Can't say I have driven a 8L S3, but I would imagine they would be pretty different to drive, what with the S4 having permanent 4wd, rather than using the Haldex system, and being a bigger car with it.
Also, a NA car drives completely different to a boosted car.
Personally, I love the driving characteristics of my S4, it handles well, and feels proper solid. It is very quick too, with no turbo lag obviously. However, it will probably feel slower than a mapped 8P S3, since its a bigger car, permanent 4wd, and boosted cars do tend to feel faster anyway, regardless of whether they actually are or not.
You certainly wont likely be disappointed with either car if thats your choices, but they are vastly different choices, and at different price brackets too. Only you will be able to tell which you prefer, so you should try test driving both, and see what fits your driving style better.
I went from a chipped 8L S3 (265bhp) to a B6 S4 Avant.Hi guys,I have been thinking on a b6 s4 and was wondering how the handling would compair to my s3 8l with standard suspension ?
No real idea to be honest. Pretty close I would imagine though. Assuming conditions were dry, the S3 would engage 2wd as soon as it had reasonable traction. A stage 1 remap on a 8P is what? Around 305 BHP? The standard S4 is 344 BHP, but presumably a heavier car. So I would imagine there would be little in it.
I would assume your pretty far away, but if not your welcome to come for a drive in my S4 to see.
If the handling is near the same then I would be happy,I know exactly what you mean about the country lanes lolI went from a chipped 8L S3 (265bhp) to a B6 S4 Avant.
The handling wasn't greatly different IMHO, the S4 suspension is surprisingly hard and the roll is pretty similar to the 8L S3. Having said that the extra size of the S4 did make going fast down small country lanes more intimidating, but I did usually arrive at my destinations earlier once I got the S4.
Ayrshire aint so far away really, I'm up in Angus though, and my S4 is for sale in the classifieds if your wanting a look at it
Yeah I have had a look nice car mate,will hopefully be mid to late July I will be buying
ping me a message around then. a new house and a wife reluctant to return to work after maternity leave may force my hand around then!
My mapped 8L S3 averaged around 23mpg, but if I drove it like a saint I could get 28mpg.What are the s4 like for mpg compared to the 8l mapped.