Audi RS3 2.5TFSI EVO - new owner thoughts
03 June 2019, 03:15 PM
#31
Scooby Regular
03 June 2019, 05:16 PM
#34
Scooby Regular
I may well be a silly billy but I'm not sure what your point is. I never said that the quality of a car has anything to do with the people that drive them. I made two separate observations
1) It seems like a really nice car
2) Most of the ones I've seen have been driven over aggressively and by a certain sort.
14 June 2019, 06:35 PM
#35
Both clearly with extreme exhaust modifications.
Both ********* seems to take great delight in accelerating aggressively in low gears, continually performing up shifts and downshifts.
20 June 2019, 04:35 PM
#37
I've got a prefl 8V and am currently in two minds whether to get rid of it or not.
As my daily it has pros and cons, all imo of course - tried to give those looking at buying one an honest summary of my thoughts below. Not looking for arguments, just my opinion, feel free to disagree!
For me, it's a practical car with a lot of point and squirt ability; more soul than an S3 or Golf R, but I have found myself missing my old C63 and considering jumping back into one...
Thing is, there are still plenty of positives and the sensible head is saying to keep it and tinker a bit to make it a little more fun.
If you don't have access to another vehicle in winter weather, it's definitely a good candidate to consider, but I would go straight to 8V and potentially even the FL if you can afford it.
Pros
- (part time) all wheel drive means you can get away pretty lairly without much hassle at all
- Interior is nice, although not a huge step up from say a Golf R; it's not as nice as an C63 AMG, but given the price you'd almost expect a bit more
- Plenty of torque available from low down and throughout the rev range; a stage 1 map alone will liberate over 400bhp and is more than enough for a road car on our crowded streets!
- Practical in sportback form; I'd recommend going for the dynamic pack with the mag ride and sports exhaust as the standard ride on 19's is a little firmer than I wanted.
- When it's on full chat the engine sounds great without any fake noise piped in
- Far better ride and performance than the old 8P shape, although in comfort the suspension can be almost a little bouncy at lower speeds
- Running costs (outside of servicing) - £300 VED for the year isn't bad for this level of performance on a car this new, and it'll happily do over 300 miles on a full tank on longer journeys; still returned 20mpg after thrashing it home this week (my C63 would have been about 14mpg lol)
- Good amount of room in the back for passengers
- Seats fold down and you can fit a pair of Impreza bumpers in no issue at all with the passenger seat pushed forward
Cons
- The brakes. They squeal like a pig to embarrassing volume, and imo the car is woefully underbraked as standard if you plan to be a bit naughty from time to time.
I've fitted the two piece Reyland motorsport conversion to mine with uprated pads which has made it better, but still not as good as I'd like. Fluid is next.
Apparently this still isn't fixed in the Facelift from what I read on the owners forum; there's a huge thread on it.
- Understeer - if you're in a long sweeping bend it's superb and feels glued to the road, but throw it into a roundabout and keep your foot in, and the front washes out and it runs wide.
I think some of this is due to the Pirelli P zeros on the car which I really don't like at all, so will try some Michelins, and possibly a bigger rear ARB might help too.
From what reviews say, the facelifted car fixes a lot of this with the weight savings applied to the newer engine.
- Gearbox - most of the time it's good but occasionally especially in dynamic it gets confused when you want it to change down and it pauses for a few seconds to have a think, which is less than ideal!
- Servicing cost - is ridiculous for a car that shares many of its parts with VW. Hubs have VW stamped on them for example. A major service including gearbox oil change was £825. That's approx the same as a major on a v8 C63 yet for me the hardware isn't as sturdy.
- Steering wheel paddles are ridiculously tiny width and height wise unless you have Peter Shilton hands - I've fitted paddle extensions to mine. Why they skimped on such a simple thing is beyond me.
- The music / nav menu system is bloody awful, worst I've had in a German car. The layout looks pretty, but functionally when you're driving the ***** and switches aren't really in intuitive places.
