What Should Audi Do To Improve The 8V A3 / S3

[Bristle Hound]

What should Audi do to improve the 8V A3/S3?

As I haven't got mine yet, the only thing that springs to mind is the lack of 220bhp petrol option for the Uk market like they do in North America

Oh & why don't Audi offer these alloys on the S3 saloons that they do in Oz & SA

 

[CraigI]

S3 - better suspension and steering set up and a front diff.

 

[Scotty2011]

Machine guns, ejector seat and racing strips.

 

[andywil13]

Make mono pur standard

 

[Vertigo1]

They need to sort out streaming music services such as Spotify. How they can equip the car with a 4G connection via the Connect option but don't offer any way of streaming Spotify is laughable tbh. The only way of streaming music is to use a bluetooth connected phone or the MMI smartphone app (which only supports obscure online stations). The car has its own Internet connection, why can't it stream online services natively?

 

[Dazzeroo]

More displacement; maybe a nice 3.0 V6?!

 

[Martin L]

why can't it stream online services natively?

Licensing. Why would audi want to pay a 3rd party for streaming when it's the users decision for what they choose to listen too, hence you can stream over your mobile device to the car.
While it's a nice to have it doesn't make business sense to integrate and even less so now with the impending Apple and android intergration.
Now those will be licences worth paying for as it will be far less than the development and production costs for in house solutions.


Oh and what I would like the 8V to have Is steering feel. My TT was far better, not great, but much much better.

 

[MatthijsR]

install some frikking USB-ports

 

[Vertigo1]

More displacement; maybe a nice 3.0 V6?!

No market for it.

 

[Vertigo1]

Licensing. Why would audi want to pay a 3rd party for streaming when it's the users decision for what they choose to listen too, hence you can stream over your mobile device to the car.

I'm not suggesting they pay for your Spotify sub, simply provide support for the major players in the MMI system so you can use them if you wish (supplying your account credentials of course).

 

[h5djr]

I'm not suggesting they pay for your Spotify sub, simply provide support for the major players in the MMI system so you can use them if you wish (supplying your account credentials of course).

As long as make it an option so that those who might use it pay for it and those of us who will never use it don't have to pay. One of the great things about Audi is the number of things that are optional meaning that if you want them you pay for them and if you don't you can choose not to.

 

[AudiBoy1976]

Offer some decent Option Wheels!
...........& certainly not those 5 V-Spokes(top of the page) that were an Option on the RS4!!

Offer some proper Optional Sports/Bucket Seats.

S3 - better suspension and steering set up and a front diff.

I'd agree that the S3 would be better with slightly Harder/Lower Suspension, but the Steering & Front Diff is hardly bad in comparison to say an RS5!

 

[The Challinor]

Much better quality door cards

 

[MA3RC]

They need to sort out streaming music services such as Spotify. How they can equip the car with a 4G connection via the Connect option but don't offer any way of streaming Spotify is laughable tbh. The only way of streaming music is to use a bluetooth connected phone or the MMI smartphone app (which only supports obscure online stations). The car has its own Internet connection, why can't it stream online services natively?

I read into the Spotify thing a little while back and I think it's down to copyright laws on Spotify's behalf. It can't be processed via USB or shared internally with a phones OS as technically the music could be ripped and sold on.

 

[rikia93]

make the following standard kit on S3's like allot of it used to be Audi being tight much?

Interior light pack
Mono Pur
Cruise Control (basic)
Lumbar support ( why is this a standard option in an A6/A4 S-line/sport and not on an S car???)
Full Leather seats; none of this shoulder bolsters covered in suede shenanigans surely full leather cant be that much of a far fetched idea i I don't want to have to buy SSS for the privilege especially when they are £795. Why silver stitching cant we just have the color of the car or black ?
Auto dimming side mirrors with LED and Xenon's getting every brighter the amount of light dazzling me from cars behind this should be standard!
Reversing camera - you can buy tiny CCD sensors for an absolute pittance these days a couple of wires to the MMI and enable external input job done £275 worth I don't think so I can have camera lenses for my SLR for that I've been in a colleagues Yaris with this on it ***!
Sat Nav - now although there are three options for this how many cars these days come with this as standard its 2014 nearly 2015 we've had decent third party sat nav systems for nearly 15 years in fact my smartphone ones costs nothing (google maps)th a nice touchscreen interface always dead up to date due to internet on it. other ones do speed camera alerts and the like for not anything like £4-500!
Bose / Sound system used to be standard kit on S-cars ? why the awful cheap nasty bog standard sound system when your paying £30K plus you do expect some kind of premium before you start adding on extras!
Rear side airbags surely in the day and age of 10+ airbag cars these should be standard especially when manufacturers should all be aiming to get the safest car possible?

