can’t get elsewhere. This car has gone straight to the top of my favourites, displacing my old supercharged Golf R32 and tuned Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo from their previous shared first place.

Yes, the RS plate had a few positive comments and so I thought hard about keeping it, but decided in the end that I wanted something different. I’m an amateur in the bizarre world of number plates and their prices, though I was surprised to get a no.1 digit in there for a reasonably modest cost.

 

[The Cardinal]

I changed the cabin filter today for a Mann item:

Didn't look bad to be honest, but worth doing for the sake of £14.90 and hopefully it'll help lift the cabin scent further. I also replaced the wiper blades all round and fitted those rear door sill protectors - all OEM parts.

An OBD scan isn't throwing up a code for the faulty rear camera, though there is one related to infotainment. I'm booked-in to have it investigated and hopefully resolved next week - the retrofitter said he'd never had an issue on A3 cameras and wondered whether it was a loose earth.

The OBD check also shows a launch control count of 0, supporting my suspicion of mature previous ownership.

Thar minor front end squeak has disappeared again... which is annoying as I am also booked-in to have that investigated. Front brake pad movement / creaking has been mentioned on some forums (separate to the usual brake squeaking). It only happens after a long drive, which is not what I'd expect with bushes or suspension.

 

[Harvey]

Those Mann FreciousPlus pollen filters are excellent

 

[Jcbmally]

Thar minor front end squeak has disappeared again...

Maybe a silly question but squeak when it’s dry only ? Had squeaky suspension in the past that disappeared when it rained.

 

[royalsteve68]

The car now has cruise control and a reversing camera, with original parts courtesy of a local retrofitting company. Not cheap, but good value for me as it finishes the package.

I turned my attention to the interior during a little break today. Just as with the exterior colour, the interior is hard to capture on camera and tends to look beige whereas it's definitely more of a grey in the flesh. Either way, it's pretty distinctive compared to my other A3s and is full of little details.

The quilted seats are in good shape as you'd expect at still under 24k miles. I doubt they've been given any treatment before and so any dirt has improved after a quick leather clean.

Detail differences include RS3-specific door handles, alcantara inserts and matching armrests / pulls. The car is spec'd with the Bang & Olufsen sound system and deep-pile RS3 mats, together being well over £1k of the options. The mats' piping matches the interior colour as well.

There's even an RS logo on the key...

I dressed the interior plastics, vynils and cleaned the glass. Ingrained dirt around places like the seat belt holder was removed, but on the whole it's in very clean condition and remember everything shows up with this trim colour.

There remain just a few scuff marks like across the passenger thigh bolster here, which have improved but will probably show more than on a dark interior.

The engine bay was in pretty good shape, too:

Hopefully the smell of the previous owner will lift a bit, as that's still pretty evident. I'll give the interior another go-over in the next couple of weeks as I'm noticing what seems like an OAP scent a lot. I am getting carried away, perhaps unkindly, imaging this was some sort of big 75th birthday present to the original owner.

Whoever they were, they certainly didn't abuse the car. There are almost no stone chips to the front and the tyres are all on 5-8mm all round. All are Pirelli P-Zero, but one of the fronts don't match - one has a massive, and I mean massive, kerb protector like the rear... while the other front doesn't. It seems that several of the tyres had perishing, cracking and bulging issues that are common to these tyres (based on MoT advisories) and I guess they were replaced at those times. I'll need to check that the two front ones actually match size.

I have about 900 miles of driving coming up this week and though mainly motorway it should give me a good sense of what the car's like.

smell of the previous owner lol, did he die in it?

 

[The Cardinal]

Amazingly I haven't driven the car in the rain yet. The front end squeak has only happened at the end of long journeys so far.

I think I've done a discredit to the previous owner! It's probably just lack of use rather than anything more unfortunate for them.

 

[The Cardinal]

I did a run over to my parents' place today, in between a drop-off & pick-up for my daughter's netball - about 110 miles all told. My weekends have rapidly become about obligations like this, which does have the side benefit of giving me some time alone in a car.

I might as well make my responsibilities as pleasant as possible, hence this car.

