RS3 - Taste test

Started by weta.worker, July 30, 2012, 11:54:58 AM

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weta.worker

Well Armstrongs have dropped off another RS

Haven't taken it out yet as I'm a bit busy behind the desk but one of my work mates has and said it's awesome (the dealer knew he was taking it out as well - so nothing dodgy!)

I've got it for the night so I'm no real rush













1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

the phantom

I reckon a set of those wheels would look just great on the Mk4 wagon!
Land Transport New Zealand, taking the fun out of driving since August 2008

RobClubley

1985 ur quattro
1992 Ford Courier - the sensible daily

schattenblau

What's the orange car ?

S3 ?

Aidan

Very nice. Will be the perfect replacement to mine in a couple of years

You can buy it now and devalue it for me huh? :P
Das Auto(s): 2007 MKV GTI Manual and a random Beemer

weta.worker

Quote from: schattenblau on July 30, 2012, 12:31:51 PM
What's the orange car ?

S3 ?

yup - the owner of that has the RS out at the moment.  once he gets back i'll take it out for a wee spin
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

weta.worker

Quote from: Aidan on July 30, 2012, 12:47:32 PM
Very nice. Will be the perfect replacement to mine in a couple of years

You can buy it now and devalue it for me huh? :P

better yet, if i dont and no one else then it'll drop quicker?

:D
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

JPK

Nice. Keen to hear your thoughts.

Dont lose your license!
A3 8P Sportback 2.0T DSG
- Progress Diary -

slowmo

saw that car's brother on the motorway this morning, PP was '0000RS' or something to that effect. those wheels look great!
Current: 2004 MK4 R32 3-door NZ New DBP

Past: 2010 MK6 GTI / 2013 Nissan Leaf LOL / 2007 B7 RS4 / 2006 MK5 R32 / 2005 MK5 GTI / 1998 MK4 GTI / 1997 B5 A4 MTM

weta.worker

#9
just had the first drive into town and back again

1st thoughts. 

very pretty
very quick
very rowdy

but I don't like the auto box (dsg, what ever you call it) at all

the thing feels like its got a massive rubber band between the motor and the wheels (it probably actually does).  jumps around gears a bit (sometimes it does it with grace, other times I wonder what the hell happened or why something hasn't happened

played with all the s modes , the flappy paddles etc for almost 100k i wasn't happy.

lovely looking car.  goes like a cut cat but i think the gearbox lets it down. 

oh, and mental blind spots!  backing into space requires quite a lot of neck movement.

I'm sure if you wanted to race the hell out of it , it would be awesome.  and if you wanted to drive like a nana, then same.  but somewhere in between and back and forth I found it not to my liking

having said all of this, maybe i need to re-learn to drive these boxes. 

:D




1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

Pristle

Quote from: slowmo on July 30, 2012, 01:49:03 PM
saw that car's brother on the motorway this morning, PP was '0000RS' or something to that effect. those wheels look great!

Wife eyed that out yesterday (Market/Gt. South) asking, "Why can't we get one of those??" Not able to answer her immediately....I'm printing WWs comments for her.

JPK

You would probably find that the gearbox would adjust quite well to your driving style over 1000km or so.
A3 8P Sportback 2.0T DSG
- Progress Diary -

weta.worker

Quote from: Pristle on July 30, 2012, 04:09:26 PM
Wife eyed that out yesterday (Market/Gt. South) asking, "Why can't we get one of those??" Not able to answer her immediately....I'm printing WWs comments for her.

lucky i haven't given you my real name! i wouldn't want her to hunt me down and tell me I was the reason she can't have her dream car!

JSG just took it out as well (V10 RS6 guy on the forum), said the gearbox was pretty awful. he's got the 6 speed and said that's a peach compared to this one.
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

weta.worker

Quote from: JPK on July 30, 2012, 04:31:52 PM
You would probably find that the gearbox would adjust quite well to your driving style over 1000km or so.

possibly.  i guess there have been a lot of different drivers through this car (demo), so it's probably a bit skitso (or thinking the driver is!)
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

Albacol

Same box as the new RS4 ?