- Seats aren't very heavily bolstered; they're not terrible by any means but a little more would make it handy when you want to give it a thrashing
- Boot is tiny, you won't fit a pushchair or stroller in it unless you remove the wheels
- Strange one - but it just doesn't feel "special" enough for the money you pay; I don't get out grinning like I used to with my Merc.
As my daily it has pros and cons, all imo of course - tried to give those looking at buying one an honest summary of my thoughts below. Not looking for arguments, just my opinion, feel free to disagree!
For me, it's a practical car with a lot of point and squirt ability; more soul than an S3 or Golf R, but I have found myself missing my old C63 and considering jumping back into one...
Thing is, there are still plenty of positives and the sensible head is saying to keep it and tinker a bit to make it a little more fun.
If you don't have access to another vehicle in winter weather, it's definitely a good candidate to consider, but I would go straight to 8V and potentially even the FL if you can afford it.
Pros
- (part time) all wheel drive means you can get away pretty lairly without much hassle at all
- Interior is nice, although not a huge step up from say a Golf R; it's not as nice as an C63 AMG, but given the price you'd almost expect a bit more
- Plenty of torque available from low down and throughout the rev range; a stage 1 map alone will liberate over 400bhp and is more than enough for a road car on our crowded streets!
- Practical in sportback form; I'd recommend going for the dynamic pack with the mag ride and sports exhaust as the standard ride on 19's is a little firmer than I wanted.
- When it's on full chat the engine sounds great without any fake noise piped in
- Far better ride and performance than the old 8P shape, although in comfort the suspension can be almost a little bouncy at lower speeds
- Running costs (outside of servicing) - £300 VED for the year isn't bad for this level of performance on a car this new, and it'll happily do over 300 miles on a full tank on longer journeys; still returned 20mpg after thrashing it home this week (my C63 would have been about 14mpg lol)
- Good amount of room in the back for passengers
- Seats fold down and you can fit a pair of Impreza bumpers in no issue at all with the passenger seat pushed forward
Cons
- The brakes. They squeal like a pig to embarrassing volume, and imo the car is woefully underbraked as standard if you plan to be a bit naughty from time to time.
I've fitted the two piece Reyland motorsport conversion to mine with uprated pads which has made it better, but still not as good as I'd like. Fluid is next.
Apparently this still isn't fixed in the Facelift from what I read on the owners forum; there's a huge thread on it.
- Understeer - if you're in a long sweeping bend it's superb and feels glued to the road, but throw it into a roundabout and keep your foot in, and the front washes out and it runs wide.
I think some of this is due to the Pirelli P zeros on the car which I really don't like at all, so will try some Michelins, and possibly a bigger rear ARB might help too.
From what reviews say, the facelifted car fixes a lot of this with the weight savings applied to the newer engine.
- Gearbox - most of the time it's good but occasionally especially in dynamic it gets confused when you want it to change down and it pauses for a few seconds to have a think, which is less than ideal!
- Servicing cost - is ridiculous for a car that shares many of its parts with VW. Hubs have VW stamped on them for example. A major service including gearbox oil change was £825. That's approx the same as a major on a v8 C63 yet for me the hardware isn't as sturdy.
- Steering wheel paddles are ridiculously tiny width and height wise unless you have Peter Shilton hands - I've fitted paddle extensions to mine. Why they skimped on such a simple thing is beyond me.
- The music / nav menu system is bloody awful, worst I've had in a German car. The layout looks pretty, but functionally when you're driving the ***** and switches aren't really in intuitive places.
- Seats aren't very heavily bolstered; they're not terrible by any means but a little more would make it handy when you want to give it a thrashing
- Boot is tiny, you won't fit a pushchair or stroller in it unless you remove the wheels
- Strange one - but it just doesn't feel "special" enough for the money you pay; I don't get out grinning like I used to with my Merc.
