Anyone own an S3 - what are your views.

[rlw]

I'm scheming to replace our Scirocco R - 2017 - with a newer car. Economy and service costs not an issue. Comfort and noise are.

The Scirocco is a hard riding car, even in comfort setting, and is very noisy inside. Tyre noise renders the radio useless most of the time. Other than that, it's practical, is fast enough and is fun to drive briskly.

I fancy a 23 or 24 S3 saloon and have read a couple of decent reviews, essentially saying that it's a good compromise between performance and practicality and more useful, day to day, than an RS3.

Any thoughts? I'm aware of the steering feel issues but, after a GT3, anything feels rubbish to me anyway.

[Polome]

I have a ‘24 plate 5 door in Daytona grey. Bought as management car and done just over 3k in last 6 months. Like you I’ve been fortunate to drive 911’s for last 25 years so agree completely with your thoughts. Driving comparison to my 991.2 gts and on the same quiet B road in ..ahem..`having a drive mode ….the S3 is only 10-15 mph slower on the straights , brakes easy as good but very light peddle feel , mpg same or a bit less , handling ..soft at speed but gives a small thrill. My car Black edition with technology pack has standard suspension , pretty brittle around what Edinburgh now call roads but more compliant with a bit more speed I.e. motorway and touring B road driving . On the pluses..nice leather , buttons for important stuff , the 4wd gives confidence in the wet my 911 could only dream of making it quiet and relaxing on motorways. Negatives…pretty ugly car..never look back at it when parked up and a bit too much tech .My son has a ‘17 S4 and it feels so much better interior , carpets ,trim ,switch gear all feel more robust and potentially longer lasting. City driving rarely betters 20 mpg but overall my car showing 27 mpg. Bought it in preference to Golf R ( too barren interior ) and Honda Type R ( too big) You can see I’m probably 50-50 on the car…as a daily I think it’s perfect so will be keeping it for at least 5 years. The new(er) model with an extra 30 odd hp wouldn’t make enough of a difference to tempt me to change ..my mate has the same year RS3 and apart from being faster it’s no better a looking nor driving car…they are what they were designed as ..a swift 4/5 door with a bit extra. Good luck with choice ..happy to answer any queries you may have.

[rlw]

Very helpful thanks.

[neverlifted]

After a GT3, the only place with better steering is probably inside a McLaren. How about a last off the line old W205 C43? Decent V6, 4wd, better interior etc more interesting than any EA888 based car.

[Polome]

Having a re read your post and my reply I may have been a bit downing and morose on the S3. Normally I have quiet very early morning empty road drives to experience a cars performance . Unusual for me I ve just done a 150 mile trip in what would be more normal daily traffic I.e. 40-60 (ish) mph weekend stuff and the car has been great. Smooth , ac cool , quiet riding and amazingly giving 37 mpg , even making calls with very little background noise probably shows more what the car was designed for. The gear change paddles could be a bit more sensitive but thinking ahead and selecting the right gear before hand gives fast , safe overtaking. In these respects it s an easy car to like the looks not so in my opinion but behind the wheel it s a good ( swift ) driving daily. Have some test drives and let us know how things work out. Cheers.

Edited by Polome on Sunday 13th July 20:54

Edited by Polome on Sunday 13th July 20:58

[AliMc99]

We’ve got a 2024 S3 (pre facelift) hatch in the household, having previously had a 2017 previousnshape (facelift but pre GPF), with a SQ5 and Macan S inbetween.

I much preferred the 2017 car- both to drive and to sit in. It was at least as fast (being the rare 310 bhp variant), much better riding and lovely place to sit- with far nicer plastics than the newer car). In contrast the new car feels very austere with cheap plastics and a brittle ride/wooden damping (possibly partly due to 19” rather than 18” wheels).

[Discombobulate]

neverlifted said:

After a GT3, the only place with better steering is probably inside a McLaren. How about a last off the line old W205 C43? Decent V6, 4wd, better interior etc more interesting than any EA888 based car.

Oddly I have gone from a GT3 to a EA888 based car: a Clubsport S. It is certainly not in the same league as the Porsche but for use on public roads - not least carving through the Alps - it comes a surprisingly close second. And so much easier / cheaper to live with. Albeit not the most practical hatchback given no rear seats.

