I'm starting to come to the conclusion that only the A45 and RS3 are the realistic contenders which tick most of the boxes.
The latest RS3 is in the very high £30k bracket which is the only downer at the moment.
Although I'm still not sure about the Sportback I did see one gun it down the road today and I was just gobsmacked at the sound track :D

I have to admit I choose cars primarily based on their drivetrains. I cannot stop myself. If the car is 5m long I don't care. Just gimme a blown V8.

Already got 2 automatics on the drive that I can use if I wanted (3 including the Jag). In addition I've driven every auto/dual clutch out there (with exception to the Chrysler/ZF 9 speed...yes 9 gears...as if 8 was enough :cuckoo: ), and all of them erode my wish to drive for fun....

So, why would I want another?

Don't follow the herd!

:)

The new autos for daily drives for me is a must, so pleasurable to drive, it's like driving while doing nothing which suits me fine.
Agree there's the full control missing for some fun, hence the other car for fun.

How bad are they as this is one of the cars on my possible next car list. I will get mine mapped as well so I was wondering how manageable they are driven in anger?

Driven in anger they are 'very' lively, a touch of the throttle will open back end lol.
But if you're a good driver then it should be ok :D
Very quick car, not neck braking quick but very rapid cruiser, more of a smooth power without realising how fast your actually going.
Love the rotating heater vents when you start it, nice luxurys and they are fairly cheap to buy.
Gas guzzlers but it is a 5.0.

All I will say is XFR 5.0 is worse for traction than my Monaro. Greats for s**ts and giggles though.

If you think a BMW 330d is bad at getting the power down in the wet, the XFR is worse, alot worse. Its controllable, but you know just one day it will spit you through a hedge backwards :lol1:

And if anyone can tell me what the chequered flag button is supposed to do, I be damned if I could tell the difference LOL.

Mustang
Looks and sounds great and brand new too for 35k
Rear seats are tiny though

They did cross my mind. Incredible value but possibly too many compromises to be a realistic option.

The 4 door S3 is worth a look,

Hired one for three weeks in April in the US, but only the 2.3 Ecoboost. It went OK with just over 300 HP, and as a four it sounded quite good, but was a big, heavy car with interior space like E92 coupe although the autobox felt clunky compared to European cars, interior obviously built to a budget but I think it was a $23k car there. Suspension and brakes felt decent enough. With another 80ish HP in the V8... not sure enough?

Ok, after 4hrs visiting Audi, Merc, BMW and a performance car specialist I have drawn the following conclusions.

Focus RS - nope. Cheap looking and I don't want a manual.
BMW - Sales knew nowt about the existence of a 340i X drive (and I want a change)
A45 - Still loving it.
RS4 - Too big
RS3 - love it more than the A45 I think :D

I think the a45 is a good choice

S3 is better than A45.

The S3 or RS3?

The former regardless of the power just isn't special enough for me.

Sean - out of the box with no mods what so ever, how do you rate you RS3 over the 45?

I was speaking to a friend who works for Mercedes and gets constant company cars from them and he doesn't rate the a45 at all.

If not an A45 what about a Mercedes-Benz CLS 6.2 CLS63 AMG 7G-Tronic or a Mercedes-Benz C Class 6.3 C63 AMG MCT 7S 4-MATIC
Yes, the C63 is a coupe, but it does have 2 rear isofix seats! Ok it's not 4WD but it does have 4 wheels! :D

Tart cart

I would love to but I know I would regret it every time it rained :D

He's obviously a knob then! Ha

They are quite different cars imo.

Stock pre FL A45 vs stock RS3, imo the RS3 is better as an all round road package.

There are many areas to compare. What specifics do you want my view on?

I think you've answered my question really. Nothing specific in mind.
I think I would have an A45 in a heartbeat if it didn't have a 4 pot as I think it's the better looking car. The seats are lovely.
The Audi on the other hand does have the 5 pot but the seats don't look that supportive unless I find a car with the optional seats which seem few and far between.
If I'm reading the Interweb correctly, then it seems that you don't get the Sport Exhaust (a must) unless the car is speced with the mag ride - is that right? Apparently Audi will not fit the a sport exhaust upon request either :(
I think I am going to have a long wait to find the car with all the right bits, in the right colour at the right price.

Just been looking at Evo and Auto Express group tests and the RS3 gets a bit of a kicking. Nose heavy / under steer etc. I probably don't / won't push a car hard enough these days to get that far but the general opinion is that the 45 is by far the better car.
Ultimately I will test both and get my own opinion.

