31 Aug 06
I can't stop looking at the new Audi S3. That's odd, because the S3's basic shape has been with us in the form of the A3 for nearly four years. I've always considered it an attractive car of its sort but, at the end of the day, if I'm going to go swooning over a car it's rather more likely to be some slice of Italian exotica than a mass-produced German hatch. Even so, as I look at those brilliant 18" rims, the muscular front spoiler, subtle rear valance and wing, I know Audi has captured perfectly the right look for the S3.
A shame, then, that the same cannot be said for the car underneath.
When the S3 goes on sale in the UK early in the New Year, Audi will be asking £26,995 for it. Along with all the visual improvements referred to above, and more inside, what you're really buying is a 2.0-litre turbo engine from the Golf GTI that's been boosted up from its already high 197bhp to a frankly stratospheric 265bhp. The Haldex four-wheel drive system used by the Golf R32 ensures that all this power finds its way to the tarmac with a minimum of fuss, while stiffened springs and re-rated dampers aim to provide the S3 with the sporting feel owners of the original 210bhp S3 say is why they bought the car in the first place.
The theory's fine, but I'm not so sure it actually works. The first problem is the engine. No one is going to quibble with the amount of sheer performance on offer, as this is a car that'll hit 62mph from rest in just 5.7sec, making it clearly quicker than any hot Focus, Astra or Golf you can buy at the moment. But I wonder what customers will make of its pronounced turbo-lag and the rough, gruff noise it makes when extended. Quick it may be, civilised and sophisticated it most certainly is not. In fact, despite the dazzling technology it uses, including direct injection, the engine reminded me rather more of the old-school turbos I used to drive around in the late 80s. Below 2500rpm there's precious little urge available, and when it does arrive it comes in a big whooshing rush.