 

[Relliott6879]

Make Xenon front/LED rear lights standard equipment.

+1 on the USB ports and satnav, too.

 

[mfl]

On the S3

• more differentiation from an S-line - body and interior
  
• a 7 or 8 speed gearbox
• more rear bias in the Haldex
• wider wheels
• actually show engine information in the MMI screen
• rear armrest/load through should be standard
• more storage cubicles inside the cabin for the driver.
• oh and more hp & torque.

 

[dejongj]

Change the look of the dashboard, integrate the screen. Maybe then I'll go back.

 

[Longy]

HUD with digital speed readout rather than in between the dials on the dash as high speeds are reached very quickly, as it doesn't feel like you're actually travelling that fast until you look down at the speedo.

 

[Vertigo1]

As long as make it an option so that those who might use it pay for it and those of us who will never use it don't have to pay. One of the great things about Audi is the number of things that are optional meaning that if you want them you pay for them and if you don't you can choose not to.

Oh of course - just add compatibility for those that want it - you'd still have to pay for your own subscription and enter your account details into the MMI.

 

[Vertigo1]

make the following standard kit on S3's like allot of it used to be Audi being tight much?

Interior light pack
Mono Pur
Cruise Control (basic)
Lumbar support ( why is this a standard option in an A6/A4 S-line/sport and not on an S car???)
Full Leather seats; none of this shoulder bolsters covered in suede shenanigans surely full leather cant be that much of a far fetched idea i I don't want to have to buy SSS for the privilege especially when they are £795. Why silver stitching cant we just have the color of the car or black ?
Auto dimming side mirrors with LED and Xenon's getting every brighter the amount of light dazzling me from cars behind this should be standard!
Reversing camera - you can buy tiny CCD sensors for an absolute pittance these days a couple of wires to the MMI and enable external input job done £275 worth I don't think so I can have camera lenses for my SLR for that I've been in a colleagues Yaris with this on it ***!
Sat Nav - now although there are three options for this how many cars these days come with this as standard its 2014 nearly 2015 we've had decent third party sat nav systems for nearly 15 years in fact my smartphone ones costs nothing (google maps)th a nice touchscreen interface always dead up to date due to internet on it. other ones do speed camera alerts and the like for not anything like £4-500!
Bose / Sound system used to be standard kit on S-cars ? why the awful cheap nasty bog standard sound system when your paying £30K plus you do expect some kind of premium before you start adding on extras!
Rear side airbags surely in the day and age of 10+ airbag cars these should be standard especially when manufacturers should all be aiming to get the safest car possible?

So, by my reckoning, you just want them to throw in £2700 worth of optional extras for free? Why on earth should they do that?

The S3 is around £6k more than the 1.8TFSI S-Line. Aside from the obvious engine and styling differences, it already includes around £2k worth of options as standard over the S-Line, leaving a £4k difference. You want another £2700 thrown in, leaving around £1300 difference - yeah that's realistic! Basically they'd have to adjust the entire range, not just the S3, and change pricing or throw in loads of extras for free.

Leaving so many things to the options list is standard practice for the premium marques like Audi, BMW, Merc et al. That's just how it is and the alternative is to buy a Focus RS or something which will have a lot of this as standard. Audi know they don't have to do that to sell cars so they don't - good business practice.

Personally, the main thing the S3 needs is more cylinders. A four-pot, no matter how good, is stingy for a car like this. I think it should have a detuned version of the 5-cylinder used in the TTRS and RS3. I wouldn't spend £35k+ on a performance car, I'd want 5 or 6 cylinders.

 

[h5djr]

make the following standard kit on S3's like allot of it used to be Audi being tight much?