We started the morning by popping-open the garage door. This is the first time my 12-year-old daughter has seen the car and her first reaction was that the interior is weird - she promptly sent pictures of the quilted seats to her mates on WhatsApp.

Once dropped-off, and being a lovely sunny day, I thought I'd take the RS3 along the back roads to where I grew up and stop for some pics where I used to snap my old cars. I have had many performance cars over the years but here's a random sample from 2003, 2005 and 2022...

The comparison between the Rs3 and my second (tuned) Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo isn't as much as a stretch as the pics might suggest... both cars have a cultured 5-cylinder turbo exhaust note, similarly high performance (for their time) and a likeness to their hefty steering and brakes.

I'm not sure on the rear number plate's short length, so have ordered a standard length one. I will also replace the offside front tyre, which you can see from the pics doesn't match.

Today's morning light also shows the colour of the RS3 a little better, though it loses some pop when using the free image hosting:

Sadly this morning's visit confirmed just how limited my dad's life has become since a big stroke in 2017, subsequent seizures and very little getting out since Lockdown. I walked him to and from a haircut in their village and he's very unstable, can't do his laces up, trousers falling down etc.

Jeez, if ever there's a prompt to get the car I want then this is it.

An RS3 in green won't be everyone's cup of tea. But, please, if you are reading this and have a car in mind that you want - just do it now. Life is full of surprises and my parents expected to have another decade before they stopped being able to live life as they wanted.

Anyway, sermon over! As I returned to pick up my daughter from her school, a workman called over to me "now that's a proper car".

 

[-Ju-]

I'd echo that life's too short to wait for the right time.
My partner was diagnosed with MS nearly four years ago, can hardly walk now and she isn't fifty yet, hence the suv........a Java green RSQ3.
I've always liked different and your RS3 certainly is that.
Great find

 

[Harvey]

I hear you both as my Dad was diagnosed with the "c" word last November & already had a few other age ailments.
Great update & lovely to hear your enjoying your unique RS3

 

[royalsteve68]

I did a run over to my parents' place today, in between a drop-off & pick-up for my daughter's netball - about 110 miles all told. My weekends have rapidly become about obligations like this, which does have the side benefit of giving me some time alone in a car.

I might as well make my responsibilities as pleasant as possible, hence this car.

We started the morning by popping-open the garage door. This is the first time my 12-year-old daughter has seen the car and her first reaction was that the interior is weird - she promptly sent pictures of the quilted seats to her mates on WhatsApp.

Once dropped-off, and being a lovely sunny day, I thought I'd take the RS3 along the back roads to where I grew up and stop for some pics where I used to snap my old cars. I have had many performance cars over the years but here's a random sample from 2003, 2005 and 2022...

The comparison between the Rs3 and my second (tuned) Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo isn't as much as a stretch as the pics might suggest... both cars have a cultured 5-cylinder turbo exhaust note, similarly high performance (for their time) and a likeness to their hefty steering and brakes.

I'm not sure on the rear number plate's short length, so have ordered a standard length one. I will also replace the offside front tyre, which you can see from the pics doesn't match.

Today's morning light also shows the colour of the RS3 a little better, though it loses some pop when using the free image hosting:

Sadly this morning's visit confirmed just how limited my dad's life has become since a big stroke in 2017, subsequent seizures and very little getting out since Lockdown. I walked him to and from a haircut in their village and he's very unstable, can't do his laces up, trousers falling down etc.

Jeez, if ever there's a prompt to get the car I want then this is it.

An RS3 in green won't be everyone's cup of tea. But, please, if you are reading this and have a car in mind that you want - just do it now. Life is full of surprises and my parents expected to have another decade before they stopped being able to live life as they wanted.

Anyway, sermon over! As I returned to pick up my daughter from her school, a workman called over to me "now that's a proper car".

sorry to hear about your dad, my dad is unstable too and had shown dementia traits for many years.

In those pics it looks almost grey. Its a nice green as its not too shouty like the 8y green, which looks nice but i am not sure i could spec one in that colour,but yours i could spec in that colour

 

[The Cardinal]

Sadly the resolution with free image hosting makes it almost impossible to show this car’s true colour. It tends to look like the brightest bits all over in real life, and I agree it’s certainly nothing like the current RS3’s Kyalami Green.

