Reviews
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For the past few years our answer to “which Audi S3 should I buy” has been “the VW Golf R”.
After all, the VW offers all the performance and sharper handling for a substantial price saving, however recent experience in a pair of 2017 Audi S3s suggests we may have been a little hasty in our assessment. It’s a terrible cliche to say it’s more than the sum of its parts, but that’s the thing about cliches, they’re often true.
Equally, though, this cohesiveness makes it an extremely pleasant car to spend time with. Starting at $62,900, this is an expensive small car, but the superb materials and peerless build quality inside make it feel expensive, too.
The vast majority of buyers will stick with the standard dual-clutch gearbox, which is fine, but the manual is particularly slick and a really good match to the punchy 2.0-litre turbo engine. The standard ride is pretty jiggly, so adaptive dampers are worth considering, however even with them the ride isn’t fantastic.
SPECS Engine: 2.0L I4 turbo Power: 213kW Torque: 380Nm Weight: 1465kg 0-100km/h: 4.8sec Price: $62,900