Edited by Discombobulate on Monday 14th July 08:10

[rlw]

neverlifted said:

After a GT3, the only place with better steering is probably inside a McLaren. How about a last off the line old W205 C43? Decent V6, 4wd, better interior etc more interesting than any EA888 based car.

I've done the V8 Mercedes thing twice now - great fun if the roads aren't too twisty - but mrsrlw won't countenance another one following something of a very big accident. In Cornwall. Miles from anywhere. At night. Involving a milk tanker.

[rlw]

Polome said:

Having a re read your post and my reply I may have been a bit downing and morose on the S3. Normally I have quiet very early morning empty road drives to experience a cars performance . Unusual for me I ve just done a 150 mile trip in what would be more normal daily traffic I.e. 40-60 (ish) mph weekend stuff and the car has been great. Smooth , ac cool , quiet riding and amazingly giving 37 mpg , even making calls with very little background noise probably shows more what the car was designed for. The gear change paddles could be a bit more sensitive but thinking ahead and selecting the right gear before hand gives fast , safe overtaking. In these respects it s an easy car to like the looks not so in my opinion but behind the wheel it s a good ( swift ) driving daily. Have some test drives and let us know how things work out. Cheers.

Edited by Polome on Sunday 13th July 20:54

Edited by Polome on Sunday 13th July 20:58

I will. Watch this space.

[rlw]

AliMc99 said:

We ve got a 2024 S3 (pre facelift) hatch in the household, having previously had a 2017 previousnshape (facelift but pre GPF), with a SQ5 and Macan S inbetween.

I much preferred the 2017 car- both to drive and to sit in. It was at least as fast (being the rare 310 bhp variant), much better riding and lovely place to sit- with far nicer plastics than the newer car). In contrast the new car feels very austere with cheap plastics and a brittle ride/wooden damping (possibly partly due to 19 rather than 18 wheels).

I'm nearly 73 and this will probably be a last car so I want something newish and low miles. The current 2017 Scirocco is still low miles at 46000 but I don't want to do the same again in it as it will get costly at some point and it is too noisy. The S3 does look like a good compromise.

The Mercedes A class is another possibility but, IMO, a bit too showy.

[rlw]

So I finally got to drive an S3 yesterday - a late 2024 non Vorsprung model in very boring grey.

Conclusions were that it's a nice car, quite nippy, pleasant enough to drive and with decent steering, easy to get a good (low) driving position and generally rather nice but.....

the interior felt so cheap. The doors panels and pockets felt flimsy and had pretty rough edges, and the bases of the seats were very 1980s VW Polo.

So I'm torn. My eight year old Scirocco R feels better put together and has pretty decent trim in it, is almost as quick and is free. It's also nicer to drive, feeling more analogue and actually connected to the road.

For £40k it's not happening but there's a yellow one in Wales that I will follow up which is quite a bit cheaper and may give grounds for compromise.

[Raptor7000r]

I had one for a while as a courtesy car whilst RS3 was getting work done and didn't like it. Inside feels very cheap, it was quick and very able but no fun whatsoever. I had a RS3 2020 and their much better and for 40k you'll be able to pick up a good 19/20 one with low miles. A bit older but still modern, nicer IMO and better engine than the S3.

A few k more and you'll be able to get a low spec one that's the new model depending on your preference.

[Gixer968CS]

I have a '23 plate S3 fast back (hatchback??) which I've owned from new. It's done about 12k miles now. I also own a 3.8 997 Gen1 for comparison. I really like the S3, it's nicely made, has good space, you can turn lane assist off with a button on the idndicator stalk etc. I had roof bars fitted from factory so loading bikes etc is easy. In Europe it's a great motorway cruiser and then fun on the twisties. Compared to the Porsche it feels fast but obviously way less linear. Bit of lag when you punch the throttle would be my only gripe. Ah, also I specc'd pretty much every extra and the one thing that would massively improve it would be electric memory seats which are not available! Both me and Mrs 968cs drive it so the constant pumping of the seat is a pain. Seat themselves are great. Infotainment is very good and intuitive and all the important features are on switches or buttons.

What I would say is this. I find it a very relaxing modern car and end up driving it as one. It spends all its time in Economy mode and I've used it in sports with flappy paddles about 3 or 4 times in 2 years. Goes like stink when you do, but (like most modern cars) it encourage you to just chill out. I wonder whether I would have been just as happy in a non S model. Probs not as I like the way it looks