Thoughts on A110 GTS

[Safak]

I'm going to take my A110 GT for the annual service in 2 weeks. I asked for a test drive with a GTS but they don't have one. So, my questions are for who owns an A110 GTS or tested it. I'm really curious about the suspensions/stiffness, aero kit and Akrapovic exhaust in particular.

- How do you find the suspension system and handling of the car?
- If the car was equipped with the aero kit, how did you like its appearance?
- If the car was equipped with the aero kit did you feel an impact on handling at higher speeds?
- If the car was fitted with Akrapovic, how did you find the sound and pops&bangs?
- If you also drove an S, can you compare them?
- Any other thoughts?

I know some of the questions are a bit vague or a bit hard to answer after a short test drive. However, I learnt a lot from you PH members so all your thoughts are valuable for me. Maybe someone considering a GTS can also benefit from the discussion.

[Andy665]

I do not think the Aero kit is an option for UK GTS models, it certainly was not when the model range was re-jigged.

[Skyman]

Andy665 said:

I do not think the Aero kit is an option for UK GTS models, it certainly was not when the model range was re-jigged.

It is. £6,000. Quite frankly a ridiculous amount.

Edited by Skyman on Wednesday 1st October 19:33

[L1OFF]

Isn't the GTS simply an "S" with comfort seats?

[marrow]

I spotted my 1st GTS yesterday in Cambridge.

The colour was MATTE ECLIPSE BLUE - a £6300 option! It's an 'interesting' colour....

[Safak]

L1OFF said:

Isn't the GTS simply an "S" with comfort seats?

Basically, yes. However, you have some options which were only available in R previously.

[SeS]

Safak said:

I'm going to take my A110 GT for the annual service in 2 weeks. I asked for a test drive with a GTS but they don't have one.

Damn, I have opposite problem, I cannot find a standard one for the test drive - only S and GTS

Safak said:

- How do you find the suspension system and handling of the car?

GTS has a S suspension. For me is fine but I have M3 E46 and the roads in my area are of very good quality. Handling is super precise, and it is difficult to find limits of the car on the normal route. What I understand from all reviews in the standard version it is easy to cause the rear wheels to skid in a curve -> hard with GTS.
Also little body roll - similar to my M3

Safak said:

- If the car was fitted with Akrapovic, how did you find the sound and pops&bangs?

Ah, great option, normal sound it is a bit more metallic and natural, pops&bangs are reduced. For me much better.
However, I haven't found any technical data (how much less weight, whether the power has changed).

Safak said:

- If you also drove an S, can you compare them?

just different seats in standard config but for me bucket seats are "must have"

Safak said:

- Any other thoughts?

- I don't like that in the standard GTS config are silver wheels and exhaust but black Alpine logos (it is difficult change, so around 500Euro )
- In standard A110 you have Sabelt Sport bucket seats, and in the GTS Sabelt Racing bucket seats costs 2900Euro - I don't know what is a technical difference and why they are so expensive.
- GTS has alcantara finish = less reflections in the windshield


Some of my thoughts about A110 vs A110GTS:
I am between A110 and A110GTS. I considered A110 with future possible upgrades, but this is difficult. I am living in Luxembourg, so any changes in the car are super difficult in the technical control (TUV required for any technical change) and official approval (very expensive and a lot of administrative procedures), so I have to specify the car as I want and not change.
- In the standard A110, it is not possible to order the Focal Pro system with a subwoofer. I don't know if subwoofer is only one change between Focal and Focal Pro.
- I did not find any offer to "upgrade" A110 252hp engine to 300hp parameters (GT, S, GTS) - even with ECU changes, the red line is still on the 6150rpm, so I am expecting a different turbo in the 300hp engine. In addition all mods move torque from 320/340NM to 380-480NM, so I am afraid of the gearbox longevity.
- I am not sure about standard suspension vs sport suspension

Edited by SeS on Thursday 2nd October 16:02

[Safak]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. Much appreciated.

I don't know much about the VAT and other taxes in Luxembourg. If the total is lower than 27% I have a suggestion for you to reduce the total price. You can buy from another EU country and import it to Luxembourg then receive the tax difference. I don't want to go off topic here. Send me a PM if you're interested in.

Edited by Safak on Thursday 2nd October 18:53

[bcr5784]

SeS said:

- In the standard A110, it is not possible to order the Focal Pro system with a subwoofer. I don't know if subwoofer is only one change between Focal and Focal Pro.

