Why isn't the A3 ever compared to the Cooper S? I would think they're similar enough. Seems like every magazine I read is obsessed with putting the MCS, GTi, and Mazdaspeed3 against each other.

Anyone have any info on these cars? I think they're pretty cool.

 

naw... A3's are pretty big and heavy. best to compare with its own
counterpart GTI wagon.

there are more fun cars out there for much lower cost.

 

ahh, i see

 

modern A3=A4. same car, just the A3 is a little smaller than the A4. the current A3 might compare to the new Clubman, but i havent seen the Clubman in person yet.

this S3 would be more direct competition to the Cooper S. 1997-2003, beautiful car and based off of the MKIV (last generation) GTI. 210hp 1.8t and AWD.







the one of the few of these that actually made it into this country was wrecked at H2O by a drunken idiot. search VWVortex in the H2O forums if you are interested in the full story

 

Man, Audi really knows how to make an exciting car look boring.

 

Ken "Wheel *****" Chan is right. The A3 weighs in at an obscene 3600lbs.

 

the A3 is that heavy WITHOUT quattro. the old S3 looks boring but i dont care, i would drive the hell out of it. but that is how audi made/makes alot of their cars. lets face it, the most of the S models dont look much more exciting than their A model counterpart. Hell, even the RS-models are very subtle in their visual excitement levels.

 

my brother has a 2003 S3 (not in this country!) and it's an amazing car. It's a LOT of fun and performance is outstanding. These have the widebody kit as well, hardly a "boring" look.

Also, from '01-'03 they had 225hp...

 

if i am not mistaken, isnt that the same motor (software, internals etc) as the 225 TT? i love the older S3, back when it was a hot hatch not a small wagon

 

Yep, exactly. Amazing car -- it's truly a shame it never made it here.

 

Thats the 3.2 quattro, which really isn't comparable with the Mini being four wheel drive a V6 and all The 2.0T is approx 3200 lbs.

 

Which is still very chubby relative to the Mini.

 

all cars are chubby compared to the MINI

 

Which is one reason why all other cars are inferior.

 

Well it is quite a bit bigger with 4 doors too. Maaayybe, just maybe, it is in the same group as the Clubman, but I still doubt they are equal rear seat wise or overall the same usefulness in that regard.

I spent a lot of time with an A3 (3.2) and I would not say that and the Mini really fit the same needs. The 4 door 'sport hatch' was much more practical for carrying people and items (and on another level power wise, that engine had some grunt)- worked well as a Mini stablemate.

 

 

But, why, oh why, is the A3 not available in a lighter, three-door version with six-speed, quattro and manual transmission??? Who wants an automatic??

 

Man, a 2 door S3!!! Stupid Audi USA...