A3 S-Line vs A3 Stock review
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Joined: Jun 2008
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A3 S-Line vs A3 Stock review
In May I bought a wonderful 2008 A3 S-line 6 speed. I love the car but always wondered how it was different, in a real world sense, from the stock A3 auto. Well, I've got a loaner that is a stock A3 auto with paddle shifters.
Stock A3
The first thing that I noticed was that it's quieter. I assume this is because of the tires. The road noise on the S-line is excessive IMHO. In the real world it's a much more managable suspension going over the highways, pot holes, etc. If I had to put a percentage on it...I'd say the stock susupension is 80% of what the S line is. It's still a great handling car, just not what the S is. Overall, it's more comfortable (partly because of the suspension) with better road manners, ease of driving, road noise, and real world ease. The paddle shifters are bad ***, and work really well. It really did allow more attention to be paid to the road since shifting was right on the wheel. Overall, it's a great package that is just a fantastic little car.
S-Line A3
After driving the Stock A3, I've come to realize what razor blade handling this car has. On the road it's much stiffer and seems a tad overkill almost. But put it in the twisties and it is really amazing what this little car can do, especially considering it's front wheel drive. Road noise is high on the highway and I can't wait to get rid of these tires to lower it. Gearing is just a tad higher on the stick than the auto (my estimate is 4mph faster at the same RPM), and I think I probably squeeze out a few more mpg taking the car out of gear down hills, etc. I'd say my average MPG is 32-33 with the stick and about 29 or 30 with the auto. Overall...this is a much more focused car. The stick shift seems much more like I'm "driving" the car, but a lot is sacraficed to have this feeling. Overall I feel this is a very deliberate car meant to be driven hard and leave you smiling the whole time, as long as you're not on a bumpy road stuck in city traffic.
At 38, I feel as though I should have maybe gotten the auto with the paddles. I've been driving sticks a long time and it's just nice to drive and have to constantly be in motion. The paddle shifters make a bid difference from a usual auto and for the percentage of better handling in the stock A3, I think it's nicer for me to have better real world manners as I do a lot of highway driving.
For those of you trying to decide on models, I hope this helps.
Bill
Stock A3
The first thing that I noticed was that it's quieter. I assume this is because of the tires. The road noise on the S-line is excessive IMHO. In the real world it's a much more managable suspension going over the highways, pot holes, etc. If I had to put a percentage on it...I'd say the stock susupension is 80% of what the S line is. It's still a great handling car, just not what the S is. Overall, it's more comfortable (partly because of the suspension) with better road manners, ease of driving, road noise, and real world ease. The paddle shifters are bad ***, and work really well. It really did allow more attention to be paid to the road since shifting was right on the wheel. Overall, it's a great package that is just a fantastic little car.
S-Line A3
After driving the Stock A3, I've come to realize what razor blade handling this car has. On the road it's much stiffer and seems a tad overkill almost. But put it in the twisties and it is really amazing what this little car can do, especially considering it's front wheel drive. Road noise is high on the highway and I can't wait to get rid of these tires to lower it. Gearing is just a tad higher on the stick than the auto (my estimate is 4mph faster at the same RPM), and I think I probably squeeze out a few more mpg taking the car out of gear down hills, etc. I'd say my average MPG is 32-33 with the stick and about 29 or 30 with the auto. Overall...this is a much more focused car. The stick shift seems much more like I'm "driving" the car, but a lot is sacraficed to have this feeling. Overall I feel this is a very deliberate car meant to be driven hard and leave you smiling the whole time, as long as you're not on a bumpy road stuck in city traffic.
At 38, I feel as though I should have maybe gotten the auto with the paddles. I've been driving sticks a long time and it's just nice to drive and have to constantly be in motion. The paddle shifters make a bid difference from a usual auto and for the percentage of better handling in the stock A3, I think it's nicer for me to have better real world manners as I do a lot of highway driving.
For those of you trying to decide on models, I hope this helps.
Bill
1st Gear
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 127
From:
Nahh, here's focused...
Drop in a set of good coilovers (I have Vogtland-based Startup Racing GPs), a Neuspeed RSB, add a dogbone bushing.
Flash the ECU with a Revo and bump the HP to 260 and torque to around 290 lb/ft
Throw on some 18X8s and quality rubber (Yoko/Bridgestone/Goodyear/Michelin UHP all-season or summers) .
Then get back to me.
There's a whole new world awaiting you out there.
Flash the ECU with a Revo and bump the HP to 260 and torque to around 290 lb/ft
Throw on some 18X8s and quality rubber (Yoko/Bridgestone/Goodyear/Michelin UHP all-season or summers) .
Then get back to me.
There's a whole new world awaiting you out there.
1st Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 15
nope... not even close...
given that their is now a 2.0T quattro, you should be able to lower it, stiffen it, chip it, better wheels and rubber and still have about $2500 left over... Plus your car will be yours as opposed to something that everyone else has... and it will cost you even less after you resell your brand new OEM parts...
given that their is now a 2.0T quattro, you should be able to lower it, stiffen it, chip it, better wheels and rubber and still have about $2500 left over... Plus your car will be yours as opposed to something that everyone else has... and it will cost you even less after you resell your brand new OEM parts...
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