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RS 3 Tested.


boxerbeat
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I leant to drive when cars mainly had rear wheel drive, BHP was measured using an abacus and the only optional extra was if the radio was fitted in the dash or placed on the back seat. 100 bhp being something very special, not a lot by today’s standards. We didn’t have ESP, ABS etc, we had suspension springs you’d find in a modern day parker pen, tyres that were narrower than the shoulders of a banker and when it was anything other the dry you drove looking out your side windows.

Over the years I’ve had to adapt my driving style to suit the advancements, from rear wheel drive to front wheel drive to four wheel drive. Each variant having its own characteristics .

So, today I found myself test driving a RS3. I have had the TTRS for an extended two day test so I was familiar with the engine and owning an S3 sport back I knew the basic shape. The TT was a nice car but not for me and at the time when I tested it my thoughts were “they should put this engine in an A3” and that’s why I’m here.

I make no bones about the fact that I am an Audi fan, but I’m not blinkered. The test car was in white and came with no extras. Now to say it looked bland would be an understatement. Most women will admit they don’t look their best without a bit of slap on and that’s exactly the same with the RS. Yes, the car is some 6 years old and I don’t pander to fashion pressures “new shape new interior bollox but come on Audi. A bit of makeup would go a long way to please the eye. Like all relationships you’re attracted by the looks first. There are bits, optional extras, to make it look better but we should not need to pay for them and that carries through to the interior, more slap for your money please!!!!!

Settling into the car was like walking into your front door after a long holiday very familiar, no surprises, hold on though I’ve been burgled, some low life, drugged up hoody has pinch my electric leather nappa seats, and my rain and light sensor pack. There’s no sign of forced entry, wait a minute it’s not my car phew. Thank god for that.

The weather for the test was heavy rain and my missus is smiling away whilst commenting on the fact that due to the wet roads she has a great chance of keeping her breakfast down. Game on!

We set off straight on to a long duel carriageway, some 18 miles to check out its cruising ability and found that the road noise was a little louder than the S3 due in main to the extra width of the front tyres. But as expected. The car was very stable at high speed the engine noise was well supressed. Until you push the loud peddle, then the beautiful 5 cylinder’s came to life. I love this engine, who couldn’t. It took me back to the early Audi’s. Days spend in damp woods watching the original stig throwing gravel at me as he flies passed. The early scubby’s had that same uneven beat fantastic!!!!!!

Turning right off the roundabout onto some very demanding B roads, selecting S and using the paddles (this is going to take some getting used to) I start to push on a bit, the car initially turns in a little sharper than the S3 and holds its line. The grip is titanic and in these conditions that’s an apt description. Three quarters through the corner you bury your right foot into the carpet and you’re off like a kid who’s been seen scrumping apples by the local farmer and rumour has it he’d shoot you with his shotgun. If her indoors wasn’t sat keeping me company I would have been able to play a bit more. I did try a couple of standing starts and the rain did not affect the rapid acceleration of this car. It pulled away without a hint of wheel spin. So pulling out of busy junctions would be no problem no matter what Mother Nature decided. We returned the car to the stealers and I have to say with a smile on my face.

Now would I buy one yes I would, why because you get 70K type of performance, it ticks all my boxes, a high performance four door family hatch back. Driven properly will give any car a run for its money cross country. And a big plus is its understated! RS like.

Can I buy one The Stealer is saying yes and they are confirming on Monday when they have spoken to the R division.

I will keep you up dated

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Aye, that's a good assessment. I let the Doris have a trundle of her own!

There are cancelled orders about, though some will by physical cars and others will be scheduled for build. You need to find a 2012 slot which isn't yet scheduled.

Which dealer was is, just being nosey.

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Sorry garon not into scubbies. I'm sure they're great cars, the last scubbie I drove suffered understeer in slow tight corners and especially in the wet. And the interior looked like they'd stolen it from a Sunny 120 haha. But i have to say I loved the engine, it pulled like a train.

Please note this is only my opinion on the RS3 based upon my 35 years of driving everything from a Morris 1000 van (starting up using a starting handle) to AMG merc's, M3, and Porche 911 C4S. None of which helped hahaha

As for the ride quality I think I can only Sum that up by saying I drove the car in heavy rain on B roads at speeds up to 90MPH and the wife said she couldn't feel any difference between the S3 or the RS. Now I think it was a little firmer, you'd really need to concentrate wholly on the ride to notice any difference.

