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Oh dear....

"if not a scintillating drive, then certainly a more-than-pleasant performance car."

They say some very good things about it later in the review, but it sounds like the same old 'soul-less' claim is being made and that surprises me. Do you really want to spend £40k+ (I'd imagine most are going to be £45k or more with options?) and get a "more-than-pleasant performance car"?.

They clearly think the 1M is the better performance car, but that the RS3 as an A to B practical motor is the better car. Thing is, what are RS models aimed at - surely it is enthusiasts who want the feedback and enjoyment?

Some interesting comments on that article too.

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Oh dear....

"if not a scintillating drive, then certainly a more-than-pleasant performance car."

They say some very good things about it later in the review, but it sounds like the same old 'soul-less' claim is being made and that surprises me. Do you really want to spend £40k+ (I'd imagine most are going to be £45k or more with options?) and get a "more-than-pleasant performance car"?.

They clearly think the 1M is the better performance car, but that the RS3 as an A to B practical motor is the better car. Thing is, what are RS models aimed at - surely it is enthusiasts who want the feedback and enjoyment?

Some interesting comments on that article too.

Actually sounds just right for me these days, as while I might appreciate an M1 on a few days a year, the vast majority of the time the RS3 beats it for overall motoring, the M1 ride is actually quite stiff by all accounts and the RS3 a lot more pliable and comfortable, sorry not in the market for a bone shaker these days, had plenty of those over the years.

A few direct comparisions give the RS3 as quicker everywhere, apart from the track as after a lap the M1 lighter weight, and the RS3 brake fade make the difference, however I dont want a track car,or a lairy car in the wet, so all in all RS3 sounds okay, will make my mind up when I drive the car, in regards to price, on a bang for buck basis, this car is cheap as chips and ordered mine with a 5 year warranty, so on that basis feels a pretty okay deal to me, also the standard car is pretty well loaded if you check out the spec, and doesnt really need any extra options, apart from buckets, but there again that is a driver preference, and actually pretty cheap compared to the VW buckets which are nearly double the Audi cost

On an aside Jezza C has now apparently become a Beemer fan, and apparently rates the M1 highly, so expect to see a shoot out on TG with him slagging the RS to death,and bumming up the M1, as he has a tyrannical loathing of all things Audi, if I didnt know any better I would have said someone from Audi or owning said make of car, has been porking his missus or bit on the side or both..........

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Or maybe he just doesn't like them because they're crap and driven by cocks.

The only driving enthusiasts I can imagine the RS3 appealing to are those who think BMWs are inherently dangerous because they're too hamfooted to be able to drive a rwd car safely.

Or they live in Iceland. One of the few countries were permanent 4wd might actually be a genuine need.

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Where does this myth that top gear and JC hate Audi's come from?

Is it just a case of people getting excuses in early for what, by all accounts, is a rather average, massively overpriced car?

I've never seen a bad review of an Audi on TG, they love the R8, and the RS4, so how does that make them biased in any way? The only criticism they ever direct towards Audi, and it's a perfectly valid one, is the ride quality is abysmal, which is also the biggest flaw in your argument against the 1M, I'd put money on it the BMW rides better as well as handles better, especially if it's specced without run flats.

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Or maybe he just doesn't like them because they're crap and driven by cocks.

The only driving enthusiasts I can imagine the RS3 appealing to are those who think BMWs are inherently dangerous because they're too hamfooted to be able to drive a rwd car safely.

Or they live in Iceland. One of the few countries were permanent 4wd might actually be a genuine need.

Well I do fit into the cant drive RWD safely category, as I have put a few through various hedges over the years,with Diesel,Water, slush and such like contirbuting to fair ground style wipe outs,so yes 4wd is a definite plus for me.......... as is having a car that is rock solid in wet driving conditions on the motorway etc, as down here it rains an awful feckin lot, as stated previously I dont want a lairy RWD supposed "Drivers Car"

So if that makes me a "Useless Cock" of a driver so be it............not a problem......... I'll live with it

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Or maybe he just doesn't like them because they're crap and driven by cocks.

The only driving enthusiasts I can imagine the RS3 appealing to are those who think BMWs are inherently dangerous because they're too hamfooted to be able to drive a rwd car safely.

Or they live in Iceland. One of the few countries were permanent 4wd might actually be a genuine need.

Not just Iceland - in Aberdeen (that's Scotland just north of Watford) in the winter a rear wheel drive BMW is useless when snow arrives. In the winter 2009-2011 at one point, well there was a month when snow was on the road. My own GTI is hopeless in the snow.So if I got an M1 or M3 like my pals which he garaged for that entire month I would have to get another car/transport. My TTS was never got stuck

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That five pot Audi engine is a real peach, I've seen it in a TTRS walk away from an E60 M5 on a drag strip and the 1/4 times they are putting out are amazing.

That must be the "Flat" power delivery noted in the PH test then...........what that actually means is that the RS engine just nukes from low down all the way through, there is no "Thump" or impression of "boost" if you like,just a linear shove all the way through, having driven a TTRS on a weekend test, the engine is absolutely stonking, and is the only reason for ordering an RS3 as the TTRS is just to impractical for my purposes, it really is a hugely impressive motor, and I have been behind a few over the years............that "RS1" equipped with an uprated one, looks mighty fine, and apparently is quicker than an R8 V10 to 60..........the mind boggles.........just popping down to the stealers to get my deposit down............

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That five pot Audi engine is a real peach, I've seen it in a TTRS walk away from an E60 M5 on a drag strip and the 1/4 times they are putting out are amazing.

That's down to the TTRS having Quattro and nothing to do with the five-pot engine it has... once rolling the E60 M5 eats the TTRS, especially 100+

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I'll not disagree about the engine, it's lovely, I'm a big fan of Audi 5 pots, but a great engine doesnt make great car.

