Our Audi RS3 Longtermer Has Caused A Huge Office Argument
Thanks to the arrival of a Hyundai i30 N which weāll be living with for six months, thereās been a little reshuffle at CT HQās test garage. Editor Matt has the keys to the Hyundai, handing over the Audi RS3 weāve had since December to CT Head of Video Alex.
However, while the RS3 managed to work its way under Mattās skin, Alex is less enamoured with the beast. And thatās caused a bit of an argument in the officeā¦
Matt Robinson: I hear you think the RS3 saloon is boring. Shall we discuss how wrong you are?
Alex Kersten: Yes, I find it boring, and hereās whyā¦
The RS3 should be exciting. It should be addictive to drive, and it should sound incredible. Unfortunately, the car manages only one of these things, and thatās noise, because its turbocharged five-cylinder engine really does sound the nuts.
Everything else, though, is just anodyne and a bit boring. And thatās because the RS3 is too easy to drive. Itās a car my mum could drive fast, and it just doesnāt get my blood pumping.
The reason why is because everything about the RS3 is so intuitive, and little skill is needed to get a lot out of it. Thereās no challenge, you donāt need to spend time getting to know it, and there are no surprises (unlike the Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo we filmed recently, which is full of them).
And that for me is a shame, because as a petrolhead, I love spending time figuring out how to extract the best performance out of a car and having to use my driving skill to keep the thing planted on the road. With the RS3, I just donāt get that; the gears change themselves better than I ever could, grip is endless, and thereās never a feeling of āoh shit, I might have screwed up this corner!ā
MR: OK, Iāll agree that the RS3 - like a lot of modern performance cars - does make it a little too easy. But I think thereās a place for cars like that, which perhaps donāt take a lot of skill to drive - theyāre more about learning to trust the machine under you and how best to extract its full potential.
When the RS3 is clinging on as you nail it around a corner, four-wheel drive system digging in and lateral G-forces making a mess of your face - how is that not exciting? Does there need to always be a challenge? Riding a rollercoaster isnāt a challenge; eating a scotch bonnet chilli pepper doesnāt require skill; but both of those things are highly exciting.
AK: You say that the āfour-wheel drive system digs in through cornersā while āG-forces make a mess of your face.ā The reason this is not exciting is because itās fake. The car is doing the work, with you only as passenger. Sure, youāll be going way faster than me in something like a Fiat Coupe, but in that car, itās on me to get the corner right. And thatās whatās exciting, because thereās a very real fear of the unknown. I guess thatās what separates people who āloveā cars versus people who āenjoyā cars, because some like to go fast without having to work for it, while others - me included - like to work with our cars for real rewards.
MR: What Iām getting at is that thereās a place for uber-capable cars. Itās not the only way I like to get my kicks - donāt forget I also have a Caterham Seven racing car (whoās āpretty much a racing driverā now, eh??) on my drive that has no power steering, no ABS and no traction control. I enjoy driving both, and for different reasons.
The key thing for me though is the RS3 is more than just mega grip, five-pot noise and an explosive power delivery - finally Audi is making cars with properly sharp front ends and decent steering. Yes itās easy to drive too, but itās satisfying in its own way.
I feel like weāre going around in circles here, so let me put this another way: you have about Ā£45,000 to spend on a new performance car. Where does your money go?
AK: I agree that the RS3 steers, handles and performs incredibly. But my money would go on a BMW M2. Itās edgier, less forgiving, and the closest thing to a true enthusiast car as you can get these days (for the money, and in this bracket of cars).
Then again, you know me, so for the same Ā£45,000 Iād choose a Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo, an E46 M3, my (currently engine-less but soon-to-be-V6-equipped) MX-5, plus something like an BMW E39 530d Touring. Oh, and some sort of van. Because I love vans!
MR: Your version of exciting seems to be a little more narrow than my definition. And didnāt you say the M2 was underwhelming last time you drove it? Thatās something we actually agree on! What we need is for BMW to hurry up and make that S55-engined M2 Competition, which I reckon would be the one to have. Except it isnāt here yet, and will probably end up being quite expensive.
Oh, and a van? Really? Can tell youāre getting oldā¦
AK: Yep, vans are awesome, and age is just a number - I know I look younger than you, so thatās good enough for me.
Anyway, time to wrap this up, so letās agree to disagree about the RS3. And yes, I probably am narrow minded when it comes to what makes a car fun, but thatās the beauty of being a car enthusiast. Some people are right (me), while others clearly donāt know what they want (you).
Finally, I think itās important to remember that there is a time and a place for driving in a more mild-mannered way (most of the time, in fact), and thatās what the RS3 does very well. Itās comfortable, well equipped, has the nicest interior of just about any modern car (virtual cockpit FTW), and smashes through hundreds of miles without breaking into a sweat. So massive thumbs up to it for that!
MR: I think we need to agree to disagree on that age point tooā¦
Comments
I think Alex is stuck in the past.
Lmao me too😂
lol yes
I agree
Ah the big question. Are driver aids boring? I donāt think so. The enjoyment for me doesnāt come from the mechanical experience of the work itself. As someone who is interested in cars obviously it can at times but far more than that is the dopamine hit I get from driving really fast around country roads. The enjoyment of the physical act of driving is more of a nerdy self satisfied pleasure. Adrenaline triple trumps that times a million. I agree with Matt.
^
Weāre moaning about a car that is very fast and capable, but it lacks excitement. I would be more sad that in about 20-30 years self driving will be taking over and barley anymore human driven cars will be left.
This ^^
I was going to say, the RS3 is exciting to me just because itās not hybrid or electric or, even worse, self-driving yet
In the world where even AMG said that there are no more V12s to come and the next C63 will be hybrid, anything that has an engine sound like the RS3 and a steering wheel is exciting
There will always be a manual option to take the wheel, just like planes.
My take is
There are two types of people:
The āI went into the corner too fast, but then I managed to correct the car with my brave maneuvers.ā
And the āI went into the corner too fast but my very intelligent AWD system paired with the most amazing 7 way traction control and magnetic suspension that re-adjustes itself 300 times a second managed to save meā
In the end I respect both, but Iām more of a second guy
But isnāt driving a car about human skill, rather than electronic nannies?
Ditto
There is a third kind of person: the one without the capability for brave maneuvers and no intelligent all wheel drive system. Most commonly found leaving a car meet in an exuberant manner.
Iām just a wannabe first guy
here i sit and only care about straight line performance..
Man havenāt seen you in ages, where have you been
I will admit the RS3 does look a little boring. But i think thats just cause i feel like the nardo gray looks like a glossy primer
Thatās just standard Audi RS styling. Itās more sleeper than supercar
Most buyers of these kinds of cars just want effortless performance. The RS3 totally delivers that. The idea of āall the car you needā sells. I would definitely like to see a RWD (or at least more rear-biased) version though. Or how about a TT RWS?
Youāre both wrong. An ā06 Octavia vRS is clearly the way forward.
100% true
How many times did the door panel fall out during the time it took you to wrote this comment?
You all are wrong, just go for a Volvo V70R, the ultimate sleeper for a dad with a tad bit of child at heart.
Iām with Alex. Cars need to be fun at low speeds too!
I agree with Matt on this. Heās the same guy that said driving something like a Caterham is a true joy on its own. But he also says here that easy to drive cars arenāt always boring to drive, that it comes with its own form of fun too. Mattās more liberal with his thinking while Alex is letting his conservative thinking get in the way of what does make newer cars fun.
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