Audi S3 Saloon

[Willowsdad]

S3 saloon for me, but with the rotors and not those horrible BMW looking wheels. The s7 looks better than the s5 sportback, but I'm sure they're probably a little dearer and v8t. Stay away from the BMW garage. They're all fugly!

[jmcc42uk]

Yeah, saw an S7 on massive looking wheels, looked immense. THey must have been 21's or something

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by Willowsdad

S3 saloon for me, but with the rotors and not those horrible BMW looking wheels. The s7 looks better than the s5 sportback, but I'm sure they're probably a little dearer and v8t. Stay away from the BMW garage. They're all fugly!

S7 Start at £63,000
With a good but not outrageous set of options £75,000

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by Willowsdad

S3 saloon for me, but with the rotors and not those horrible BMW looking wheels

Rotors only come in 18".

I've managed to blag an S-tronic one for use next weekend, as weighing up S-Tronic Vs Manual.
I want to use S-tronic in a day-2-day environment and for more then just a rag up and down a dual carriageway outside the dealers.
The S-tronic comes with bonus's (better exhaust tunes, quicker shifts, launch control and the choice of lazy or full-on) but I need to establish if I can live with some of it's effects when 'it' has control.

I didn't get on too well with my 2010 S4 S-Tronic and I didn't settle in with any of the modes D, S or Full Manual. But it was an earlier system that seemed to of improved on the S3 when I test drove one last week (also tried a DSG in a Cupra290). But it was only a 15 minute session in both, hence the blagging.

The Manual would be the safe bet and 300ps would soon become 370ps

[Rdlangy1]

All sounds great! Where are you testing this one from? My sales guy at Southend Audi said he would be happy to lend you an S5 or S7 to test out e.t.c.

Ryan

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by Rdlangy1

All sounds great! Where are you testing this one from? My sales guy at Southend Audi said he would be happy to lend you an S5 or S7 to test out e.t.c.

Ryan

Cheers Ryan. But I think I'm going to have a change of plan. The core of my concern on the current A4 is the PCP plan and I was trying to convince myself that a more enjoyable car would settle my mind with respect to PCP financing methods.

It's my first ever PCP and I'm not at all comfortable with what is essentially long term lease with no equity earned in the vehicle at the end of the 36 month term as you either walk away with zip, trade (they may contribute £1000-£1500 to keep you in the brand) or find the money for the balloon settlement.

I'm too used to owning/financing my own car. So am looking to roll back a few years and actually own something with lower depreciation and that will actually have some value in it after 3 years.

[Rdlangy1]

I know exactly what u mean - this is my first car on PCP also and at the end of 5yrs I will still owe £8k... Like you I have always owned my motors and so it's a real shock to the system having to sign up like that.

[RobEvo5]

Curve Ball... Rather than PCP and a new/er car.

Loan/finance Something like a RS4 V8 Saloon or older 4 door M3 V8 Saloon. Both stonking cars, will now hold value pretty well and loose say 3-5K over 3 years still be reliable, still put a big smile on your face and grin factor. 4 doors 400+ponnies.. And will still be worth 15-20K when you go to sell it or get bored. And will probably leave plenty in the kitty for modding/servicing in the time you have it.

[Rdlangy1]

Originally Posted by RobEvo5

Curve Ball... Rather than PCP and a new/er car.

Loan/finance Something like a RS4 V8 Saloon or older 4 door M3 V8 Saloon. Both stonking cars, will now hold value pretty well and loose say 3-5K over 3 years still be reliable, still put a big smile on your face and grin factor. 4 doors 400+ponnies.. And will still be worth 15-20K when you go to sell it or get bored. And will probably leave plenty in the kitty for modding/servicing in the time you have it.

I like a good BMW - apart from the interiors...

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by RobEvo5

Curve Ball... Rather than PCP and a new/er car.

Loan/finance Something like a RS4 V8 Saloon or older 4 door M3 V8 Saloon. Both stonking cars, will now hold value pretty well and loose say 3-5K over 3 years still be reliable, still put a big smile on your face and grin factor. 4 doors 400+ponnies.. And will still be worth 15-20K when you go to sell it or get bored. And will probably leave plenty in the kitty for modding/servicing in the time you have it.

I have thought of those but the V8 day-2-day mpg puts me off.

My mind is all over the place on this topic and I'm driving the family mad.
I get my brain in order and decide what to do then 30 minutes later I've changed it again.

This morning I thought I had decided to ditch the PCP then I walked out the door to see the Sepang Blue A4 on the drive and I i just love the look with the black edition treatment. Then I drove it up the road and thought yuck....bloody diesel !!!