If Audi start offering Exclusive colours again (i.e. any you want) on the 8Y, then you could get Camouflage Green on the new model too. At around £2,400, it certainly wasn’t a standard choice on the 8V either!

 

[The Cardinal]

Like this, all over…

 

[The Cardinal]

Month 3

After adding another 400 miles on a family trip at the start of the month, the RS3 then spent most of April in its lockup garage due to a trip abroad and me travelling by rail for work.

Before this, I replaced the offside front P Zero with a matching “R02” to complement the other 3 PZ4 tyres. This new one is also a “PNCS” noise cancelling model with a big foam insert, like the others. Cost was £260 on the nose including 4-wheel alignment and a long chat with a fellow enthusiast tyre shop manager. They measured the front discs as being 50% worn with the rears noted as pitted. Brake pads have plenty of life, but I assume I should budget for discs & pads all round in the next year or two - not cheap at over £1,500 on the RS3.

As pointed out earlier in the thread, this car wears wider front wheels and tyres as an £895 option new (incidentally only grey and black wheels are wider, with the grey ones being £100 cheaper). The new tyre and tracking have made the car even quieter and sharper than before. It was certainly a delight to fire it up again after 3 weeks in the garage this morning and it was supremely unstressed but rapid family transport to the in-laws’ country pad today.

Here it is next to our Bus, which has been pressed into service for airport and beach runs while the RS3 rested:

With all this in mind, I am now pretty settled on keeping the car exactly as it is rather than change wheel and brake calliper colours. The dark styling and windows have grown on me, too.

I’m also thinking of keeping up the full Audi franchise history, which might prove expensive in the short term (as inspection, sparks, Haldex and other fluids will be due). The benefit from this might be marginal to me, but I also foresee a specialist trade or private sale in this car’s distant future and assume FASH and the spec will complement each other in a buyer’s eyes.

Other small things to note include how much I enjoy mundane driving in this car, mainly on account of the noise and switch of the exhaust tones in Sport mode at creeping speeds. This probably hasn’t helped with barely breaking 25mpg in mixed driving, a lot lower than motorway cruising. Nonetheless I’ve continued getting very good reactions to the car out on the road, with other drivers giving me lots of space and none trying to race recently (which is not what the stereotypes had me expect, especially since I put the RS3 badge back on).

I have 750 miles of driving coming up this week, so I’ll update the thread afterwards.

 

[DW81]

I'm probably going to sound biased but also being a 8v rs owner too I still love the look and stature of this car. When next to the standard a3 8v it looks completely unique without being to over the top with it.
Almost 5 years in and it's not going anywhere, enjoy the ownership experience

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

 

[Jcbmally]

Month 3

After adding another 400 miles on a family trip at the start of the month, the RS3 then spent most of April in its lockup garage due to a trip abroad and me travelling by rail for work.

Before this, I replaced the offside front P Zero with a matching “R02” to complement the other 3 PZ4 tyres. This new one is also a “PNCS” noise cancelling model with a big foam insert, like the others. Cost was £260 on the nose including 4-wheel alignment and a long chat with a fellow enthusiast tyre shop manager. They measured the front discs as being 50% worn with the rears noted as pitted. Brake pads have plenty of life, but I assume I should budget for discs & pads all round in the next year or two - not cheap at over £1,500 on the RS3.

As pointed out earlier in the thread, this car wears wider front wheels and tyres as an £895 option new (incidentally only grey and black wheels are wider, with the grey ones being £100 cheaper). The new tyre and tracking have made the car even quieter and sharper than before. It was certainly a delight to fire it up again after 3 weeks in the garage this morning and it was supremely unstressed but rapid family transport to the in-laws’ country pad today.

Here it is next to our Bus, which has been pressed into service for airport and beach runs while the RS3 rested:

With all this in mind, I am now pretty settled on keeping the car exactly as it is rather than change wheel and brake calliper colours. The dark styling and windows have grown on me, too.