Edited by SeS on Thursday 2nd October 16:02

While opinions differ, you will find that some of us who have experioned both regard the subwoofer as a step backwards. Yes you do get MORE low frequencies but at the expense of wooly bass. If you could make Pro sound like the non-pro system that wouldn't be such an issue - but that isn't the case - I did try.

[SeS]

Safak said:

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. Much appreciated.

I don't know much about the VAT and other taxes in Luxembourg. If the total is lower than 27% I have a suggestion for you to reduce the total price. You can buy from another EU country and import it to Luxembourg then receive the tax difference. I don't want to go off topic here. Send me a PM if you're interested in.

Edited by Safak on Thursday 2nd October 18:53

We have 17% VAT. If I decide on the config, I will buy locally for some other tax reasons.

[SeS]

bcr5784 said:

While opinions differ, you will find that some of us who have experioned both regard the subwoofer as a step backwards. Yes you do get MORE low frequencies but at the expense of wooly bass. If you could make Pro sound like the non-pro system that wouldn't be such an issue - but that isn't the case - I did try.

Thank you for this message. This is very interesting info.
Alpine is pushing to buy the GTS version (dealers cannot have the A110 as a test car - only S and GTS are allowed). However, users are saying that the standard suspension is the one to go with. The vast majority of press reviews also say that the standard version is the better one.
Final price increase of the A110 is expected this month - 400Euro for GTS and 1400Euro for the standard version.

Maybe I have to consider the standard A110 version without testing

[Safak]

SeS said:

We have 17% VAT. If I decide on the config, I will buy locally for some other tax reasons.

From a taxation point of view, for me paying the local VAT and registering the car ended up in the same way as if I purchased it from a local dealer.

If you happen to be in Budapest on the 10th or 13th of October, I can help you test a GT.

[Portti]

Safak said:

From a taxation point of view, for me paying the local VAT and registering the car ended up in the same way as if I purchased it from a local dealer...

Yes, if you buy a new car (less than 6 months old and less than 6,000 km on the clock) from an EU country and import it to another EU country, then you pay VAT (and other possible local taxes) on the country where you imported/registered the car. You should be able to buy the car excluding VAT from the dealer in the country where you bought the car. However, in practice the seller might refuse to sell the car ex-VAT and offer to refund the VAT only after you provide proof of registering the car in another EU country.

I've bought three new cars from other EU countries and imported and registered them in Finland. The first car I managed to buy ex-VAT but the two others have required me to go the route of paying VAT on the country where I bought the car, then paying local Finnish VAT and then getting refund for the originating country VAT. So, a little bit of hassle.

The A110 pre-tax prices are highly harmonized within euro currency countries so there are no big savings to be had by buying from another euro country unless you can find a dealer where you can get a good discount.

I bought my A110 as new from Belgium and paid the Belgian 21% VAT first, then paid the Finnish 24% VAT and got a refund of the Belgian VAT afterwards. In addition to that, I had to pay a hefty amount of Finnish registration taxes when importing the car to Finland.

Additionally, as SeS pointed out, there might be also other tax reasons driving the decisions on where to buy the car.

[Rob_RCF]

SeS said:

- I did not find any offer to "upgrade" A110 252hp engine to 300hp parameters (GT, S, GTS) - even with ECU changes, the red line is still on the 6150rpm, so I am expecting a different turbo in the 300hp engine. In addition all mods move torque from 320/340NM to 380-480NM, so I am afraid of the gearbox longevity.

I think it has been confirmed through unofficial sources that the engines are mechanically identical between the different versions. However, for what it's worth in terms of subjective feel I did like the standard 300PS engine in the GT and late-model S more than all the others I've experienced (including remapped ones).

[Terminator X]

Safak said:

L1OFF said:

Isn't the GTS simply an "S" with comfort seats?

Basically, yes. However, you have some options which were only available in R previously.

Really? Like what?

TX.

[S600BSB]

Prefer the ride on my GT. Still best of all worlds imho.

[L1OFF]

S600BSB said:

Prefer the ride on my GT. Still best of all worlds imho.

I had an "S" as a loaner for a few days, have to agree the GT is the sweet spot for me.

[Terminator X]

S600BSB said:

Prefer the ride on my GT. Still best of all worlds imho.

Too soft! You're all too soft

TX.

[Rob_RCF]

Terminator X said:

Too soft! You're all too soft

TX.

Don't you have an R? Don't worry, we'll wait for you while you're putting your 5-point harness on, so you don't fall behind.

[Terminator X]

Rob_RCF said:

Terminator X said:

Too soft! You're all too soft

TX.

Don't you have an R? Don't worry, we'll wait for you while you're putting your 5-point harness on, so you don't fall behind.

Touché

TX.