5-pot

doubt it.  the RS3 would be transversely engined and the RS4 will be longitudinally engined.  Orientations are all wrong...
?The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.? - Thucydides (Ancient Greek historian and author, 460-404bc)

- 1990 Coupe quattro - R.I.P.
- 1988 90 quattro project... Sold
- 2005 Golf 2.0 TDI

Aidan

Quote from: weta.worker on July 30, 2012, 04:36:02 PM

JSG just took it out as well (V10 RS6 guy on the forum), said the gearbox was pretty awful. he's got the 6 speed and said that's a peach compared to this one.

That's a slushbox in the RS6 though isn't it, rather than dual clutch?

Unfortunately I think they've made it very clear that S-Tronic is all they're gonna offer in the RS Range...

Interesting read though. I was very much hoping for it to be very special.
Das Auto(s): 2007 MKV GTI Manual and a random Beemer

weta.worker

Quote from: Aidan on July 30, 2012, 06:17:27 PM
That's a slushbox in the RS6 though isn't it, rather than dual clutch?

Unfortunately I think they've made it very clear that S-Tronic is all they're gonna offer in the RS Range...

Interesting read though. I was very much hoping for it to be very special.

i wouldn't take too much into what I've said.  It's just my untrained opinion and I've never found an auto box I've liked , so maybe this is as good as it gets for now?
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE

xring

I may be misreading what you have written, but I get the impression you were primarily driving the RS3 as an automatic. Perhaps you need to think of it as a manual without a clutch, that just happens to be usable as an automatic when you are feeling lazy.

When I had my Golf GTI DSG, I pretty much drove it everywhere in manual mode, using the paddles. Only in the heaviest of Wellington rush hour traffic did I leave it in auto.

Last Friday I took a new Polo GTI (DSG) for a test drive. As soon as I pulled away from the dealership I put it into manual mode. The only time I had it in auto, was when I wanted to see what it's kick-down was like if I floored the throttle. Other than that minute or so ...... manual mode all the way.
Polo GTI 2013
Bora MkIV V6 4motion - gone
Golf MkIV R32 - gone
Golf MkV GTI DSG - gone
Golf MkIV V6 4motion - gone
Golf MkIV V5 manual - gone
Golf MkV GTI manual- gone
Golf MkIV V5 - gone
Golf MkIII GLI - gone

weta.worker

Quote from: xring on July 30, 2012, 09:03:32 PM
I may be misreading what you have written, but I get the impression you were primarily driving the RS3 as an automatic. Perhaps you need to think of it as a manual without a clutch, that just happens to be usable as an automatic when you are feeling lazy.

When I had my Golf GTI DSG, I pretty much drove it everywhere in manual mode, using the paddles. Only in the heaviest of Wellington rush hour traffic did I leave it in auto.

Last Friday I took a new Polo GTI (DSG) for a test drive. As soon as I pulled away from the dealership I put it into manual mode. The only time I had it in auto, was when I wanted to see what it's kick-down was like if I floored the throttle. Other than that minute or so ...... manual mode all the way.

Thanks for that advice.  Gave that style a go on the way to work today.  It's a lot better, but I still find the downshifting \ rev matching frustrating again.  This thing hauls arse if you want to boost it everywhere , but if you want to take it easy, the shifting 'sometimes' leaves you a little deflated.

For 90% of the time it does a great job, but i'm finicky.  and if I was going to throw 90K at such a beast I'd want more from it.  (what a bitch!)

It is a nice way to make friends though.  Dropped the boys off at daycare and a parent I've never spoken to me couldn't take his eyes off the car and started asking all sorts of questions!


Will be glad to get the RS4 back today.  The boys will too.  They said they can get our old car dirty but not this new one  :P
1994 RS2 GUARDS RED
2001 RS4 NOGARO BLUE