I’m also thinking of keeping up the full Audi franchise history, which might prove expensive in the short term (as inspection, sparks, Haldex and other fluids will be due). The benefit from this might be marginal to me, but I also foresee a specialist trade or private sale in this car’s distant future and assume FASH and the spec will complement each other in a buyer’s eyes.

Other small things to note include how much I enjoy mundane driving in this car, mainly on account of the noise and switch of the exhaust tones in Sport mode at creeping speeds. This probably hasn’t helped with barely breaking 25mpg in mixed driving, a lot lower than motorway cruising. Nonetheless I’ve continued getting very good reactions to the car out on the road, with other drivers giving me lots of space and none trying to race recently (which is not what the stereotypes had me expect, especially since I put the RS3 badge back on).

I have 750 miles of driving coming up this week, so I’ll update the thread afterwards.

Still a great looking car mate. Uncommon colour but I think it suits it, love it. FASH will always attract the enthusiast, I know I would.

 

[The Cardinal]

An OEM air filter (£16 delivered) arrived the other day. The interval is something like 60k miles and the old one looks ok, but at 6 years old it certainly won't harm to replace it. I've decided that there are definitely some simple jobs like this - maybe spark plus, too - that I can do. Surely there's no better assurance that something has been done than to do it yourself!

Note the "quattro" badge on our toaster... The story is that I had an A3 2.0T quattro about 13 years ago, whose badges were looking a bit worse for wear. I didn't realise that it only needed one on the back (the grille one being "S-Line" on this particular model), so I had one going spare after I ordered two. I hope the mis-badging people will forgive me after all this time, especially as it only does two slices of toast rather than four.

 

[The Cardinal]

I popped in that air filter last weekend. The old one was dated 2018, so it’d been done before but still worth it going by its condition and the opportunity to hoover out some dust / debris. I can’t believe it would otherwise be left until 60k miles according to the service schedule!

Today was another early school & parents run. I should probably have given our van a drive, but a few hours in this car is far more enjoyable when I’m on my own. I am not into speeding, so just love the chance to make ordinary driving special with this car’s superb noise and sensations. I hope the road maintenance chapie who was encouraging me to give it beans out of some roadworks was satisfied. I never got that in cars like my old S3…

I discovered that the car has the rare £300 Mono.pur interior option - surely rarer still in this colour. This seems to consist of matching Lunar leather door pulls…

…and contrasting black central tunnel trim:

Options also include the £100 knurled aluminium inserts:

New tyre from last month:

Discs seem to be reasonably below the dimple threshold that was pointed out to me recently…

…but I wonder whether these scored rear discs will be flagged at service time?

 

[Marky79]

I popped in that air filter last weekend. The old one was dated 2018, so it’d been done before but still worth it going by its condition and the opportunity to hoover out some dust / debris. I can’t believe it would otherwise be left until 60k miles according to the service schedule!

Today was another early school & parents run. I should probably have given our van a drive, but a few hours in this car is far more enjoyable when I’m on my own. I am not into speeding, so just love the chance to make ordinary driving special with this car’s superb noise and sensations. I hope the road maintenance chapie who was encouraging me to give it beans out of some roadworks was satisfied. I never got that in cars like my old S3…

I discovered that the car has the rare £300 Mono.pur interior option - surely rarer still in this colour. This seems to consist of matching Lunar leather door pulls…

…and contrasting black central tunnel trim:

Options also include the £100 knurled aluminium inserts:

New tyre from last month:

Discs seem to be reasonably below the dimple threshold that was pointed out to me recently…

…but I wonder whether these scored rear discs will be flagged at service time?

i had a brand new set of rear brakes fitted by Audi back In January. They’re scored just like yours already, so I wouldn’t worry.

 

[The Cardinal]

Months 4-5

VW's recent launch of the ID Buzz made me pause for thought about replacing the current combination of our van and RS3 (plus a Fabia for local duties). I still think it makes a lot more sense for us, not to mention costing a bit less, to maintain the existing fleet. This is because having a diesel van with an 80-litre tank means we can do long distance trips for 4-5 people without refuelling, plus of course keep a rorty RS3 in reserve.

