Hi folks I’d really appreciate your advice if that’s ok? I’m ready to buy my first ever RS model car after lots of petrol and diesel A3’s and TT’s. I would be purchasing it outright so I want to make the right decision first time. I was considering a TTRS but it would have been my 3rd TT in 4 years so probably time for a change! RS3 wise I’m stuck because I’d quite like my first ever panoramic sunroof but I’m not keen on the black/diamond cut wheels and round steering wheel. The carbon edition I’ve seen on autotrader has ceramic brakes and sports exhaust and nice carbon bits but wonder if ceramics are totally overkill for a weekend car that won’t see a track?! Any wisdom or thoughts would be appreciated
Advice on first RS3 please…
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You’re overthinking this. Take a test drive and if you like it, buy it. I’ve got ceramics on mine……don’t need them but no brake dust is a wonderful thing! As for the diamond cut wheels on the Vorsprung, be careful. As for the round steering wheel, yes it sucks but if it bothers you that much you can get it changed.
Pan roof is a must for me. Adds a touch of special to an otherwise bland interior.
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Carbon brakes are great until you need to replace them, then it’s big money time so bear that in mind and they can be noisy / not great on first use in damp weather.
The round wheel isn’t to everyone’s taste and in my opinion has no place in a RS car, flat bottom wheel is much nicer.
Those gloss black graphic wheels aren’t great in my opinion, the minute you kerb a wheel it’s a ball ache getting it rectified.
And don’t over pay for one, they aren’t worth paying over the odds for.
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Thank you for your replies. Am I right in thinking that the sports exhaust is an option or do specific models get this?
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Just double checked in my app……it’s part of the ‘Dynamic Pack’ so if you have ceramic brakes you will also have the sports exhaust.
Both Carbon and Vorsprung models have the Sports Exhaust as standard kit.
As a Vorsprung owner I'm going to defend it a little bit compared to what some of the other comments generally are.
- The pan roof is really nice to have as it helps lift the interior a bit.
- The ceramic brakes are great for keeping the wheels clean from brake dust but I've never had mine squeak even a bit and they've always worked from cold - provided they aren't wet, in which case you need to apply them a little bit to dry them out before you get full braking performance. If you just use them normally you'll dry them out in one stop though. Something to note is that they're crap in snow or slush, so if you end up with them make sure you're significantly more careful should you be in those situations.
- The round steering wheel is the same diameter as the flat bottomed version, despite what people may say and how it may look. I agree that I'd have liked the flat bottomed version from the visual side of things but for actually driving the round one is better if for some reason you find yourself needing to steer quickly. There's a reason you don't see flat bottoms in a Porsche 911 is my theory. Hahaha.
- As for the wheels, I thought that I'd hate them from the pictures but in person I really don't mind them. I agree with folks that if you curb them you're pretty much screwed though, I don't think there's a reasonable way of sorting them back to standard. I figure if I do curb mine at any point I'll probably just get them refurbished in a different colour anyway.
I much prefer the round wheel, we've currently got both until the S3 get collected although I think it feels slightly bigger or slightly to big.
Isn't the pan roof only available on Vorsprungs? Or an older launch edition.
Pan roof is great but when it's open you can't see the sat nav screen!
The wheels are stickers under the lacquer, I didn't even notice until the other day there are two different colour stickers.
Isn't the pan roof only available on Vorsprungs? Or an older launch edition.
Pan roof is great but when it's open you can't see the sat nav screen!
The wheels are stickers under the lacquer, I didn't even notice until the other day there are two different colour stickers.
I'll just come to the defense of the pan roof a tiny bit here and say that in my experience it depends where the sun is as to whether it makes it hard to see the nav screen. If it's hitting it then I just pull the sun shade across, which you can do with the roof fully open, then pull it back open again once the sun isn't directly on the screen.
Brilliant advice and insight buddy, much appreciated!As a Vorsprung owner I'm going to defend it a little bit compared to what some of the other comments generally are.
I think that's about it from a Vorsprung defense perspective, and a lot of it is subjective so the best idea is to go for a test drive and also to get your eyes on the Carbon Black and Vorsprung models to see what you prefer.
