I had an opportunity to drive a new RS3 today and have some thoughts regarding comparing it to my 2018 S3 (I have my car for 9 months). This is going to be totally subjective and the RS owners are probably going to strongly disagree but here we go
1. The RS3 suspension and steering feel is quite a bit stiffer than the S3, but I don't see that much of a difference in terms of "feel", the cars are quite similar in handling.
2. While the engine and exhaust sound is obviously lovely in the RS3 and better than the S3 I was thinking that there would be a greater difference in acceleration and gear changes. The gearbox seems the same although you can feel it has some more aggressive tuning. One thing that I really liked was that you could hold the left shift paddle and the car would pick the gear with the highest possible power and torque for optimal acceleration. Don't have this in the S3 and it's a bummer!
3. The car I drove had the sport seats with manual control which was meh, they don't provide more grip than standard, I would go for electric all the way. The interior is pretty much the same and while I like the alcantara steering wheel it already looked banged up and dirty (car has done only 3k miles). Perforated leather is much better for durability.
All in all if I had the extra cash I would still go for the S3 as it's the best bang for buck small, comfy, good quality sports car with strong versatility. I can't justify the extra cash for a little more power and better engine sound. I was hoping to upgrade to an rs3 in the future but it simply didn't feel special enough for me...
1. The RS3 suspension and steering feel is quite a bit stiffer than the S3, but I don't see that much of a difference in terms of "feel", the cars are quite similar in handling.
2. While the engine and exhaust sound is obviously lovely in the RS3 and better than the S3 I was thinking that there would be a greater difference in acceleration and gear changes. The gearbox seems the same although you can feel it has some more aggressive tuning. One thing that I really liked was that you could hold the left shift paddle and the car would pick the gear with the highest possible power and torque for optimal acceleration. Don't have this in the S3 and it's a bummer!
3. The car I drove had the sport seats with manual control which was meh, they don't provide more grip than standard, I would go for electric all the way. The interior is pretty much the same and while I like the alcantara steering wheel it already looked banged up and dirty (car has done only 3k miles). Perforated leather is much better for durability.
All in all if I had the extra cash I would still go for the S3 as it's the best bang for buck small, comfy, good quality sports car with strong versatility. I can't justify the extra cash for a little more power and better engine sound. I was hoping to upgrade to an rs3 in the future but it simply didn't feel special enough for me...