S3 in this weeks Auto Express

[V6Pete]

My dad's mate had exactly that! well it was metallic light blue with a white convertible roof

Sounds perfect. My plan (at the moment) is something big and 4x4 as a daily driver - Porsche Cayenne Turbo's are plumetting in price, so that'd do nicely. VX220 or Clio V6 as a RWD weekend toy, and then cash permitting a Mustang as a summer special.

Just need to get saving...

 

[beanoir]

I wondered actually at the petrol station earlier this evening what those Cayennes are like as there was one next to me filling up, i'd be torn between that and a Rangie actually, always had a soft spot for them, although they are a bit "mum's taxi" round my way which takes the edge of them a bit.

So how do you fancy going halves on a small multi-storey car park?? hehe

 

[V6Pete]

I wondered actually at the petrol station earlier this evening what those Cayennes are like as there was one next to me filling up, i'd be torn between that and a Rangie actually, always had a soft spot for them, although they are a bit "mum's taxi" round my way which takes the edge of them a bit.

So how do you fancy going halves on a small multi-storey car park?? hehe

I'd be happy with a Range Rover Sport SC. Anything that can shed £50K of it's value in 3 years has to be a good second hand buy.

These guys can fit your own multi storey on your driveway. Problem solved!

 

[beanoir]

These guys can fit your own multi storey on your driveway. Problem solved!

Thats amazing!! good work!

 

[akash_sky1]

I wondered actually at the petrol station earlier this evening what those Cayennes are like as there was one next to me filling up, i'd be torn between that and a Rangie actually, always had a soft spot for them, although they are a bit "mum's taxi" round my way which takes the edge of them a bit.

So how do you fancy going halves on a small multi-storey car park?? hehe

Unless your getting a 2010 facelift which I suspect you aren't I would avoid, for the money the interior is absoloute garbage!! the A3s interior is streets ahead. Cheap hard plastic and horrid switches sprayed in silver paint...puke. for a luxury 4x4 its not a patch on the Range.
The 2010 facelift as well as actually not looking like a pile of **** on the outside actually has a nice interior, based on the Panamera's.

 

[V6Pete]

Unless your getting a 2010 facelift which I suspect you aren't I would avoid, for the money the interior is absoloute garbage!! the A3s interior is streets ahead. Cheap hard plastic and horrid switches sprayed in silver paint...puke. for a luxury 4x4 its not a patch on the Range.
The 2010 facelift as well as actually not looking like a pile of **** on the outside actually has a nice interior, based on the Panamera's.

I'm not particularly looking at anything for a while, got other priorities for my cash right now. I know the Cayenne isn't great inside, but I could live with that, as it's a lot of 500bhp 4x4 that can go round corners for the money.

 

[willmac]

Looking at the car's in the test...................... which one do you think would be stolen first ?

 

[A3TDI2.0]

Why was the 1 series missing from this???

 

[PaulAr]

Why was the 1 series missing from this???

It was withdrawn at the last minute amid fears it would make the camera man sick....

 

[warren_S5]

The result to me is no great surprise.

Auto Express first reviewed the S3 back in October 2006 (yes, I have the review, I'm a sad fecker! - in fact I have all the main reviews as PDF's, I should link them on here somewhere). Auto Express said as the S3 was a cousin of the wonderful Golf Mk5 it could never justify it's high price given that it didn't have the sparkling drive of the Golf. Once they'd cleared up their mess from fantasizing over the illustrious Golf, they found the time to award the S3 3* and then went back for another 'whack' over the Golf.

Autocar was one of the few magazines that I felt gave the S3 a respectable showing. They rated it highly, it was still beaten by the Megane R26 as an outright drivers car (no arguments there), but they could see that the S3 performs a very different duty to some of the other hyper-hatches; it has respectability. It carries itself so well you don't tend to get judged for it's pretensions, and that matters to me.

Ultimately by todays standards it is built on a very old platform, and interestingly the car in the review is a pre-facelift version which doesn't benefit from the revised Haldex system, so it will only feel worse still against spanking new competition. But whereas the S3 used to wear a heavy price premium, it must now be due a price uplift to a price point I probably wouldn't be prepared to pay for it. Given it's out of the box performance credentials I think its RRP is fair, but the Golf R pricing may see any new S3 going skyward to mid £30k's at base which I think is just too much (unless they bang in a 2.5!). I like the wider track of the Scirocco, and I like it's bold looks, but sit in one after the S3 and it feels....a bit odd. Can't put my finger on it, maybe it's just an adjustment thing I'd get used to over time.

I know it's easy to say you don't rate a magazine that gives your car a bad showing in a review, but I genuinely don't rate Auto Express reviews. And that issue aside, I still know which one I would rather have as Britain continues to have 190 days of average rainfall, and with stage 2+ Haldex keeps my car predominantly on the black stuff, and not additional hedge furniture.

 

[Japper]

The result to me is no great surprise.

