Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Took one out for a bimble on saturday.
Peformance - Astra throttle map in 1st was awful, very jumpy. Gets better through the gears, but the Audi wins hands down. So smooth, nice turbo whistle, nice exhaust burble. Fair bit of lag in 6th, but 1st-4th the lag is practically nil. 265bhp will get it off the line much quicker, but at higher speeds I don't think theres too much in it due to 4x4 losses. But its got a 155 limiter, can't see it pulling much more than that as standard though (remapped ones are meant to see nearly 170, although unsure how believable that is with just over 300bhp???)
Handling - Very light stearing at slow speeds. Designed for girls clearly. Gets a lot weightier at higher speeds, but deffo not as precise as the Astra. There feels like more weight in the car compared to the astra. Didn't get a chance to really give it some cornering, the salesman already looked a little concerned even under fairly relaxed driving. Bloody fanny, too used to selling cars to rich daddy girls who haven't got a clue about anything other than lables and makeup.  Brakes wise I couldn't really get on them hard, but I got my moments. I knew this as the salesmans bulky body and head would shoot forwards until the strap locks up. Glad its a demo car, he'll break it
Fuel - Eeek, simple foot down to floor in 6th showed 8mpg. Dread to think top speeds (astra was down to 6.9). Average is meant to be about the same, Astra retured 27mpg. Although as its being driven with extreme caution at the moment, we've done 45 miles, and its still showing 348 left on the computer
Comfort + Quality - Seriously, not even close. Seats area little more comfy, but more adjustable and whilst i loved the astra seats, the middle of the seat stuck out and arches my back a little. Not uncomfy, just needed to adjust when in the car. No issue with the Audi, very comfy, full leather, quite soft. Dash is better built and buttons don't feel so "tap tap" plasticy. Sat Nav is better, screen has more colours, although its quite a small screen which suprises me.
Audi has got a LOT more room in the back. But who sees the back seats? For coats and bags
Impression - Its a bloody good ROAD car. comfy, refined, relaxed, but smooth and qutie nippy. Deffo an improvement with the new 4 pot engines over the older S3 225bhp engine. Quality has improved, and suspension wasn't as soft as the previous (well its very soft, but seemed to ride much better). I can't honestly see where another £10k goes over the astra. Its an overall better road car, but £10k, I can't see where it goes. £5k sure, but £10k, nahhhh. Its not as exciting as the Astra, not as raw and pure fun, it doesn't entice you to go faster. But its softer, slightly quicker, and far superior in build quality. Suprisingly a well spec'd S3 is still cheaper than a moderatly spec'd 2.0 Derv A4 S-line. A good upgrade I think. Astra looks more exciting and in your face, but this also caused it to be keyed, and peopel wanting to race it everywhere. Don't think u'll have this issue with the S3 as its quite plain looking and reserved.
Looked at the new Astra, not as impressed  Button are horrible, and new VXR isn't due to 2011/12 so no chance. Nothing else really ticks Donna's boxes. So looks like she putting her order in soon.
White S3
Comfort Pack
Lighting Pack
St nav, bluetooth, Ipod connection, full leather, leccy mirrors, heated sits, climate control, parking sensors, 18"s etc.
Should look like:
[Edited on 14-06-2010 by VXR]
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Steve
Premium Member
Registered: 30th Mar 02
Location: Worcestershire Drives: Defender
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nice cars, thats a bad photo of one though
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Daimo B
Member
Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Will have those wheels on it. Not the best shot, but best I could find with those wheels and colour.
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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I prefer the styling of the S3 over the Astra personally, looks classier and like you say the quality is another level despite what people with Vauxhall tinted glasses try to tell you.
Nice upgrade 
Are you going for the black grill as noticed you dont have it listed on the options list you posted?
[Edited on 14-06-2010 by mwg]
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Nic Barnes
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Registered: 5th Apr 04
Location: nowhere near ginger people
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they are a good car to drive as a car. Just not that exciting at all for the price tag. More of a look at me i can afford an expensive hatch back kinda car.
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
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Dont get the ipod connection, I have it and its useless. You cant see track names and it can only access the 1st 6 playlists. Honestly its a waste of money.
You'll have an aux-in near the handbrake thats much better for connecting an ipod to.
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Colin
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Registered: 4th Apr 02
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I was looking round a black one of these on Sat, 07 plate & they wanted 20k for it!!
Looked nice, but not exciting enough to warrant that kind of spend!!
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jr
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Registered: 20th May 02
Location: Kent
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so are you getting one or not 
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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No black grill, didn't see that on the options list. I think the Ipod connection comes as part of one of the packages.
Colin, good for resale though for the car after in a few more years though 
James, yes, but will PM you.
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mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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Black grill is the black styling pack. If you want it to look like the one above you need it. I would as it works really well against the white
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Rick Draper
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Registered: 10th Feb 01
Location: Cheshire
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Ask about the black edition.
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AndyKent
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Registered: 3rd Sep 05
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What heatunit comes with it then?
I've got the VW touchscreen satnav with hard drive built in to my Golf. No need for an ipod connection when you can save everything straight to the car, I imagine Audi offer the exact same unit.
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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The nav has card slots
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Daimo B
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Registered: 20th Mar 00
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Got a price on the black edition. All depends on sorting a few other bits out
Errrrrr, I dunno Andy, the Bose kit comes on the black, so its just whatever sat nav/audio system that comes on the 2010 models. Sat Nav is included in the 10 S3, but still £1495 on the other models.
Considering the Vx sat nav was also £1500, its much much better.
The only thing with the Black grill is i'd want black wheels to go with it
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SetH
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Registered: 15th Jul 01
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Daimo was this DSG or Manual?
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Daimo B
Member
Registered: 20th Mar 00
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manual. dson't want none of that car drives itself crap. Got to retain some form of input to the driving. Its half the fun getting a good change coming into bends etc. DSG may be quicker, but that takes away some of the fun of driving.
Plus its a lot of money for .2 of a second.
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gwil0283
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Registered: 16th May 03
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looking at these myself
I've got an FN2 type r at the moment, and looking to change.
think im swaying towards a 335i over this though
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Joe
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Registered: 20th Jun 04
Location: Hesketh Bank, Lancashire
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Good to see an un-biased person comparing one to a VXR.
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3CorsaMeal
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Registered: 11th Apr 02
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like you said in previous thread you don't need a car for racing around and driving fast.
good choice imo
who needs excitement when you have quality  , am sure its capable of driving plenty fast enough anyway 
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mwg
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Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
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Ibis White Black Edition
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adiohead
Member
Registered: 28th Sep 01
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want an RS3
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Colin
Member
Registered: 4th Apr 02
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Black edition looks well!! Get one of those!!
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Robin
Premium Member
Registered: 7th Jan 04
Location: Northants Drives: Clio 182 Cup
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Dsg makes it a better car IMO and I really
dislike autos.
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Daimo B
Member
Registered: 20th Mar 00
User status: Offline
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Not needed expense. She wants a manual. Nothing like slotting it into gear, part of the experience of driving. Not fussed if the DSG is faster, better, smoother, its lazy driving.
Black Edition isn't really that much ebtter, but its on the list.
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IvIarkgraham
Premium Member
Registered: 27th Mar 04
Location: Ellesmere Port, Cheshire
User status: Offline
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i now want an s3 again
can someone lend me some money?
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