Interior light pack
Mono Pur
Cruise Control (basic)
Lumbar support ( why is this a standard option in an A6/A4 S-line/sport and not on an S car???)
Full Leather seats; none of this shoulder bolsters covered in suede shenanigans surely full leather cant be that much of a far fetched idea i I don't want to have to buy SSS for the privilege especially when they are £795. Why silver stitching cant we just have the color of the car or black ?
Auto dimming side mirrors with LED and Xenon's getting every brighter the amount of light dazzling me from cars behind this should be standard!
Reversing camera - you can buy tiny CCD sensors for an absolute pittance these days a couple of wires to the MMI and enable external input job done £275 worth I don't think so I can have camera lenses for my SLR for that I've been in a colleagues Yaris with this on it ***!
Sat Nav - now although there are three options for this how many cars these days come with this as standard its 2014 nearly 2015 we've had decent third party sat nav systems for nearly 15 years in fact my smartphone ones costs nothing (google maps)th a nice touchscreen interface always dead up to date due to internet on it. other ones do speed camera alerts and the like for not anything like £4-500!
Bose / Sound system used to be standard kit on S-cars ? why the awful cheap nasty bog standard sound system when your paying £30K plus you do expect some kind of premium before you start adding on extras!
Rear side airbags surely in the day and age of 10+ airbag cars these should be standard especially when manufacturers should all be aiming to get the safest car possible?

But if Audi were to make all those items standard that would increase the basic price of the car and some people would end up paying for items that they do not want. If you want all things to be standard you are looking at the wrong manufacturer. All of the major German manufacturers have always worked on the basis of offering a basic car and then allowing the customer to 'personalize' the car by adding the options they want. Audi UK do add quite a few more items as standard in the UK that are not standard in Audi's home market, but this is to satisfy the UK company car market.

 

[pat15312]

Basically cheaper, as all other suggestions.

 

[steeve]

First thing is sort the high speed suspension feel out. At speed on a slightly bumpy road you sometimes get the feeling its going to jump over the nearest hedge.
There's little doubt that high speed damper control on the Golf R is better than the S3, so if VW can do it why not Audi.
That's my only real gripe to be honest. Oh and a floor mounted accelerator pedal.

 

[Bristle Hound]

Offer some decent Option Wheels!
...........& certainly not those 5 V-Spokes(top of the page) that were an Option on the RS4!!

My fave wheels, of all time on the S3 saloon!
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/i-so-want-these-19s-on-my-s3-saloon.225742/

Cheers for photo Longy

 

[Bristle Hound]

First thing is sort the high speed suspension feel out. At speed on a slightly bumpy road you sometimes get the feeling its going to jump over the nearest hedge.

 

[veeeight]

I'm sayin' nothin .... my thoughts on the suspension/steering woes are well documented elsewhere on this forum

 

[steeve]

I'm sayin' nothin .... my thoughts on the suspension/steering woes are well documented elsewhere on this forum

And your comments are sadly accurate. Where you and I differ is that although I accept that the R may be (is) better in some areas, for me I don't accept that the R is the better car overall. It's all about personal opinion. I respect your opinion but don't have to agree with it.

For me that's the only real change I would make.

 

[Foxtrot_Oscar]

Change the look of the dashboard, integrate the screen. Maybe then I'll go back.

Not going to happen. Better stick with your old fashioned Golf Interior.

 

[steeve]

Not going to happen. Better stick with your old fashioned Golf Interior.

I like the look of the A3 dash, but have yet to see the new TT. Certainly wouldn't want to be looking at the Merc A Class dashboard!

 

[veeeight]

And your comments are sadly accurate. Where you and I differ is that although I accept that the R may be (is) better in some areas, for me I don't accept that the R is the better car overall. It's all about personal opinion. I respect your opinion but don't have to agree with it.

This thing about me liking/favouring the R as a better car overall seems to have gained a life of its own on this forum. I very much doubt that you'll find that I've ever said that, what I have said is that the R offers a better driving prospect over the S3, in terms of primary drive. And that the journalists having a stonk over the R is well deserved (for its driving feel/ability) - there was some backlash over that on here.

After all, This is my 3rd Audi, I do know what the marque package represents, never owned a VW, but do think that for an "S" car, something is missing.

 

[CraigI]

Offer some decent Option Wheels!
...........& certainly not those 5 V-Spokes(top of the page) that were an Option on the RS4!!

Offer some proper Optional Sports/Bucket Seats.



I'd agree that the S3 would be better with slightly Harder/Lower Suspension, but the Steering & Front Diff is hardly bad in comparison to say an RS5!

I'm not sure the relevance of the RS5 here but I think I know what you are trying to do so I'll take your bait.
For info the RS5 is much, much better than a S3, which it should be given it costs twice as much. To me, it's worth the premium and is pretty much my perfect car.
I've got the sports package (dynamic steering and auto adjusting suspension) on my RS5 and it comes with a rear diff as standard which helps immeasurably (steering still isn't perfect, but much better than on any other Audi I've had), options like this on the S3 would make it much better a driving prospect and less mundane.