As for the handling, in a straight line on uneven roads with maximum acceleration it felt in total control, riding the bumps without unsettling the ride or handling. Over the years I have learnt when carrying passages how to make fast progress without upsettling them. I think this has helped with driving the S3. As I have already stated high and mid speed corners are no problem the grip levels would revival any car out there. The problem comes when negotiating slow tight corners. You brake heavy into the corner loading up the front tyres ready for the turn, you start your turn coming off the brakes. The weight then starts to become neutral, this is just the point where you lose the feeling through the steering wheel. You set a constant throttle and have to wait for the corner to open up before you give it some beans. Otherwise you get a lump of understeer. I have learnt to drive around this but it is very frustrating. Little sporty hatchbacks can make you look a right ****! Your line has to be true. You just can’t adjust the car using steering and throttle enough to make any difference. This is the only frustrating bit for me. I’m not a straight line man I love the corners. Any other car you grab it by the throat and you can be a bit wild and trust in your ability to get out of the **** if you find yourself in it.

I think the RS3 is very much in that vein. You have to be very neat and tidy. At 52 this suits my now driving style ( and no “not driving Ms Daisy”) I still press on but no longer want to be Mark Lovall or The “Stig” (not from TG).

The RS3 is the most complete car I have driven to date and that’s a bold statement, but It has 4 doors, seats 4 adults comfortably and can match cars most fast cars about. I like the look with a bit more slap, I know what I’m getting, has a big enough boot. I love four wheel drive.

I hope whilst making this statement I haven’t offended anybody but if I have tough ha

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None taken ;)

The latest Scoobies have lost the Korean taxi interiors of years ago, and have nothing like the understeer of the early cars. I hear a lot of what you say in terms of driving styles and handling characteristics. I suspect you'd be impressed with the handling of the latest Scooby, but if you have the extra budget I can't honestly say it would be so good as to change your mind.

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If I was buying new daily today the rs3 and m1 would both be on my list of test drives. However with the likes of the e92 m3 or more importantly for me the gtr at considerably less money I would find it very difficult to spend the money on either the m1 or Audi. When you take depreciation in to account would eir really be much in it finically? I doubt it. You have to really want a uber hot hatch I think.

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If I was buying new daily today the rs3 and m1 would both be on my list of test drives. However with the likes of the e92 m3 or more importantly for me the gtr at considerably less money I would find it very difficult to spend the money on either the m1 or Audi. When you take depreciation in to account would eir really be much in it finically? I doubt it. You have to really want a uber hot hatch I think.

Agreed Woppum, in my own case, I want a totally boring, non attention grabbing motor (Evo & Scooby out), with the addition of the practicality of a hatch, with 4WD that goes like the proverbial bat of hell, and is not going to kick me in the gonads on tax fuel and ultimately depreciation (Evo & Scoby out), and although it costs £545, for a five year warranty, an absolute bargain IMHO for the piece of mind that gives, and also my local audi stealers are awesome for customer service.

I totally see your point, however any M3 or GTR, is not what I am looking for,as if it was, I would probably being looking porsche, R8 etc, but I have done that thanks, RS3 should be fine for what I want, pretty much as the Golf R does for now, in fact if they put that 5 pot in a Golf I would have it over an RS3 in a heartbeat, it really is that good IMHO

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and is not going to kick me in the gonads on tax fuel and ultimately depreciation (Evo & Scoby out)

I fully appreciate what you say about wanting subtlety, and all the other reasons you say about why the RS3 is for you, no one has at any point said it will be a bad car, just that it's overpriced (in our opinions, not yours obviously), and that it looks dull and old fashioned.

But if you start trying to justify it over something else on the grounds that an Audi won't depreciate as much then your living on another planet, I've no idea where this myth that Audi's hold their value, that is often bandied about on here comes from?

Especially as it's just about to be replaced as a model anyway, depreciation will be fairly catastrophic.

It will be no better or worse than pretty much any other equivalent brand.

It'll be in the higher tax bracket anyway, as it's impossible for anything with more than 4 cylinders not to be, and I can't imagine it being any better on economy than either the Mitsu or Scoob either, as all of them will be rubbish, but that's not why you buy such a car!

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I suspect ashleywater hasn't the faintest idea what the latest WRX STI looks like, never mind what it'd be worth in three years time. I bet if you parked one next to an RS3 removed the badges and asked Joe Bloggs which was more subtle there'd be little in it.

As for economy, will the RS3 pull mid 30s on a run, cos I know the Scooby can.

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As for economy, will the RS3 pull mid 30s on a run, cos I know the Scooby can.

Who gives a f**K - you don't buy an RS Audi Avant and worry about fuel consumption.

Mooch - ex tuned V8 RS6 owner - said it perfectly on RS246:

Buying an RS6 and then worrying about the fuel consumption is a bit like buying a boat and worrying about getting it wet.
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Who gives a f**K - you don't buy an RS Audi Avant and worry about fuel consumption.

That was in direct response to ashleywater's baseless claim about Scooby fuel consumption versus the RS3.

AND

Those who bought RS4's and 6's may not have cared about fuel consumption because they could afford not to, but everybody seems to be trying to stress what a practical everyday car the RS3 is, and in its market I think that means it needs to turn 30mpg+ on the motorway.