- The pan roof is really nice to have as it helps lift the interior a bit.
- The ceramic brakes are great for keeping the wheels clean from brake dust but I've never had mine squeak even a bit and they've always worked from cold - provided they aren't wet, in which case you need to apply them a little bit to dry them out before you get full braking performance. If you just use them normally you'll dry them out in one stop though. Something to note is that they're crap in snow or slush, so if you end up with them make sure you're significantly more careful should you be in those situations.
- The round steering wheel is the same diameter as the flat bottomed version, despite what people may say and how it may look. I agree that I'd have liked the flat bottomed version from the visual side of things but for actually driving the round one is better if for some reason you find yourself needing to steer quickly. There's a reason you don't see flat bottoms in a Porsche 911 is my theory. Hahaha.
- As for the wheels, I thought that I'd hate them from the pictures but in person I really don't mind them. I agree with folks that if you curb them you're pretty much screwed though, I don't think there's a reasonable way of sorting them back to standard. I figure if I do curb mine at any point I'll probably just get them refurbished in a different colour anyway.
No need to defend, I really like it, as said, it brightens up the interior. It doesn't however make any difference if the sun is out or not, bright cloud are enough to make the screen hard to see. But it does bring up another point to the OP, the VS has HUD so the Nav etc is in front of you.
Can't say I've noticed that massively to be honest, do you have the brightness turned up all the way?
Extremely good point on the HUD though, I find it hugely useful for everything needed while driving and between that and the music track being displayed at the top of the Virtual Cockpit all the time I actually rarely use the MMI unless I'm looking at the camera to reverse into a tight spot or something.
I’m new to the forum so hadn’t realised that a facelift model ‘may’ be released soon. I emailed a local dealer yesterday who kindly replied telling me there was no information to hand as of yet regarding allocation numbers, dates, specs etc so no doubt quite a way off.
I think the dealership is maybe just trying not to give too much away as someone I know at my local dealership is saying that books should be open Q1 next year, possibly Q2. Exterior will be fairly similar with a lot of focus on the interior with buttons for the climate control being removed and going the way of the Golf R Mk8 where everything is through the screen. Not a fan of that so doesn't make me want to swap based on that information alone, but I'll have to see once the full specs are released.
Also, there will be a Performance version released not hugely long after the facelift which will be the one to have in my personal opinion. But I imagine that will be very late 2024 or 2025 before you can get your hands on one (at a guess). It's supposed to have a significant power hike as well.
EDIT: I'll just add that all this information is from my contact at the dealership so if for some reason it's not quite right, don't shoot the messenger down the line.
That’s great into, thanks. The dealer did actually say that if I paid £1000 he would secure me a place on a potential list?! Performance model sounds interestingI think the dealership is maybe just trying not to give too much away as someone I know at my local dealership is saying that books should be open Q1 next year, possibly Q2. Exterior will be fairly similar with a lot of focus on the interior with buttons for the climate control being removed and going the way of the Golf R Mk8 where everything is through the screen. Not a fan of that so doesn't make me want to swap based on that information alone, but I'll have to see once the full specs are released.
Also, there will be a Performance version released not hugely long after the facelift which will be the one to have in my personal opinion. But I imagine that will be very late 2024 or 2025 before you can get your hands on one (at a guess). It's supposed to have a significant power hike as well.
EDIT: I'll just add that all this information is from my contact at the dealership so if for some reason it's not quite right, don't shoot the messenger down the line.
£1000 is usually the standard deposit for one to order.
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I do love my pan roof BUT they could have stuck a motor on the roller blind for a few extra quid - car is 60k lol and its got a manual roller blind cover!!!
Skoda have them on
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Yeah, you can also get things like heated windscreens that you can’t on any Audi for whatever reason.
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Yeah, you can also get things like heated windscreens that you can’t on any Audi for whatever reason.
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I’ll never buy another Audi……….
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That's fair enough, each to their own. I still like them but other suppliers are certainly catching up or surpassing them in many categories while charging less so I think they need to start taking that into account or they may find they begin losing chunks of market share.