 

[CCWS3]

Basically what the rest are saying:

1. Enhanced suspension setup but this is nothing springs, etc. won't fix
2. Mono. pur and the interior light pack should be standard when you consider the fact it's an S3
3. 7 speed box for the long drives
4. Reversing camera should be part of the Parking Plus pack IMO
5. More vehicle info in the MMI akin to what BMW display

Don't know why people want it to have a higher displacement and more power... that's exactly what the RS3 is for. I quite like the fact Audi is ramping that amount of power out of a 4 pot, but yes, it doesn't match the 2.5 block or V6/V8 in terms of soundtrack. It's more than adequate in the speed department but I will look to take it past 400 bhp. I'll only opt for the RS3 if they do a saloon version as I don't rate 5dr hatchbacks.

 

[Martin L]

but do think that for an "S" car, something is missing.

It would be good to know what you think a S model should be.
As far as I'm aware most Audi S cars fulfilled the same brief. A relatively powerful good at straight line stuff.
Under no circumstances do I expect one to handle brilliantly. That's allegedly the RSs job.
Of the current range I think the S1 is the only one that'll make you go tingly downstairs.

 

[veeeight]

An S model should under steer less than a non S model

An S model should ride and go around mild corners with speed, without feeling that it's going to pitch you off into the ditch hedge or armco.

I fully understand that Audi's with AWD are fast point to point cars - not cars to go fast around corners in,

But you saying that it should only be good at straight line stuff is underselling it. After all, you could buy a 184 quattro and that would be fast in a straight line.

My 8P S3 managed to tackle high speed corners without this pitchy bouncy nonsense.

 

[S32B]

Basically cheaper, as all other suggestions.

If you make a car cheaper you lose out on quality, to make it cheaper one of the biggest costs is in the labour to build it. So instead of one guy fitting 10 parts with plenty of time spare to make sure that those parts are perfect, that same guy 'to build the car cheaper' now has to fit 15 parts with no time spare = he then just bangs them on and sends it down the line regardless of a perfect fit or not, as he doesn't have any spare time to adjust the fit! So now two guys are fitting 30 parts rather than three guys. That then happens all around the factory = 1/3 of the work force is lost = the car is cheaper to build as the wage bill has just come down by 33%.

It's a nonstop process, they even have a 'CIP' team (continuous improvement process) whose job it is to squeeze every last second of time/work out of each employee.

How do I know? - I work in a car factory and have seen the workforce reduced more and more over the past 18 years all to make it cheaper to build. Hence why I'm buying an Audi and not a car that we build

 

[veeeight]

*cough* jlr *cough*

 

[S32B]

*cough*Vauxhall*cough*

PS: Works discount on a VXR Astra 11%...The discount I got on the S3 10.3%...worth staying loyal???? NO

 

[leosayer1]

• Memory for the electric seats
• Reduce noise and vibration on rough road surfaces
• Allow the driver and passenger seat go lower to the floor
• Increase the tilt of the sports seats and make the side bolsters a bit 'huggier'
• Make the handling a bit more fun on twisty roads and roundabouts - a bit more adjustability would be nice
• Magnetic ride and dynamic steering an option on SE suspension
• A 'proper' panoramic sunroof
• Bigger fuel tank
• Launch control for 7-speed S-tronic

 

[h5djr]

If you make a car cheaper you lose out on quality, to make it cheaper one of the biggest costs is in the labour to build it. So instead of one guy fitting 10 parts with plenty of time spare to make sure that those parts are perfect, that same guy 'to build the car cheaper' now has to fit 15 parts with no time spare = he then just bangs them on and sends it down the line regardless of a perfect fit or not, as he doesn't have any spare time to adjust the fit! So now two guys are fitting 30 parts rather than three guys. That then happens all around the factory = 1/3 of the work force is lost = the car is cheaper to build as the wage bill has just come down by 33%.

It's a nonstop process, they even have a 'CIP' team (continuous improvement process) whose job it is to squeeze every last second of time/work out of each employee.

How do I know? - I work in a car factory and have seen the workforce reduced more and more over the past 18 years all to make it cheaper to build. Hence why I'm buying an Audi and not a car that we build

Certainly having visited the Ingolstadt factory several times over the years, that workers fitting components on the final assembly line have all the aids possible to help make their life as easy as possible and they never seem 'rushed even though the cars are continuously on the move. There do seem to have the time and inclination to make sure their particular component(s) are fitted correctly. Most of the pre-final assembly line is done by robots including the full assembly of all the bodywork and all the painting. I've not yet had the chance to watch the engines being built as this is all done at the Gyor factory in Hungary.