MBK
Registered User
- Joined
- May 3, 2012
- Messages
- 1,161
- Reaction score
- 1,111
- Points
- 113
- Location
- Neath
- Website
- www.youtube.com
Hello again all, it's been about 8 months since I sold the RS3 so I thought I'd do a little write up on life after the RS3. I'm not going to bang on about the abilities or attributes of other cars here, that would probably just cause a negative response on a single brand site, but I might mention a couple in general comparison.
In hindsight...
You might already know how much I loved the RS3 during my time as an owner and I'm glad to say I can stand by all I said then. As an all round seriously fast road car I've still experienced nothing to better it. Grip, traction, power and cross country pace are superb and all in a practical car with reasonable running costs. Well, reasonable running costs if you don't take it to the track as I did a few times. The RS3 is what it is and has limits as a track machine, ultimately it's just too heavy but it's just not possible to have it all. On a wet track day it remains a devastating machine, not many cars can put full power down out of a hairpin on a soaking wet track, the RS3 can. Wet launch control 0-60 / 0-100 was only 0.2s slower on the wettest days, that takes some explaining, the laws of physics seem to have been defied.
I overlooked...
When you are having fun and enjoying a car it's easy to overlook the minor faults. The only one I now see more clearly with the RS3 was it's appetite for front tyres. This was cured to some extent with MPSS replacing the standard Contis but that I would say is the main issue I didn't see as an owner. Now with other similar cars I see just how much better they look after their tyres. It's a minor point in ownership of a £40K+ car and well balanced by the overall excellent RS3 fuel economy.
Remapping remains a question mark too. I'm not sure it was really worth the money or the fairly minor performance gains. As a track toy remapping might make sense but on road I think the number of moments you gain from it are limited. Other cars offer far more bang for the same remap buck but I will leave that discussion there.
Have other cars caught up?
In some ways yes, in others no. The A45 AMG is an extremely similar car, you'd feel right at home in one within a mile. The A45 doesn't feel as initially punchy from launch, my PerformanceBox figures say it is almost identical. MPG on the same journeys is almost exactly the same as the RS3 too. The A45 sounds slightly unhinged with the sports exhaust but it doesn't have the character of the 5 pot. The brakes on the A45 are just stunning, lap after lap with no fade or warping, right up there with the after market sets available for the RS3. The RS3 balance is all Audi, the A45 is surprisingly much more Evo like.
Strangely though the closest rivals come from the newer cousins. The latest Golf R and Leon Cupra are astonishingly capable machines. I've been lucky enough to pilot both on track and they go incredibly well. Both run my then standard RS3 close according to my best lap times at least. The Cupra is alive and turns in superbly, quite some car for FWD. Adaptive suspension gives both cars a range of personality. The other obvious rival in the M135i still leaves me cold, I've driven another and it's the same good car to 7/10s performance and just gets ragged after that. Oversteer might look cool on the track but that is about it.
Would I buy the next RS3?
Yes, without hesitation for the car, if I wanted one car to meet the fast road and very occasional track blast. Yet at the same time no because others have created a much better customer service experience which Audi, in our experience now lag way behind.
So 8 months later my verdict remains that the RS3 is a truly great all rounder road car with devastating wet weather pace. The biggest let down is nothing to do with the car and rests at the door of the fleet diesel obsessed dealer network.
In hindsight...
You might already know how much I loved the RS3 during my time as an owner and I'm glad to say I can stand by all I said then. As an all round seriously fast road car I've still experienced nothing to better it. Grip, traction, power and cross country pace are superb and all in a practical car with reasonable running costs. Well, reasonable running costs if you don't take it to the track as I did a few times. The RS3 is what it is and has limits as a track machine, ultimately it's just too heavy but it's just not possible to have it all. On a wet track day it remains a devastating machine, not many cars can put full power down out of a hairpin on a soaking wet track, the RS3 can. Wet launch control 0-60 / 0-100 was only 0.2s slower on the wettest days, that takes some explaining, the laws of physics seem to have been defied.
I overlooked...
When you are having fun and enjoying a car it's easy to overlook the minor faults. The only one I now see more clearly with the RS3 was it's appetite for front tyres. This was cured to some extent with MPSS replacing the standard Contis but that I would say is the main issue I didn't see as an owner. Now with other similar cars I see just how much better they look after their tyres. It's a minor point in ownership of a £40K+ car and well balanced by the overall excellent RS3 fuel economy.
Remapping remains a question mark too. I'm not sure it was really worth the money or the fairly minor performance gains. As a track toy remapping might make sense but on road I think the number of moments you gain from it are limited. Other cars offer far more bang for the same remap buck but I will leave that discussion there.
Have other cars caught up?
In some ways yes, in others no. The A45 AMG is an extremely similar car, you'd feel right at home in one within a mile. The A45 doesn't feel as initially punchy from launch, my PerformanceBox figures say it is almost identical. MPG on the same journeys is almost exactly the same as the RS3 too. The A45 sounds slightly unhinged with the sports exhaust but it doesn't have the character of the 5 pot. The brakes on the A45 are just stunning, lap after lap with no fade or warping, right up there with the after market sets available for the RS3. The RS3 balance is all Audi, the A45 is surprisingly much more Evo like.
Strangely though the closest rivals come from the newer cousins. The latest Golf R and Leon Cupra are astonishingly capable machines. I've been lucky enough to pilot both on track and they go incredibly well. Both run my then standard RS3 close according to my best lap times at least. The Cupra is alive and turns in superbly, quite some car for FWD. Adaptive suspension gives both cars a range of personality. The other obvious rival in the M135i still leaves me cold, I've driven another and it's the same good car to 7/10s performance and just gets ragged after that. Oversteer might look cool on the track but that is about it.
Would I buy the next RS3?
Yes, without hesitation for the car, if I wanted one car to meet the fast road and very occasional track blast. Yet at the same time no because others have created a much better customer service experience which Audi, in our experience now lag way behind.
So 8 months later my verdict remains that the RS3 is a truly great all rounder road car with devastating wet weather pace. The biggest let down is nothing to do with the car and rests at the door of the fleet diesel obsessed dealer network.
Happy with my wheels woolyJoe; all of 'em; and will think on if and when something else comes along... 