Auto Express first reviewed the S3 back in October 2006 (yes, I have the review, I'm a sad fecker! - in fact I have all the main reviews as PDF's, I should link them on here somewhere). Auto Express said as the S3 was a cousin of the wonderful Golf Mk5 it could never justify it's high price given that it didn't have the sparkling drive of the Golf. Once they'd cleared up their mess from fantasizing over the illustrious Golf, they found the time to award the S3 3* and then went back for another 'whack' over the Golf.

Autocar was one of the few magazines that I felt gave the S3 a respectable showing. They rated it highly, it was still beaten by the Megane R26 as an outright drivers car (no arguments there), but they could see that the S3 performs a very different duty to some of the other hyper-hatches; it has respectability. It carries itself so well you don't tend to get judged for it's pretensions, and that matters to me.

Ultimately by todays standards it is built on a very old platform, and interestingly the car in the review is a pre-facelift version which doesn't benefit from the revised Haldex system, so it will only feel worse still against spanking new competition. But whereas the S3 used to wear a heavy price premium, it must now be due a price uplift to a price point I probably wouldn't be prepared to pay for it. Given it's out of the box performance credentials I think its RRP is fair, but the Golf R pricing may see any new S3 going skyward to mid £30k's at base which I think is just too much (unless they bang in a 2.5!). I like the wider track of the Scirocco, and I like it's bold looks, but sit in one after the S3 and it feels....a bit odd. Can't put my finger on it, maybe it's just an adjustment thing I'd get used to over time.

I know it's easy to say you don't rate a magazine that gives your car a bad showing in a review, but I genuinely don't rate Auto Express reviews. And that issue aside, I still know which one I would rather have as Britain continues to have 190 days of average rainfall, and with stage 2+ Haldex keeps my car predominantly on the black stuff, and not additional hedge furniture.

Spot on and couldn't agree more.

Also with big discounts available on the S3, it's good value for money at present. The Renault once specced in Cup trim and buckets is not really any cheaper either................but will shed value quickly.

The Rocco may be ok in the dry, but with a crappy ESD and not a true LSD will suffer on our roads / climate.

The S3 rides well on our broken roads too, it seems like the others will be great on smooth roads..........................any body know any?

 

[c41lum]

has anybody else noticed the rocco was a DSG model so those gear changes on the performance test are bound to make up time compared to the manual cars

 

[paddy]

Seems to me like your all in denial....

 

[PaulAr]

Seems to me like your all in denial....

Paddys right.
We all bought the wrong car.
It just needed AutoExpress to put us straight.

This AUDI `quattro` thing will never catch on.
Nowt but a gimmick.

See ya`ll in the queue at the Renault dealers tomorrow.:icon_thumright:

Cheers
Paul

 

[paddy]

Do you just sit there waiting for me to post then Paul

I didnt say you brought the wrong cars...I just dont see the point in reading a mag that you all slate anyway and then getting upset about the articles in said rag...You only have to look at the cover this week to see they have lost the plot with their idea of a LR defender replacement !!

 

[PaulAr]

Do you just sit there waiting for me to post then Paul

Busted

 

[paddy]

Ha....got ya !)

 

[gingers3]

ive spent out £700 on a milltek and custom code stage 1 and its takes my S3 past any of them cars tested

 

[PaulAr]

Ha....got ya !)

He He, pulling your leg mate.
I only just got back from the Renault dealers.

Thought I would beat the rush and all that.....

 

[PaulAr]

ive spent out £700 on a milltek and custom code stage 1 and its takes my S3 past any of them cars tested

Sounds ripe for a set of H&Rs.
Tightens things up a treat.:icon_thumright:

Paul:icon_thumright:

 

[Spin140]

The comment about discounts is a very valid point, the list may be higher for the S3 but factor in a good discount and you end up with what I consider to be a bit of a bargain for the tuneability and performance on offer not to mention the superior interior.
I like the rocco and the Golf R but I think VW have lost the plot with pricing and don't get me started on the RS, does anyone know of one that has made the claimed power yet ?

I subcribe to Auto express and have done for years but I treat it like a tabloid news paper, have a quick scan, look at the pictures then forget everything I've read by the time I've left the loo

To be fair the Renault may have deserved to win, I've not driven one so can't comment on it's performance/handling, but we have to remember the 'Tester' is unlikely to buy a car with his own money anyway so all comments are purely opinion based and only relevant in the short space of time he spends with them.

I still feel happy about my decision to buy.

 

[akash_sky1]

I dont think the ranking of the cars was that out, but clearly a 2010 MY car should have been used for a fair comparison instead of the pre-facelift one, and one that was clearly an underperformer relative to what figures it can easily achieve, esp in the wet.
Ford really should have made the RS 4wd, every road test ive read still reports alot of torque steer and wheelspin, although not as bad as the old car. I'm sure they could have afforded to use the haldex system from the s60/v70R as they already have used the same basic engine. More importantly, IMO they could have acutally designed it rather then making it look like a cheap rally wannabe-chavmobile knockoff.

 

[beanoir]

More importantly, IMO they could have acutally designed it rather then making it look like a cheap rally wannabe-chavmobile knockoff.

I think it's perfectly designed for it's target market!