If I had bought the 225bhp A4 Quattro Petrol instead of the 190ps diesel I would probably be loving it and have it up at 280-300bhp by now.

[Rdlangy1]

I'm lucky I guess in that the scoob is enough "fun/fast car" for me...so I have everyday luxury and easy driving with the a6 and then fast and feel like ur working with the machine experience in the scoob....happy chappy

[Scott.T]

The saga continues.
Popped into Audi Tunbridge on the way back from the meet and sat in a A3 S-line (no S3 avaiable) and my head was touching the roof.
Now I know I need a haircut and this one had a sunroof but it did get thinking.
They also had an A5 sportback in there too and back to back with the A3 it looks so much MORE car and very stylish.
Interior is very much the same as my A4 and a very nice place.
What I do like on the A5 are the frameless windows, so very scoob like.

Also test drove a manual SEAT Cupra straight after getting back into Hastings. I know the dealer well and he just chucked me the keys. So had a good drive out of town and on some of my favourite Twisties.
What this highlighted is that a 290ps Cupra isn't a patch on my Scooby for grunt and feel. It was very linear with 2nd gear feeling like it had a torque limiter. 3rd was better but not like the scoob. The artificial noise generator could also end up quite wearing in Cupra mode.

It was good to drive it back-2-back with the scoob. What it has done is prove that the scoob is pretty untouchable in its current guise and I shouldn't be seeking the same thrill it gives, from alternative marque.

If respectable road testers and writers really rate the Cupra and put it very high on the Hot/Mega hatch pedestal when compared to Golf R, RS3, 308 GTI etc then I need to listen to them and accept that any current Hot/Mega hatch it's going to ring my bell.

So that brings me back to the A5 230ps TFSI.
230ps stock is likely to be more then my TDi is with the remap. It's quoted as 240ps but I expect an Audi claimed 230ps will return more on the dyno than a tuners claimed 240ps.
The TFSI can be tuned to 290-310ps easy enough.

For the 10% of time I will be able to use full power I expect it will be plenty. It also won't be competing with the Subaru for power glory, which keeps my interest and heart in the scoob.

We will see what happens next week with the loaner S3. A lot of me wants to come to the same conclusion as with the Cupra. It's trying to compete with the scoob and not only will it fail but that's not my goal.
My goal is comfortable driving but with nice smooth power delivery when I need it.
My original white A4 120ps done the first bit fine and was ok around town. But when out of town you soon realised it only had 120ps. I'm sure another 100+ horsepowers will sort me out.........

[Frenchie]

Looks like you need to keep the Scooby Scott! !!!

[Banstead Stig]

Originally Posted by Scott.T

My mind is all over the place on this topic and I'm driving the family mad.
I get my brain in order and decide what to do then 30 minutes later I've changed it again.

I can sympathise.

Planned to sell the FSTi after two to three years.

As of last Friday I've had it five years!

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by Frenchie

Looks like you need to keep the Scooby Scott! !!!

The Scoob is staying.
I just want family wheels that's got a bit of squirt when you need it, isn't an oil burner and can waft along in comfort.
Saw a nice Mercedes CLA style estate today but it was probably a mock AMG with about 150bhp !!!

[Scott.T]

Feedback on the loaner S3.
First things first, I have it until tomorrow....but would happily take it back today, as analysis is completed quicker then expected !!!!

Seating Position
I feel like I sit 'in' the A4 and more 'on' the S3. I noticed this jumping in and out of them at various dealers but I was never 100% sure as I always had to sort out the seat position first.

Test Route
I had about a 1 hour drive back over well known roads between here and the dealer. From Eastbourne up Beachy head, Bell toute lighthouse, Burling gap, Alfriston then back to Hastings.
This is a well trodden route of mine and as some of you know bits of it have been used in magazines and top gear features etc....

Ride Quality / Suspension
On the run down the straight to Burling gap the suspension got very out of shape with an astonishing amount of bounce. I was forced to very quickly hit the dynamic button to firm it up and dial out the bounce (It has Magnetic Ride adaption).

I do know that this is a particularly bouncy road as I have used it before for testing the suspension on the Subaru. But I have never experienced bounce such as the S3 produced, quite shocking.

Interior
Yes there are touches of 'more' modern than the A4, if your into the latest craze of ipads sticking out of the dash. But the touch and feel in the A4 is softer. The round A3/S3 heater vents look like they are made from old milk crates.

Performance
Power delivery was OK but it didn't blow me away (I'm too used to 330BHP in a 1200Kg car, which is the same as 400BHP in a 1400Kg car). It felt like it was trying too hard when compared to the V6 in the S4. It doesn't have the luxury element of the A4/S4 when you change mood/mode. Yes, it does soften up but it's certainly in a lower price bracket/market area.

