Thursday 7th April
PistonHeads - hypocrisy matters: PH Blog
Is it possible to criticise the Golf R but love the mechanically identical Audi S3?
Dan is a fan of the S3...
I've driven them on road. I've driven them on track. I've driven aand that almost won me over. But so far I just haven't got the fuss about the R, the fact everyone just keeps banging on about what an amazing car it is strengthening my natural rebellious streak. That a hard-driven R couldn't drop theI was driving not so long agojust sealed the deal as far as I was concerned - if it's a hot Golf you want then less weight, less power and just two driven wheels are much better.And then I accidentally (long story) ended up with. Which is, to all intents and purposes, an identical car to the R in all but badge, interior and exterior panels. Dammit, I really liked it too. Seemingly I'm not. My memories of the R are of stubbornly inert handling, binary power delivery and a sense that everything from noise to control weighting was overly synthesised and artificial. I guess I'll have to have to revisit the Golf to see if this S3 has proved me wrong about some of this. Certainly the power delivery felt determinedly - and entertainingly - boosty. Maybe Audi uses a different calibration but I don't remember any other EA888-engined MQB cars feeling so obviously turbocharged; perhaps the brand's long association with forced induction engines gives the engineers more confidence to celebrate this power delivery rather than hide it. It is anat heart, after all.
And I know everyone bangs on about how cool the Golf's combination of stealth looks and huge pace make it something of a Q-car hero. But it's all relative isn't it. Compared with other Golfs on the road an R still stands out. Yet among the gazillions of S Line vajazzled Audis you see day in, day out the S3 seems all but invisible and stealthy in the best tradition of fast Audis.
... but still not taken by the Golf R. Huh?
Sure, with an S Tronic dual-clutch this Sportback was hardly demanding to drive. But I guess it shows the importance of calibration and tuning that the control responses all seemed clearer, more natural and nicer to interact with. It'd have to be down to that because the hardware is all the same.Maybe for all the protests to the contrary I'm just as big a brand snob as anyone and got suckered by the four-ring badge and - ready the bingo card - that nice interior. Dunno. Whatever the reasons it's a nice, if undemanding, way to make rapid progress. And another car I'd choose ahead of the R!
Dan
[Sources:]