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By Chris Chilton
31 August 2006 07:56
Hot hatch
It’s the same basic recipe: turbocharged four-pot motor and Haldex four-wheel drive system, a great cabin and a price that makes it appear suspiciously poor value beside a couple of other Volkswagen-group cars.
Actually this time the S3 has 265bhp, making it 65bhp beefier than the 2.0 TT and 15bhp harder than the V6. It now reaches 62mph in 5.7sec, nearly a second faster than the old 225bhp car.
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Audi S3 (2006) CAR review
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Nithers says
RE: Audi S3 (2006) CAR review
It seems funny that after all this time and the reviewers view on the superiority of the 3.2 that Volkswagen has chosen to ditch the 3.2 for its latest hot hatches and effectively use the Audi S3's engine - Scirocco R20T for example. Seems like the small turbo route that was chosen for the hottest Audi A3 model (until the RS3 turns up) was proven to be the right one after all.
04 June 2009 10:57
hughfh says
I know this comment is late but did the author do any research at all before writing this? "If you want quattro and the charismatic V6, get the R32." It is an option yes BUT WHAT ABOUT THE A3 3.2 V6 SPORT/S LINE (sorry about shouting)??? It's no longer available but it certainly was at the time of writing this article. It had the same glorious V6 engine, choice of manual or DSG/S tronic, 3 or 5 doors, similar equipment and all for much less than S3 or R32 PLUS a bigger discount. Part of the problem I think was that Audi UK never really promoted this car properly and certainly not as a viable alternative to the R32 (perhaps they were not allowed to?) It's almost as though it never existed and having had the pleasure of owning one until recently, I think it represents a big missed opportunity.
25 July 2008 14:43
gmoney says
Shame the writer falls into the trap of price comparison on an S badged Audi - target market really couldn't give a damn about a couple more grand and wouldn't be seen dead in a VW golf! I bringing the 3.2 V6 into the picture no mention is made of the nose heavy charicteristics and relative dynamism of the 2.0T engines when mounted up front. Finally, you include the readers rating (misleadingly!) under the car's rating in stars - but clearly you ask your reader to rate the article not the car???!!! I have to agree with your readership: two and a half stars for the article, not the car!
25 July 2008 12:56
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