Audi just made my shopping easier...

[catchm3ifyoucann]

Originally Posted by JunkStory

So for the past 3 months, I was totally set on the upcoming facelift 2017 Audi S3. Had my money ready to be deposited as soon as the dealer called me to let me know that their system is ready to order it.

I was looking foward to the updated 310hp mated to the 7-speed s tronic, Rotary Grey interior, and Daytona Grey exterior.

Fast forward to today, I was informed that....

1.) No 310hp engine. North America gets the old 292hp engine. That's ok.
2.) No 7-speed s tronic. North America gets the same outdated 6-speed s tronic only. Oh... fine I guess..
3.) No Rotary Grey interior for North America. In fact, no color other than black. What...
4.) No Daytona Grey for North America. F*** Audi. I'm outta here.

The final lack of Daytona Grey is the most important for me. End of rant. I'll probably end up with a F30 or F32.

As someone who was looking at the s4 / s5 I've been really disappointed by Audi lately. Recently saw an s3, wow that thing is surprisingly beautiful but these updates provided by you re-affirm that there isn't much performance left in the S line up.

[fcman]

Originally Posted by Z K

+1

On the track, the Golf R has been shown to be faster than the S3 as well. The S3 is more tuned for comfort vs the harder core Golf R.

Yup, although the Golf R, while more hardcore, is more practical. And many people (including myself) prefer the Golfs interior over the S3. It has the same problem as the CLA, where the Golf R feels like the top of the line Volkswagen (very good, maybe not great), the S3 interior has something about it that's always reminding you that you bought "the cheap one"

[paliknight]

I test drove one and liked it, but it felt like something was missing. It was nowhere near as fast as a 300hp car feels. The price is a bit excessive for what you get. The A4 felt faster for some reason.

[Never_Enough]

Not going to drive anything outside of BMW or Audi before buying?

[BEM-S4]

For those considering the RS3 next fall, I drove the current one in Stockholm and it's really really nice. Would prefer that to my M235. Supposed to be a better AWD system too more rear biased.