The van, ironically, is pictured here at the site of a soon-to-be motorway service rapid charger suite. Despite the inevitable advances in technology and a local low emissions zone we'll probably keep this for years to come as it's another vehicle with personality.

Alas, I haven't spent a lot of time in the RS3 recently - but every single drive is a window-dropping, exhaust gurgling experience of the finest variety. Plus, of course, keeping the family away from it means I can keep it looking like this:

With 25,838 miles now on the clock, I had the car serviced today at Bristol's only dedicated Audi specialist. I had contemplated maintaining the full franchise history or taking it to my usual VAG specialist, but I was reassured by the new specialist owner's 20+ year presence on the Audi RS & R8 scene - and a quote at nearly half the price of the local Audi cocktail lounge. The other car in the workshop today was a pampered 2018 RS3 saloon having its fourth service with just 8k on the clock, so I was in good company.

Work done, all with genuine parts:

- Inspection & oil service
- Spark plugs
- Haldex fluid, including a clean-out of the pump gauze
- Brake fluid change
- MoT

The MoT came back as advisory-free (so no issues with scored rear discs then), though the service included a VAGCOM-type scan that threw up a bunch of codes. These mainly related to the rear camera in March, which was to be expected given my retrofitting experience, plus one unusual one for a cam position sensor in April (which hasn't recurred nor triggered a warning light). I've agreed to go back in a month's time to check for any new stored codes.

I've also ordered a new rear washer nozzle to replace a blocked one identified today. I only drive this car in good weather if I can help it, so I'd not noticed. So, that takes recent spend to £549.56 on servicing and £10.20 on a new wiper nozzle.

With 2,000 miles in my ownership, I've also added a Stage 1 remap to the car recently. This takes it to around 420hp & 450lb/ft and cost an extra £5.91 declared to the insurance company. I don't want to add driving impressions just yet as I've not had a chance to properly test things, but it's safe to say that the car is has an even more Jekyll & Hyde personality now.

More mundanely, I replaced the interior bulbs with LEDs. These address the previously inexplicable mix of old-style incandescent and LED bulbs throughout the car. I replaced the rear number plate with a standard-sized one recently, too.

 

[Mr Freeze]

Months 4-5

VW's recent launch of the ID Buzz made me pause for thought about replacing the current combination of our van and RS3 (plus a Fabia for local duties). I still think it makes a lot more sense for us, not to mention costing a bit less, to maintain the existing fleet. This is because having a diesel van with an 80-litre tank means we can do long distance trips for 4-5 people without refuelling, plus of course keep a rorty RS3 in reserve.

The van, ironically, is pictured here at the site of a soon-to-be motorway service rapid charger suite. Despite the inevitable advances in technology and a local low emissions zone we'll probably keep this for years to come as it's another vehicle with personality.

Alas, I haven't spent a lot of time in the RS3 recently - but every single drive is a window-dropping, exhaust gurgling experience of the finest variety. Plus, of course, keeping the family away from it means I can keep it looking like this:

With 25,838 miles now on the clock, I had the car serviced today at Bristol's only dedicated Audi specialist. I had contemplated maintaining the full franchise history or taking it to my usual VAG specialist, but I was reassured by the new specialist owner's 20+ year presence on the Audi RS & R8 scene - and a quote at nearly half the price of the local Audi cocktail lounge. The other car in the workshop today was a pampered 2018 RS3 saloon having its fourth service with just 8k on the clock, so I was in good company.

Work done, all with genuine parts:

- Inspection & oil service
- Spark plugs
- Haldex fluid, including a clean-out of the pump gauze
- Brake fluid change
- MoT

The MoT came back as advisory-free (so no issues with scored rear discs then), though the service included a VAGCOM-type scan that threw up a bunch of codes. These mainly related to the rear camera in March, which was to be expected given my retrofitting experience, plus one unusual one for a cam position sensor in April (which hasn't recurred nor triggered a warning light). I've agreed to go back in a month's time to check for any new stored codes.

I've also ordered a new rear washer nozzle to replace a blocked one identified today. I only drive this car in good weather if I can help it, so I'd not noticed. So, that takes recent spend to £549.56 on servicing and £10.20 on a new wiper nozzle.