Skoda have them on
That is why I have both! Mainly because Skoda won't give you a 5-cyl, they don't even do decent 4-cyl petrol 4x4
But they do give you heated windscreens, umbrellas, magnifying Ice scraper and free map updates for life
I can see the benefit on a wagon where you can't reach the back of the blind but TBH the few inches it moves in the RS3 I prefer to pull it, much quicker then the speed of an electric blind.
Also one less thing to go wrong ..... and they do go wrong.
Just imagine the joy of moving a sunroof blind with a capacitive slidey button
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You love the Nardo john don’t you
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Except for a TTRS of 66-18 vintage, but they are getting thin on the ground now.
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You really need to have a test drive and go from there. You’ll be waiting forever for a facelift, if and when it gets announced, so would advise to get one now if that’s what you want. Just got back from a nice blast in mine today and was thinking about this thread and how much I love my RS3. Despite peoples niggles on here, they are incredible cars.
I think we have gone beyond the golden period of Audi cars now mate.
I had one after another from 2008 to 2016 and then switched to Merc (briefly) in 2020 and then flipped back to Audi (even more briefly
) with the 8Y last year.But for those 12 years 2008 to 2020 there was nothing to touch an Audi for me - I had 3 variants including TT / TTS / S5 / 2 x RS3's.
I think we have gone beyond the golden period of Audi cars now mate.
I had one after another from 2008 to 2016 and then switched to Merc (briefly) in 2020 and then flipped back to Audi (even more briefly
But for those 12 years 2008 to 2020 there was nothing to touch an Audi for me - I had 3 variants including TT / TTS / S5 / 2 x RS3's.
It’s weird for me because at first I loved the 8Y, but the gloss soon wore off it.
In day to day driving it soon became apparent what I thought were improvements over the 8V weren’t actually that important to me.
I’ve no doubt people coming into one now are blown away by it, especially more so by not having an 8V to compare to.
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Agreed. The 8Y is a solid car in many ways and perhaps more so to Audi newbies.
Maybe one of their EV's will sway you back
i have a brand new rs3 saloon for sale vorsprung in black metallic for 61000£, cheapest on market, getting delivery on friday, let me know if anyone wants
If you're not first owner and thats brand new thats quite a good price!!! Will you just put them in touch with the dealership?
Yes brand new and yes super price, just quick flip. Cba retailing etc. No I will be first owner.
Ouch. Mines under retail by 3-4k, quick bargain if someone really interestedWhile we're at it, you can have my VS SB Exclusive for £70k
That’s the issue, getting a genuine buyer
You are a rare person in these times, not being greedy.
Good luck to you and ignore the blaggers.
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Exactly this go and look at them and make your mind up.
On top of everything that's been said
The fact the VS has Auto Cruise Control with auto steering has been great for me on my Glasgow to London trips. Makes it very relaxing even going do far as to stop in the M6 traffic.
It's not perfect but it's something that I wasn't really thinking about before I got it. Gives it an unexpected GT feel.
I've got Ceramics and never have any squeaks. It is very sharp and if like me you switch cars often you'll find it a big difference.
You need OBD11 or VCDS to fix a niggles like the lane assistance memory. And the piped in noise. I'm old so like to cruise to music once in a while and use the ASR valve controller when I'm feeling like a hooligan.
Considering I paid £53k for my GTR in 2009 it's a ridiculous price. But there's not much else around to compete with it for me.
The fact the VS has Auto Cruise Control with auto steering has been great for me on my Glasgow to London trips. Makes it very relaxing even going do far as to stop in the M6 traffic.
It's not perfect but it's something that I wasn't really thinking about before I got it. Gives it an unexpected GT feel.
I've got Ceramics and never have any squeaks. It is very sharp and if like me you switch cars often you'll find it a big difference.
You need OBD11 or VCDS to fix a niggles like the lane assistance memory. And the piped in noise. I'm old so like to cruise to music once in a while and use the ASR valve controller when I'm feeling like a hooligan.
Considering I paid £53k for my GTR in 2009 it's a ridiculous price. But there's not much else around to compete with it for me.