It suffers the modern issue of having most of the turbo effect mapped out and linear, trying to make it feel like a normally aspirated engine.
Part throttle never gives full boost, despite I expect, the small, super efficient turbo, being quite capable to do so.
I like to have about 80% boost for 40-50% throttle deflection. This gives a much better torque response and makes progress swift without having to drive it's socks off.
The S3 seems to be mapped to give 100% boost only beyond 80% pedal effort (this wasn't measured via VCDS or Torque Pro, just my own interpretation of throttle angle).

Gearbox (S-Tronic)
S-Tronic may be fine for the gentleman who is used to an Auto that wants a bit more flexibility but it's not for the 'Manual' man.
Too many options and too many modes.
In anything other then Dynamic you can cruise along, but when you decide to do something more exiting, which only road conditions can predict, it's either in the wrong gear/out of the torque zone or will have a mad kickdown moment. This kickdown takes longer to engage gears then doing it on the paddles, and sounds like granddad slipping the clutch as it take up drive.

In Dynamic mode in town you have to flick the gearbox back into 'D' instead of the default 'S', otherwise it revs far too high even on light throttle. It's constantly chomping at the bit in what I would call ' just about to pull an overtake mode'.

When you do have that sudden urge to change your driving style you have to consult with the dash options to remind yourself what mode you last set it to, and toggle through to the mode you want. In these situations you haven't' necessarily got the time to start button pressing and staring at screens.
You can perform an immediate override with the paddles but then you are never quite sure how long the override will remain in place. Sometimes it seems to drop back into Auto mode too soon, other times you stare at the dash suddenly realising you are still in manual and need to shift it up yourself.

Driving on the paddles 100% of the time is better, but then you have to ask why have a Auto. The Exhaust farts are a nice touch, but the launch control can be achieved better with a stick and a clutch pedal (yes I tried it).

It's a lot easier to waggle the stick in your left hand, use your left leg and stick it in whatever ever gear suites.

Size
Too small for my current requirements. On paper it didn't look a lot smaller then the A4/A5 but on the drive it looks the same as the Scoob. Checking the numbers again it's only 10cm longer than a Classic Scoob and that's all in the wheelbase. My boys are getting bigger and their holiday clothing requirements no longer fit in a small holdall, so the boot needs to fit 2 large suitcases plus extra's etc.....

Price
RRP is £2000 more then the current offer I have on the A5.
Currently have a 10.8% discount on the table for an S3 and an 18.7% discount for an A5 sport back. I think I know we're I'm heading next and will try and grab one of the last 230ps Manual Quattros before the world runs out of options for a 200-300BHP Manual biassed driver.
Oh !!!! and I will just have to get my weekend power fix from elsewhere

[Rdlangy1]

That's an in depth and highly useful review Scott

Shame it doesn't tick all your boxes though but spending that sort of money you need to be 100%

[scotty]

Sooooo straight to the point it was a **** car then .

[Scott.T]

Well....new car is ordered.
A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSi Black Edition Plus
230ps
-30mm S-Line Sports Suspension (not a per images)
Alcantara/Leather Interior
Interior Lighting Pack
Storage Pack
Heated Front & Rear Seats
Rotor dished alloys

I ditched the rear camera @ £340 (that I have on the A4), as found it was something else to worry about/look at when manoeuvring. Rather then just listening for the beeps.
Also ditched the folding mirrors as I can do that myself and save £180.
Spent the money on keeping the kids warm with somewhere to store their bits when we go away.

Although I do have to tolerate the A4 soot chucker for a few more months.
The A4 is a great looking car, but every time I drive it I wince at the noise, lack of revs and spikey torque delivery.
I also need to avoid anything else hitting it !!!!!! I think it's cursed !!!!!!!

The damn thing seems to be a magnet.......so far I have had a rock crack screen, insulation board bounce off the front, a rock/FOD hit the passenger door on the M25 which chipped the paint smack in the middle of the door panel and on the way to dealers this weekend I had a fallen tree run one of it's limbs the entire length of the passenger side (thankfully it all machined out).

The new one is a fresh factory order, so I need to wait until May/June for delivery.
Clicked a few snaps of a demo one that happened to turn up as we left.

Got a cracking deal through Carwow, which I highly recommend.
It worked out cheaper than a SEAT Leon Cupra by a fair amount, and the SEAT was on 0% !!!! Go figure.........

[Rdlangy1]

Amazing looking machine and love the colour

Can't wait to see this in the flesh!