For example, as far as 4 cylinder engines go, nissans old turbo lump was a corker, but they also stuck it in the Bluebird, nuf said.

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Where does this myth that top gear and JC hate Audi's come from?

I think from a couple of comments on Top Gear about cocks moving from BMWs to Audi but mostly from the article JC writes in the In Gear Section of the Sunday Times. In quite a few over the last year he had made clear his dislike of Audis whereas in this weeks article he was singing the praises of BMW and most of the cars they make.

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The TG mag has just tested The RS3 Vs the BMW M1 back to back. You should read it. The RS3 hammers the M1 on the standing start then onto 100mph. TG state that there RS3 did 0-60 in 3.8sec against 4.6sec for the BMW and a full second faster to 100mph. It shows the RS3 is a very quick motor. It also say that the RS3 is the best car to have as a very fast cross country car. They also stated that the BM’s ride was to firm, it wasn’t as practical etc etc etc however they would have the BMW every time

I don't get TG but I think they trying to say, you should get the one that ultimately tests your driving skill. They need to be on the edge blardy blar

I have friends who go get the latest golf club, the latest hyper sports bike, latest fast car or the latest top gadget. Because I don't do this I have tried to work them out and I've come to the conclusion that they have a number of issues going on i.e. If they have the latest widow maker they are automatically hoisted into that club. You know that club outsiders can only dream of! From there they can pontificate about we mere mortals.

Or they just have small cocks

Most of my friends can’t ride there hyper bikes any faster than a good little one on a 600 or drive their rear wheeled fast car and they don’t hit there golf ball any further then they did with their old club.

As for the rest of us I suspect we’re quite happy with who we are and what we want. If somebody wants a RS3 or a BMW go get one good luck to you. Ones happy in the suit he wears the other has a small cock

I'll let you be the judge about whos whos ha

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That's down to the TTRS having Quattro and nothing to do with the five-pot engine it has... once rolling the E60 M5 eats the TTRS, especially 100+

It was a rolling start though, the TT has been mapped I think.

All quattro does is eat up power when rolling thats why an E39 M5 is faster to 120 iirc then a C5 RS 6 but the RS is quicker upto that point.

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Now, I'm not saying the TTRS isn't quick, it's one of the few Audi's I quite like, and about the only one on the market I'd currently buy, but that video really just doesn't prove anything at all.

The guys in the M5 have no idea what the Audi driver is doing, or when he's going to put his foot down, hence when he finally realises the Audi is going for it, he then puts his foot down, by which time it too late really, but even having said that, he still starts reeling the Audi in once he gets going.

And what the f*ck is with that colour scheme? is it the Raz prince from phoneshop?

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Just read the TG mag article. Basically they confirm that the RS3 is technically the superior car: faster, more compliant, more practical, more tractable. They then add up all this hard gathered evidence and decide the 1m is the winner as it is more of a drivers car. Having owned 2 m cars and having had my name down for a 1M I totally appreciate the fact that driving a high powered rear drive such as the 1m is very exciting, but I do not regret signing up for the RS3 at all, especially after having to ditch my 335i in the snow 2 years running.

What Is being overlooked in these comparisons is that the 1M and RS3 are not in the same class. Having owned a 123d coupe in the past I knew that the 1m would not be practical due to having a baby on the way. As this rs3 is a company car, but also my only car I feel that it ticks all the boxes if lacking slightly in outright driving experience. my only annoyance now is that with a January delivery date I could have had a 1m for 8 months then swapped for an rs3, annoyed, just a bit.

Anyway, Can anyone else think of a more complete car for under £40k?

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Being a better drivers car isn't just about being RWD, it's about everything else as well, the feeback, the steering, the suspension etc etc.

The TG article says the RS3's ride is 'better than expected' not that it's better than the 1M, it then goes on to say how good the 1M's ride is, and that yes, it's firm, and if your fat, you'll jiggle, but that it also tells you exactly what the car is doing, and they wouldn't want it any other way.

The driving in the snow thing is rubbish too, just because it's 4wd doesn't mean it'll be any good, especially as it'll probably be on summer sports tyres, if your intent on driving in the snow, you really should be on winter tyres, and either of these two will drive perfectly well in the snow on winter tyres.

I really want to like the the RS3, the package should, in theory, be excellent, and the performance figures (assuming that isn't a tweeked press car) are very, very impressive (what is slightly less impressive is that the 1M generates higher G-forces in the corners, suggesting it has more grip than the 4wd car but hey), but I just think Audi should have waited for the next generation A3, as this is such an old, dated looking car, on an old, dated chassis.

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Well said. I still can't comprehend people who say a RWD BMW was lethal, or they kept getting stuck in snow, or whatever of similar incinuation.

Cars don't get stuck in snow. Drivers do.

Whilst I had a few tricky moments in a month of heavy snow up here in December I was still one of few cars in the car park and part of the problem on the roads was weaving past the other silly feckers that got stuck. Unless you're driving a 4x4 with the right tyres on, you're as much in control as your destiny as the type of car you're driving is.

I appreciate there are one or two exceptions such as very very high performance cars with very low profile or cup-style tyres on, but 99% of BMW's aren't that.

There are a good few people on here who drove through a day of blizzards (snow) in Scotland with me many years ago and the 6 got through with very few problems, and any of those were of my making through larking about. That weather was pretty bad (though not as bad as some of the conditions up here in December) and we passed lots of cars that were stuck - few of which were down to the car in question.

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Down south, here in the drought areas, we have snow and ice like every one else but so many 3 series BM's were stuck at the bottom of hills or sideways on to the road. Maybe not all the cars fault but they seem to get their novice drivers stuck quicker than most others.

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