With 2,000 miles in my ownership, I've also added a Stage 1 remap to the car recently. This takes it to around 420hp & 450lb/ft and cost an extra £5.91 declared to the insurance company. I don't want to add driving impressions just yet as I've not had a chance to properly test things, but it's safe to say that the car is has an even more Jekyll & Hyde personality now.

More mundanely, I replaced the interior bulbs with LEDs. These address the previously inexplicable mix of old-style incandescent and LED bulbs throughout the car. I replaced the rear number plate with a standard-sized one recently, too.

Beautiful example mate . I always follow your updates do you have any more jobs planned for it

 

[The Cardinal]

Thanks

No more jobs planned for now, on balance. I did wonder about doing secondary decat pipes, but I read that it reduces the noise below 3,000rpm - and that’s around the engine speed I probably get most of my enjoyment from, bimbling around as I do.

Our Fabia is taking a right battering from urban driving at the moment, so I’m probably going to give that a bit of attention next (body battle scars and squeaky front suspension bushes at just 21k miles).

 

[The Cardinal]

Washer pipes and codes...

The recent service identified a non-working rear washer jet and, being the kind of person who's bothered by these sorts of things, I decided to attempt the most likely cause - a blocked washer tube. The issue is common to A3s and is usually a blocked nozzle.

Alas, my first two attempts with a new nozzle and a needle / thread via the end of the hose were unsuccessful (as covered in another thread). I was beginning to think it was likely a defective rear washer pump assembly or, worse still, a blockage somewhere inaccessible. A3s have one pump inside the reservoir at the front of the car (located differently on the RS3 due to the engine's size) and another inside the rear wiper assembly.

This morning, I took the tailgate trim off for another look at the rear assembly:

After a few false starts I managed to get spray into the boot from the disconnected wiper fluid tube, which was good news as it meant the problem was either the rear pump motor or a blockage inside the assembly:

I reconnected the pipe and ran the pump again. But it still didn’t work - nothing came out. I was thinking at this point that I might need a new motor assembly, because repeated cleaning with the pin & thread method still wasn’t working.

The last thing I tried was to prise off the black pipe elbow connector from the motor body. Blocked actual washer pipes are also common on the A3, but the blockage being resolved by taking off the bend / hose-to-motor connector isn’t something I’d seen mentioned online before. Having done this, I poked the thread through the motor body and connector separately… and it worked!

I then put everything back together and felt smug about being able to use the rear washer about twice a year again.

I also checked the car for any more stored codes, which had been cleared at the service. Happily there were none. I also took the chance to double-check the launch control count. I know the zero score isn't a guarantee that the car had an easy life in the hands of its previous owner, but between the spec choices, condition, history and this I'm hoping it's at least indicative.

I used an air con bomb on our Skoda Fabia last week after my son was sick in it (!), so I will probably do another in this car soon. It smells much better after me driving it 2,200 miles and changing the cabin filter - so a bomb will hopefully finish the job.

The outlook for the next few months is quite low miles. Our van will be doing upcoming family runs to France and Cornwall, plus I have no work roadtrips planned until at least September - but I'll stretch its legs where I can.

 

[The Cardinal]

I managed to sneak a lunchtime drive out to the local lanes of north Somerset earlier this week - such a lovely day for it. Clearly other people had the same idea as I came across a McLaren, Lotus Exige and AMG C63 taking a similar route. This RS3 definitely doesn't feel out of place in the company of cars like these.

More than that, the noise is just sensational - you feel a million dollars just letting the cultured exhaust tones bounce off walls in low gears, held manually at just the right revs via the DSG 'box. I think the ECU has adapted to the recent remap now and my bum dyno says this is the quickest car I've had. All within speed limits and responsible driving, it's absolutely astonishing how rapidly it covers ground from corner to corner across country.

Unfortunately I had a very big smash while riding a bicycle the next day, which meant a category 1 ambulance and helicopter response and a trip to A&E. Thankfully my spine is better than first feared, but it means I'm now nursing fractured vertebrae and ribs. I've been on my feet again, although it looks like I might not be driving the RS3 again for a few weeks and, when I do, that automatic gearbox will be really handy...!