And the fact my STI could achieve 30mpg+ to the gallon was an important factor in it still being a practical(ish) car for me when my mileage went up. In the end, I was putting too many miles on it, but it was mileage related depreciation that was the bigger financial factor than fuel.

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I fully appreciate what you say about wanting subtlety, and all the other reasons you say about why the RS3 is for you, no one has at any point said it will be a bad car, just that it's overpriced (in our opinions, not yours obviously), and that it looks dull and old fashioned.

But if you start trying to justify it over something else on the grounds that an Audi won't depreciate as much then your living on another planet, I've no idea where this myth that Audi's hold their value, that is often bandied about on here comes from?

Especially as it's just about to be replaced as a model anyway, depreciation will be fairly catastrophic.

It will be no better or worse than pretty much any other equivalent brand.

It'll be in the higher tax bracket anyway, as it's impossible for anything with more than 4 cylinders not to be, and I can't imagine it being any better on economy than either the Mitsu or Scoob either, as all of them will be rubbish, but that's not why you buy such a car!

Tipex, it seems fairly obvious that you really don't like Audi. I am 100% with Ashley on the standpoint that this car is not over priced. If you put a dsg box in a scooby it would only be a about 3k cheaper an would not have the same build quality. Yes there is some brand snobbery to pay for but I could accuse scooby drivers of the same for not buying a KIA! On a wet Autocar test track the rs3 was quicker than a mclaren mp4-12c. Taking into consideration the average UK weather (anyone looked out the window today?), It looks like a bargain to me.

Due to the limited volume it is likely RS3 residuals will be high but in the long wrong I do agree that this should not be the reason for buying.

As regards tax, it's emissions mean it does bot attract the higher showroom tax that the Subaru or Evo would so that saves a few hundred quid.

I am buying as a company car, and as I have asked twice before; if you can suggest something better than go ahead and I will give it some serious consideration.

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If you put a dsg box in a scooby it would only be a about 3k cheaper an would not have the same build quality.

You can't specify a dsg box for the Scooby, so I've no idea where you get the price from. As for build quality, you're making the age old mistake of confusing build quality with quality of cabin materials.

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I suspect ashleywater hasn't the faintest idea what the latest WRX STI looks like, never mind what it'd be worth in three years time. I bet if you parked one next to an RS3 removed the badges and asked Joe Bloggs which was more subtle there'd be little in it.

As for economy, will the RS3 pull mid 30s on a run, cos I know the Scooby can.

Who gives a toss about the Scooby, we are not buying Scoobies, the thread is about who's tested an RS3, please don't take this thread off at tangent like the RS3 orders one as it gets a bit tedious wading through all the inane crap +++

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You can't specify a dsg box for the Scooby.

Exactly.

Moschops, Sorry for taking this thread off at a tangent, not my intention, just getting annoyed with the Audi hatred filing up the posts with totally unfounded dribble. Maybe garçon and tipex should go drive an RS3, then there might be some credibility to what they post!

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Exactly.

Moschops, Sorry for taking this thread off at a tangent, not my intention, just getting annoyed with the Audi hatred filing up the posts with totally unfounded dribble. Maybe garçon and tipex should go drive an RS3, then there might be some credibility to what they post!

No worries Bud, wasn't you I was replying too...:cool:

My drive is booked...+++

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I've no more intention of ever driving an RS3 as any of you have of driving a Scooby.

If you want to swap ejaculation stories over your pride and joy without danger of any invasion from the real world, why don't you all f*ck off to a single make forum where you can all congratulate yourselves and w*nk each other off on buying/ordering/pretending to order/hopelessly wishing you could afford the greatest car in the world ever bar none without fear of any possible intrusion of another point of view.

You bunch of vain, blind, German úber fuhrer cockwagon loving f*ckwits.

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I've no more intention of ever driving an RS3 as any of you have of driving a Scooby.

If you want to swap ejaculation stories over your pride and joy without danger of any invasion from the real world, why don't you all f*ck off to a single make forum where you can all congratulate yourselves and w*nk each other off on buying/ordering/pretending to order/hopelessly wishing you could afford the greatest car in the world ever bar none without fear of any possible intrusion of another point of view.

You bunch of vain, blind, German úber fuhrer cockwagon loving f*ckwits.

What a charming half wit you are, someone atempts to get the thread back on topic and seemingly like the petulant child you throw all your toys out the cot, you sum up all what is bad about the typical chocolate engined rice burner owner. I bet you even got pimped out windows and the big drain pipe exhaust too. :rolleyes:

Oh as an aside I've driven several Scoobies and thought they we're great cars but badly let down by the cheap interior.

Get back to your waitressing....MONG!!!!:P

Edited by Moschops
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