31 Aug 06
Of course, back in the late 80s what would have happened next is that the car would have gone wandering all over the road as the front tyres tried and failed to put this power where it was needed - on the ground - but, thanks partly to modern suspension geometry and mainly to the four-wheel drive system, the S3 copes with the onslaught. Even the ratios of its six-speed gearbox are close enough to make sure that, if it's warp-factor acceleration you're after, you can keep the turbo on the boil from first through to sixth. But that still doesn't make this a nice engine to use.
More curious still is the decision to deny S3 owners the superb VW/Audi DSG paddleshift gearbox. I'm not usually a fan of these contraptions but this transmission is almost impossible to fault: race-car quick in manual mode, limo-smooth as an automatic, it has an answer to every road condition you're likely to face. Elsewhere in the range, Audi itself markets the gearbox as a pure sports option. And yet although you can have one on any quickish petrol or diesel Golf or A3, S3 owners have to go without. Audi say owners were asked the question and they don't want one; I say it would have been nice to have given them the choice.
In other areas too the Audi doesn't quite realise the promise of its 'S' badging. There's no question about the competence of its handling - I drove it in conditions that varied from dry to drenched and it took it all in its stride - but I never felt the pulse quicken or the grin broaden. The steering feels a little remote and the chassis tuned determinedly to make sure it never gets you into trouble, but I think drivers of such cars look for at least a little adventure, and this appeared to be in somewhat short supply in the S3.