Sean, I was looking at a thread from last year where you were less than complimentary about what an RS3 would be.
You made reference to something must be seriously wrong with a car which has wider front tyres than rears ones. Has the ownership experience changed your mind?

Well he got rid of the a45 for the rs3.
You thought of the golf R? Massive tuning potential.

I've turned into a bit of a snob having had the 330d. Audi, BMW or Mercedes is just a cut above in my head. A VW just doesn't cut it for me. I know an RS3 is just a Golf in a skirt but I'd only ever view it as just a VW. It's similar to a Focus RS being just a Ford.

Brun = total snob :D

As for tuning, just couldn't bring myself to do it. I just want a bog standard car with as much power as I can get without compromising the Warranty.

I think that's quite a limiting belief. I'm not bothered about the badge a car wears at all which is why I have an RS on order as I believe it will be one of the most exciting all round hot-hatches with the best value for money.

I think something like a stage 2 Golf R would really suit your needs if you could get past the fact it's a VW. As you can imagine, I've read just about every hot-hatch comparison written or videoed since I ordered the RS in Oct 2015. The FRS wins most with the Golf R dethroned but clipping at its heels. The Type R is sometimes favoured and the facelift AMG45 is nearly always top 3. The RS3/S3 nearly always get panned for handling.

That being said, it depends what you are after....if you don't want to go mental down country roads and prefer to feel great about the car [percieved quality] and enjoy the acceleration between corners, the RS3 would be hard to beat: sounds amazing, special and very fast in a straight line.

For me, if money was no object, I'd still have the FRS [priority fun] or Golf R [priorty tuning and straight line] as the RS3 and AMG45 are just too expensive for a family hatch. It puts them into a pricing bracket with some other very interesting new and nearly new machinery.

I don't expect to convince you to go from RS3/AMG to FRS - that's quite a jump in cabin design, image, etc. However, I'd be really keen to compare RS3/AMG/Golf R to see if the extra expense can really be justified.

The reason why I said golf r is they are a lot cheaper and I quite like the 7s.
I'm pondering myself at a later stage to down size from the avant to a 5dr hatch for a daily.
It's between the golf gti mk7 (but fwd puts me off) or the new shape s3 5 dr. (The newer ones are improved mpg and bhp)
Don't want the top of the lines really as needs to be fairly economical (too many other cars to run).
Or I could just sell all cars and get a rs6 avant :)

I'm like you a Brun, not interested in going bananas round the bends on the road. For me I want AWD, turbo, interesting engine, hatch, 5 doors and a nice interior..

RS3 would be my choice.

Who gives a flying duck that the A45 would beat the RS3 by 0.5secs round some circuit because the RS3 is more nose heavy?

I'm sure that gets blown out of proportion though, I've seen vids of the two compared on track and the tester rolls out the 'nose heavy' boredom and then the car is literally minutely slower round a race track than the suppose'd wonder handling A45.. Doesn't make much sense does it?

The RS Focus is a no from me, look fun but once you've accelerated a couple of times you're left with a Ford Focus interior and exterior to live with.

A45? I personally don't like the look of them, but understand that's subjective. For me they're so similar to every other A class. Then you get the optional spoiler and awful front bumper things that then try too hard and it looks embarrassing to me.

The RS3 had the understated RS look nailed that Audi do with their RS cars. It's also got an interesting sounding engine and a lovely interior.

I

I appreciate what you are saying. The FRS does look a hoot but 1 mile into driving my 330 I realised that autos were my thing so in reality it was never going to get a look in. Having said that, ive never been a fan of any Focus or indeed a Golf. I'm not saying the A class or A3 are better looking cars but I think I prefer them as the are less common than the former.
For the first time in a long time, I'm in a position where I can afford to own a fast valuable car outright and due to my yearly mileage dropping from 30k+ to around 7k miles, running costs are no worry.
In my mind I'd like something a little crazy like a C63, V8 Mustang or a VXR8 but I still want day to day practability for use in the lovely English weather. My 330 gets on my tits in damp conditions so awd is a must.
As you mentioned, I do want a fast acceleration point to point and am less concerned about the twisties these days.
I was similar when I had my Scoob. I always felt that I'd run out of talent before I ran out of brakes so hard acceleration out of corners and between roundabouts was my thing :thumb:

Pretty spot on :thumb: