Driving differences - Audi A3 vs S3

[teampat]

I am interested in hearing from folks who either have an S3 and/or have driven both the S3 and A3. In the process of buying an S3, I got the chance to drive an A3 2.0 quattro for a couple days and had the opportunity to drive it aggressively. I am not impressed with the A3 at all. I am coming from rear drive cars like the cayman and miata and I don't expect a sedan to drive like them, but those cars give you a sense of what I like. Yes the A3 is fast, but it seems disconnected and I really dislike the feel. Not sure haldex is for me.

Thing is that I have had various test drives of the S3 and liked them. But none of the test drives were aggressive. So now I have cold feet. What have your impressions been of each? If you've only driven the S3, how do you like it compared to other sedans, like from BMW?

[n8vs3]

Currently driving a 2016 S3 in stock configuration (mostly stock,took out the resonater for better sound). The only short coming IMHO is the electronic steering which is lack luster at low speed. At high speed I can barely tell the difference from conventional steering. The 6speed DSG is amazing. My prior cars (bmw 3 series, Nissan 350Z/ were all stick shifts cauz I hated conventional automatic. This is my first DSG and it has completely changed my view on this automated manuals. I had also shopped around comparable BMW and MB compact sports sedan. within it's price range, S3 comes out on top.


I never test drove the A3, so I can't comment on it.

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[teampat]

Really helps to know what previous cars you had - makes me feel more at ease with this decision because I can tell we have similar style in driving dynamics. Thanks. I am going to delete the resonator too and put in a rear sway bar. Will do tune after warranty expires.

[A20V200]

I have a 15 S3 PP Stg 2+ and I've driven a certain Stg 3 A3 (don't recall the package)...the S3 feels more "solid, refined and dampened" while the A3 felt like a "tin can", but the steering did feel lighter on the A3.

If i were you, I would put an S3 through the paces like you did the A3. S3 292hp vs A3 240hp? You will have to do some chassis mods to improve handling a bit stiffen up the car but those will be under $500 but well worth it.

[S3DUDE]

I had a 2015 A3 2.0 quattro and a 2016 S3 simultaneously. I drag raced them both and I tuned them both with APR, I even did the TCU tunes on both as well. If you ever decide to go with the A3 please and for the love of God don't get it without the sport suspension. Mine had the basic suspension and the car was like a Cadillac Eldorado or a Lincoln town car, I am not kidding.

A simple tune on a A3 will put you ahead of the regular S3 in straight line, with APR you would have 305hp/370lb-tq with just a tune, it makes the car a completely different car but the brakes are not the same as the one on the S3. The S3 brakes are much stronger and bigger. It is a big jump on money going from a A3 to a S3 but there are people running really fast with just a tune and a downpipes. You could also do the IS38 turbo and the downpipes and tune and basically have the same performance as the S3 or even better because the A3 is about 140lbs lighter than the S3 (I weighted my cars at the drag strip scales). given equal tunes the S3 is significantly faster though, I trapped 7 mph higher and ran 8 tenths second quicker in the 1/4 mile despite the S3 being heavier.

On fuel economy the A3 wipes the S3 out of the park. I got average 24 ish in city with the apr tune while I use to get high 19s on my S3 with similar driving styles. If you decide to go with the S3, I personally wouldn't recommend the magnetic ride, it is harsh, bumpy, and very clunky and combined with the miserable low profile on the S3 it makes it worse.

The 19" black optic wheels(flat titanium) are beautiful but very heavy(27lbs), just be aware. If you can score a used A3 with sport suspension and do either stage II or do the IS38 turbo and downpipes I guarantee you will be very happy and will see you tons of money. If you have any other questions PM me.

[VWVW]

I had a 2015 A3 2.0 quattro and a 2016 S3 simultaneously. I drag raced them both and I tuned them both with APR, I even did the TCU tunes on both as well. If you ever decide to go with the A3 please and for the love of God don't get it without the sport suspension. Mine had the basic suspension and the car was like a Cadillac Eldorado or a Lincoln town car, I am not kidding.

A simple tune on a A3 will put you ahead of the regular S3 in straight line, with APR you would have 305hp/370lb-tq with just a tune, it makes the car a completely different car but the brakes are not the same as the one on the S3. The S3 brakes are much stronger and bigger. It is a big jump on money going from a A3 to a S3 but there are people running really fast with just a tune and a downpipes. You could also do the IS38 turbo and the downpipes and tune and basically have the same performance as the S3 or even better because the A3 is about 140lbs lighter than the S3 (I weighted my cars at the drag strip scales). given equal tunes the S3 is significantly faster though, I trapped 7 mph higher and ran 8 tenths second quicker in the 1/4 mile despite the S3 being heavier.

On fuel economy the A3 wipes the S3 out of the park. I got average 24 ish in city with the apr tune while I use to get high 19s on my S3 with similar driving styles. If you decide to go with the S3, I personally wouldn't recommend the magnetic ride, it is harsh, bumpy, and very clunky and combined with the miserable low profile on the S3 it makes it worse.

The 19" black optic wheels(flat titanium) are beautiful but very heavy(27lbs), just be aware. If you can score a used A3 with sport suspension and do either stage II or do the IS38 turbo and downpipes I guarantee you will be very happy and will see you tons of money. If you have any other questions PM me.

I have also had my shares of A3 2.0T quattro and S3 driving time.

I personally did not find much difference between the A3 S-line and S3 for normal driving unless when I got an regular A3 loaner without sport suspension or the S-line package. Here up north, the S-line pack comes with flat bottom steering wheel so the interior is basically the S3 interior. Having the flat bottom steering wheel and the dynamic steering setting to firm up the steering really change the driving feel significantly.

I fully agree with S3DUDE on the sport suspension recommendation. An alternative is to get a proper kit like Bilstein B12, B14, and B16 or equivalent. I also agree with S3DUDE on the gas mileage. The A3 gas mileage is about 10-20% better than the S3.

[sean_entrust]

I had a 2010 a6 3.0t and I test drove a 16 s3 and loved it but didn't pull the trigger. 9 months later I thought about doing it again but thought about being more sensible and getting an a3 2.0t quattro s line. It was great and did fine but then I drove the s3 again. I said if i'm gonna get into debt I might as well do it for the car I want! the S3 is easily worth the extra monthly payment as if I did the a3 i would've regretted it everyday.

[ralphie_43]

When i bought my car i was looking for an S3 but no dealer near me had one i liked so i settled on my 2015 A3 2.0T after a couple months my salesman called me up and asked me if i still wanted to test drive an S3 so i went and drove it ( it was in tbe exact spec i was looking for white and black interior). Sure the S3 looks more aggressive and is a little stiffer than the A3 (before suspension mods) but i wasn't too impressed. I'm not saying the car isn't quick (it is) but i was expecting a little more from the car preformance wise. So i agree with S3DUDE, if you're looking for an S3 you should seriously consider the A3 2.0T becuase they're essentially the same car. In my opinion the only real difference is the body kit, driver and passenger seats, a different turbo and a more aggressive tune which i don't think is worth the ~$11k difference. If you REALLY want the S3 look you could always go S line and save some $$$ that you could use to upgrade an A3 to S3 power and if not better/faster less than the price of the S3.

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[INYAUDI]

If you’re the kind of person with a real mod bug (springs,wheels, and tune are basic. Sorry it is) you’ll end up with the same exact car it’ll just come down to how much money do you want to pay a month. The A3 has a far better performance per dollar value. If modding isn’t your thing obviously the S3 will be more capable and have more features. Something is strongly pushing you to go the Audi route despite awd, care to elaborate? It may point you closer to a choice.


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[teampat]

Something is strongly pushing you to go the Audi route despite awd, care to elaborate? It may point you closer to a choice.

I want to go Audi because I like the size, look, and power of the S3 (and I like DSG) and the other cars in the range are either too boy-racer (WRX), ugly (CLA 45), or just meh (BMW 328/330). I was looking at a BMW 335/340 but dislike the interior and the car wasn't aggressive enough for me, even in M sport trim. I just drove home with my 2016 S3 so there is no going back now. I did take it for an aggressive drive in an empty parking lot and it certainly is different than the base model (no sport suspension) A3 I had previously driven. Like most other people, I wish the steering wheel gave more feedback, but other than that I am pretty happy. My mandatory mods are 1) res delete 2) rear sway 3) OBDeleven mod to get more rear bias.

I will take it for another hard spin soon. Here it is:

IMG_20180228_163303 (2).jpg

[INYAUDI]

Congrats on the purchase! I agree with what you said regarding other cars of the same range. Definitely do those mods, if you want some more feel in the wheel you’ll want to get tires with hard sidewalls like supersports or more aggressive. And maybe some aftermarket front endlinks as the stocks are reallllly flimsy.


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[INYAUDI]

You’ll definitely need coilovers for the car, forgot the most important aspect to meet your prerequisite on handling. I also recommend the bilsteins. Love mine


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[XMetal]

3) OBDeleven mod to get more rear bias.

Care to share how this is done? Thanks.

[speeddemon69]

Is this thread fo real? S3 hands down. IS38 with factory warranty, better brakes, seats, Tranny, suspension, resale, virtual cockpit, exterior looks, and an S badge on the back to scare off the ricers lol.


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[Why-man5]

Is this thread fo real? S3 hands down. IS38 with factory warranty, better brakes, seats, Tranny, suspension, resale, virtual cockpit, exterior looks, and an S badge on the back to scare off the ricers lol.


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Absolutely agree!…

[speeddemon69]

Also forgot to mention that on the S3 the engine is built to handle the IS38 and extra power.


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[sean_entrust]

Is this thread fo real? S3 hands down. IS38 with factory warranty, better brakes, seats, Tranny, suspension, resale, virtual cockpit, exterior looks, and an S badge on the back to scare off the ricers lol.


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Exactly. If money is an issue than a3 is great but if you can afford an s3 it's worth it.


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[teampat]

You’ll definitely need coilovers for the car, forgot the most important aspect to meet your prerequisite on handling. I also recommend the bilsteins. Love mine

Don't want to do coilovers because I have the mag ride. But I will do springs at some point.

[teampat]

Care to share how this is done? Thanks.

I saw it in a thread somewhere on this forum. When I do it, I'll let you know. Normally the car is set to "standard" or "normal" for some setting and I think you can just adjust it. I remember the thread said not to crank it up too high because it confuses the car or causes unnecessary wear. Maybe this was a vagcom adjustment.

[MadMen]

AWD > Adaptation for Logic > Increased Traction

I bought a '15 S3 about a month ago, and my first 3 mods were OBDEleven, Res Delete, Rear sway bar. Then I added the JB4. Had the OBDEleven and JB4 left over from the GTI I traded for it :)

[teampat]

AWD > Adaptation for Logic > Increased Traction

I bought a '15 S3 about a month ago, and my first 3 mods were OBDEleven, Res Delete, Rear sway bar. Then I added the JB4. Had the OBDEleven and JB4 left over from the GTI I traded for it :)

How are you liking the S3 compared to your GTI? I drove the GTI and didn't like how it would chirp the wheels in aggressive driving. What are the big diffs you feel? And how does the car handle diff with the OBDeleven edits to the AWD?

[MadMen]

The GTI was a fantastic car - except for one BIG thing - Front Wheel Drive! Launching the car at the AutoX events was a nightmare. The wheel hop felt like something was going to break off the car. Once going though, it was great, and handled as well as the "sport" cars on the course. What pushed me to the S3 was a ride along at AutoX with a guy in a Golf R. The launch instantly sold me on having to get one. So I shopped for both an S3 and Golf R. I found a great S3 for less than any Golf R I could find, so it was a no-brainer to go with something with a little more sophistication.

S3 vs. GTI? S3 hands down. The GTI was fun, but the S3 is both fun and elegant. My wife saw the GTI as a mid-life crisis, and didn't get it. She's very happy with the S3 though - and no longer ashamed to know me :).

I haven't had a chance to AutoX the S3 yet, so don't know how the traction mods will work. I plan to run it first without changes, then run it with increased traction and increased XDS and see if it makes a difference. On the GTI, the traction mods made no difference, since too much power to the front wheels was impossible to temper - especially with the way the torque kicked in with the smaller IS20 turbo.

[c0ld]

Congrats on the S3, good choice I was looking at the A3 but I didn't wanted to mess with the warranty to make it equal to the S3. So I got an S3 and I am pretty happy with the power, I got the Resonator Delete Kit waiting to be installed and some low rear profile headrests to eliminate those stock bulky ones on the rear. Waiting my car to be approved for a program then I can start daily'ing it :D

[MadMen]

I was considering an A3 also. I've had a bad habit for the past 5 years of buying/selling my cars within 6-8 months. Always because I never bought what I really wanted, and tried to make a cheaper model work for me by modding it. This always cost me more in the long run. So this time I just bought what I would have bought if money didn't matter - because in the end it would cost more to trade the A3 for something else because i wasn't satisfied.

[c0ld]

I was considering an A3 also. I've had a bad habit for the past 5 years of buying/selling my cars within 6-8 months. Always because I never bought what I really wanted, and tried to make a cheaper model work for me by modding it. This always cost me more in the long run. So this time I just bought what I would have bought if money didn't matter - because in the end it would cost more to trade the A3 for something else because i wasn't satisfied.

I was gonna go with the '18 Golf R, but I liked the S3 more but the price difference put me off. But alas I would have been happy with either purchase.

But since it got delayed and VW dealerships around my area were talking about a mark-up and how it was a limited car plus didn't take me seriously. I decided to visit my local Audi dealer got a test drive and drove out with the S3 with about 7k discount off MSRP.

[DUDEFROMRI]

I absolutely love my S3 and I’ve had some fun previous cars. Never driven an A3 though!