Should I buy an S3?

[paddy]

Intresting...I agree the 3.2 is a bit wheezy, almost strangled. I have been looking into a Cat back milltek and a stage 1 remap but i cant find anyone who can give me any figures to convince me its worth spending
another £1100. I realise a remap will only give me about 15bhp but i gather it moves the power curve down so the torque comes in quicker. failing that i will just have to look about for something quicker.....
Fortunately i am of an age now where money and insurance are not an issue but i just hate the idea of blowing money on silly dealer prices for running costs. Its bad enough paying £150 an hour for Audi to **** about taking 2.5 hours to change a steering wheel !!., but £200 an hour for Porsche is just daft ...

 

[beanoir]

but £200 an hour for Porsche is just daft

depends what Porsche you buy, having a Boxster serviced by Porsche main dealers isn't too pricey actually. Fantastic cars, and if you can afford one, do it, it's so far removed from driving Audis, VW or Jap.

 

[paddy]

Nick
If i could fit in one i would by an 3.2S tomorrow but i am 6ft 4". I did try one a couple of years back. I did also hear that the newer ones have more room so maybe i will look again.

 

[beanoir]

Nick
If i could fit in one i would by an 3.2S tomorrow but i am 6ft 4". I did try one a couple of years back. I did also hear that the newer ones have more room so maybe i will look again.

The latest model is a bit more spacious, i'm only 6' so not such an issue for me.

The toss up for me was a new S3 or a 2 year old Cayman, but I just couldn't get with the looks of the Cayman, apparently great cars, but look a bit odd, and on the basis I never have the same car twice and I need space to get a mountain bike in a car, I couldn't go back to a Boxster. Still, onwards and upwards as they say.

I'd really like a Carrera 2S, thats what I aspire to.

 

[PaulAr]

I am interested here because i would like an S3 myself but cant get it round my head its worth paying an extra £15k so go on talk me round

I had this dilemna when I sold my 200bhp MK4 Golf and was looking at 8l S3s.
I sold the Golf for (big spec , leather RECAROS etc) for 6K yet a nice 8l with a similar spec/age etc was upwards of 12K at the time.
I couldnt get my head around that so bought a Civic type R instead.

....then 4 years later I looked at moving from a MK5 Gti to an S3, the difference was 12K.
Didnt even hesitate.

The point Im making is, the S3 costs what it costs.
Whether you take the plunge depends really on how much you want one.

After 18 months ownership its still a buzz driving it everyday.
Worth every penny for me.:icon_thumright:


Cheers
Paul

 

[RonstarS3]

This is a first. You must have made some amazing modifications to your drivetrain and chassis. To get a front-wheel drive biased first generation Haldex equipped car to behave like a rear-drive M car is nothing short of miraculous. Unless you were on a skid pan.[/QUOTE]

It's a joke, however if you are over-zealous and know how to drive you can get the back end out as I found out the other night. But if your going to be smarmy about it bore off.

 

[Esox Mark]

I get about 29mpg from mine in an average week and I'm not shy of crevving it when the opportunity arises. On a motorway trip 35mpg is not unusual.

Ditto that... I average around 29mpg from a months 'normal' driving, motorway driving around 33/34mpg is normal if keeping the speed fairly constant and away from three figures (easy done in an S3) and when I am letting rip... 22-25mpg is about as bad as it gets. The worst has only been on the track - saw 12mpg from three laps! Considering the performance, IMO those figures are very respectable.

 

[Esox Mark]

Firstly, no standard S3 I've ever seen on the rollers has made anything less than 285bhp as opposed to the claimed 265bhp from Audi. Some standard S3s (Mitch78, L6ON, Kontraband, Phantom) even made 295 and over. Mitch78 and Kontraband have totally standard cars which have over 300bhp straight from the factory.

Thank God for that - I was rather suspicous of the bhp figure I was given when my car went on the rollers! I must admit, I was quite suprised that mine's showing 289.5bhp and there's nowt done to it TBH, the way my S3 goes does seem to indicate a little more than 261bhp!

 

[paddy]

If its producing 290bhp on the rollers whats it producing at the crank ??? seems difficult to believe Audi are getting production car reliability from a off the peg 300bhp++ 2ltr engine !!
I am not questioning your results...just a little suprised !!

It also cast doubt on remaps giving extra 50bhp with figures of only 310-20bhp...

 

[Kris]

Well, as an ex 8P S3 owner and now having a 911 I would still say to perspective buyers that they are a great car. Had mine from new for 20 months, did around 18,000 miles with a remap from 1000 miles and enjoyed every minute of it. Had three journy's to the Nurburgring and the S3 could mostly hold it's own. Very capable be it on the track, comfortably munching miles or around town. It gets knocked in reviews for it's price tag but after weighing it all up I considered it was the best bang for buck and was not dissapointed.

Still waiting the outcome of the RS3