Last edited by MrNoisy; 21 June 2019 at 08:23 AM.
22 June 2019, 08:11 AM
#39
Scooby Regular
I've got a prefl 8V and am currently in two minds whether to get rid of it or not.
As my daily it has pros and cons, all imo of course - tried to give those looking at buying one an honest summary of my thoughts below. Not looking for arguments, just my opinion, feel free to disagree!
For me, it's a practical car with a lot of point and squirt ability; more soul than an S3 or Golf R, but I have found myself missing my old C63 and considering jumping back into one...
Thing is, there are still plenty of positives and the sensible head is saying to keep it and tinker a bit to make it a little more fun.
If you don't have access to another vehicle in winter weather, it's definitely a good candidate to consider, but I would go straight to 8V and potentially even the FL if you can afford it.
Pros
- (part time) all wheel drive means you can get away pretty lairly without much hassle at all
- Interior is nice, although not a huge step up from say a Golf R; it's not as nice as an C63 AMG, but given the price you'd almost expect a bit more
- Plenty of torque available from low down and throughout the rev range; a stage 1 map alone will liberate over 400bhp and is more than enough for a road car on our crowded streets!
- Practical in sportback form; I'd recommend going for the dynamic pack with the mag ride and sports exhaust as the standard ride on 19's is a little firmer than I wanted.
- When it's on full chat the engine sounds great without any fake noise piped in
- Far better ride and performance than the old 8P shape, although in comfort the suspension can be almost a little bouncy at lower speeds
- Running costs (outside of servicing) - £300 VED for the year isn't bad for this level of performance on a car this new, and it'll happily do over 300 miles on a full tank on longer journeys; still returned 20mpg after thrashing it home this week (my C63 would have been about 14mpg lol)
- Good amount of room in the back for passengers
- Seats fold down and you can fit a pair of Impreza bumpers in no issue at all with the passenger seat pushed forward
Cons
- The brakes. They squeal like a pig to embarrassing volume, and imo the car is woefully underbraked as standard if you plan to be a bit naughty from time to time.
I've fitted the two piece Reyland motorsport conversion to mine with uprated pads which has made it better, but still not as good as I'd like. Fluid is next.
Apparently this still isn't fixed in the Facelift from what I read on the owners forum; there's a huge thread on it.
- Understeer - if you're in a long sweeping bend it's superb and feels glued to the road, but throw it into a roundabout and keep your foot in, and the front washes out and it runs wide.
I think some of this is due to the Pirelli P zeros on the car which I really don't like at all, so will try some Michelins, and possibly a bigger rear ARB might help too.
From what reviews say, the facelifted car fixes a lot of this with the weight savings applied to the newer engine.
- Gearbox - most of the time it's good but occasionally especially in dynamic it gets confused when you want it to change down and it pauses for a few seconds to have a think, which is less than ideal!
- Servicing cost - is ridiculous for a car that shares many of its parts with VW. Hubs have VW stamped on them for example. A major service including gearbox oil change was £825. That's approx the same as a major on a v8 C63 yet for me the hardware isn't as sturdy.
- Steering wheel paddles are ridiculously tiny width and height wise unless you have Peter Shilton hands - I've fitted paddle extensions to mine. Why they skimped on such a simple thing is beyond me.
- The music / nav menu system is bloody awful, worst I've had in a German car. The layout looks pretty, but functionally when you're driving the ***** and switches aren't really in intuitive places.
- Seats aren't very heavily bolstered; they're not terrible by any means but a little more would make it handy when you want to give it a thrashing
- Boot is tiny, you won't fit a pushchair or stroller in it unless you remove the wheels
- Strange one - but it just doesn't feel "special" enough for the money you pay; I don't get out grinning like I used to with my Merc.
As my daily it has pros and cons, all imo of course - tried to give those looking at buying one an honest summary of my thoughts below. Not looking for arguments, just my opinion, feel free to disagree!
