2014 Audi S3

[gandv]

Greetings all, I'm currently looking very closely again at the S3 my new R having been written off last week I'd be optioning S-Tronic, metallic paint (Glacier White) PP, and tint (does it not come with Hill Hold as standard??). Just getting my head around justifying a $10k approx premium on my R (admittedly I managed a great price on the R, and looks like I can manage a fair chunk off the S3)....the interior of the S3 is spectacular and clearly a more "luxe" vehicle. Anyway, have a little bit of time to decide (and couple of S3's meeting my specs are coming in the next month or 2)

My understanding is that it comes with Hill hold but not (Hill) Hold Assist (code UH2). Which one did you mean? The "Assist" bit means (when turned on) that when the car comes to a complete stop, the car holds the brakes on for any length of time, until you touch the throttle, then it relases: and it also puts on the hand brake for you when you park.

Re the price comparison R or S3: remember it isn't apples with apples, so maybe the extra isn't as bad as it first appears. For example the S3 has Nappa leather standard, as opposed to the R's std cloth or if you add the additional cost for R leather it's still not comparable to the S3's Nappa. Also thing like the S3's pop up display is a step above the R's etc. However some things work the other way - you have to pay extra to get a rear arm rest etc. For me the biggest differences were 1) the lack of refinement I found in the R, compared to the S3; and that's important to me and 2) the options that I wanted - I could get on the S3 but not on the R (e.g. B&O sound etc).

Anyway, good luck deciding ....

[andrew7]

Thanks Gandv, agree, all good points. Agree that the level of refinement is far superior in the S3, and the performance pack offers features that the R cant match. And, yes, I am referring to the "Assist" function which comes standard on the R (but not standard on the S3).

[AdamD]

Thanks Gandv, agree, all good points. Agree that the level of refinement is far superior in the S3, and the performance pack offers features that the R cant match. And, yes, I am referring to the "Assist" function which comes standard on the R (but not standard on the S3).

Bearing in mind that the Hold Assist is all of $150. Agreed it's a shame it's not standard, but it's an easy box to tick. As long as you tell your salesman, that is - gandv (my dad) and I both trawled through the brochure looking for it and had to specifically investigate its availability and pricing, as it's not on the standard S3 options price list.

The most like-for-like you can get an R and an S3 is by speccing leather and DSG on the R, and Magnetic Ride on the S3 Sportback. The prices are then within $5k or so (going from memory here). The VW Vienna leather is over $3000 and isn't a patch on the standard Nappa in the S3, and of course the Audi gets DSG as a no-cost option as well. So if you're considering that fairly common paring of options, the S3 makes a lot of sense from a financial perspective too.

I actually would have been happy with an R if I could spec it the way I wanted from factory (Nappa leather, 8" Discover Pro head unit and MDI, Dynaudio upgrade, Pretoria 19s - all options available in Europe), and stay with the VW brand. But Volkswagen Australia isn't interested in doing special configurations and if I'm going to spend a reasonable chunk of money on a new car, I expect it to meet my needs. So the S3 was a very easy decision for me in the end.

[amatsd]

Hi all

Just a quick note to say hello and to post a photo of my new S3 which I took delivery of on the weekend!




It's almost fully loaded, S-tronic, Performance Pack, Sunroof, Assistance Pack, Mirror Pack... just missing the rails, glass and load through

It's such a beautiful car imo and I can't wait till the weekend for some more driving!

[Longy]

Hi all

Just a quick note to say hello and to post a photo of my new S3 which I took delivery of on the weekend!




It's almost fully loaded, S-tronic, Performance Pack, Sunroof, Assistance Pack, Mirror Pack... just missing the rails, glass and load through

It's such a beautiful car imo and I can't wait till the weekend for some more driving!

Very nice, enjoy!

By the way, what were the two Sepang Blue cars in the background?

[amatsd]

Thanks Longy. You may have seen the post earlier on OzAudi.. thought i'd sign up here as well!

The one on the right was a Q3/5 from memory and the one by the back wall was a RS4 (hopefully the next car!). In saying that, I was actually more excited about seeing mine rather than the RS4 lol

I'll try and post a more detailed review/thoughts in the coming weeks once i've had more time in it

[Ryan_R]

Some MMI/Audi Connect features explained (AC coming to Aus later...)

[AdamD]

Some MMI/Audi Connect features explained (AC coming to Aus later...)

Interesting video. The AC stuff does look fancy, albeit gimmicky and not necessary unless you're often visiting locations that you're unfamiliar with. I'm not concerned I'm not getting it. The overall MMI system looks impressive though.

[Ryan_R]

Yeah the only thing I'd want AC for is Google Earth navigation, and perhaps Internet radio if the service is decent

[AdamD]

Yeah the only thing I'd want AC for is Google Earth navigation, and perhaps Internet radio if the service is decent

At least you can stream internet radio from your mobile via Bluetooth.