For me, it's a practical car with a lot of point and squirt ability; more soul than an S3 or Golf R, but I have found myself missing my old C63 and considering jumping back into one...
Thing is, there are still plenty of positives and the sensible head is saying to keep it and tinker a bit to make it a little more fun.
If you don't have access to another vehicle in winter weather, it's definitely a good candidate to consider, but I would go straight to 8V and potentially even the FL if you can afford it.
Pros
- (part time) all wheel drive means you can get away pretty lairly without much hassle at all
- Interior is nice, although not a huge step up from say a Golf R; it's not as nice as an C63 AMG, but given the price you'd almost expect a bit more
- Plenty of torque available from low down and throughout the rev range; a stage 1 map alone will liberate over 400bhp and is more than enough for a road car on our crowded streets!
- Practical in sportback form; I'd recommend going for the dynamic pack with the mag ride and sports exhaust as the standard ride on 19's is a little firmer than I wanted.
- When it's on full chat the engine sounds great without any fake noise piped in
- Far better ride and performance than the old 8P shape, although in comfort the suspension can be almost a little bouncy at lower speeds
- Running costs (outside of servicing) - £300 VED for the year isn't bad for this level of performance on a car this new, and it'll happily do over 300 miles on a full tank on longer journeys; still returned 20mpg after thrashing it home this week (my C63 would have been about 14mpg lol)
- Good amount of room in the back for passengers
- Seats fold down and you can fit a pair of Impreza bumpers in no issue at all with the passenger seat pushed forward
Cons
- The brakes. They squeal like a pig to embarrassing volume, and imo the car is woefully underbraked as standard if you plan to be a bit naughty from time to time.
I've fitted the two piece Reyland motorsport conversion to mine with uprated pads which has made it better, but still not as good as I'd like. Fluid is next.
Apparently this still isn't fixed in the Facelift from what I read on the owners forum; there's a huge thread on it.
- Understeer - if you're in a long sweeping bend it's superb and feels glued to the road, but throw it into a roundabout and keep your foot in, and the front washes out and it runs wide.
I think some of this is due to the Pirelli P zeros on the car which I really don't like at all, so will try some Michelins, and possibly a bigger rear ARB might help too.
From what reviews say, the facelifted car fixes a lot of this with the weight savings applied to the newer engine.
- Gearbox - most of the time it's good but occasionally especially in dynamic it gets confused when you want it to change down and it pauses for a few seconds to have a think, which is less than ideal!
- Servicing cost - is ridiculous for a car that shares many of its parts with VW. Hubs have VW stamped on them for example. A major service including gearbox oil change was £825. That's approx the same as a major on a v8 C63 yet for me the hardware isn't as sturdy.
- Steering wheel paddles are ridiculously tiny width and height wise unless you have Peter Shilton hands - I've fitted paddle extensions to mine. Why they skimped on such a simple thing is beyond me.
- The music / nav menu system is bloody awful, worst I've had in a German car. The layout looks pretty, but functionally when you're driving the ***** and switches aren't really in intuitive places.
- Seats aren't very heavily bolstered; they're not terrible by any means but a little more would make it handy when you want to give it a thrashing
- Boot is tiny, you won't fit a pushchair or stroller in it unless you remove the wheels
- Strange one - but it just doesn't feel "special" enough for the money you pay; I don't get out grinning like I used to with my Merc.
If all else fails strap a GTX3582 to it..... that makes it quite special.
22 June 2019, 08:12 AM
#40
Scooby Regular
22 June 2019, 10:44 AM
#41
Trouble is it’s that “point and squirt” ability which encourages you to drive it like a tit but I’ve found on a couple of occasions having a play with a mate on his Ducati the brakes aren’t necessarily up to the job of scrubbing off the speed from the higher echelons which is what troubles me.
Can’t remember did you say you’re still on the OEM stuff?
Last edited by MrNoisy; 22 June 2019 at 11:41 AM.
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