# Motor Authority First Drive of the S3 Sedan



## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1088203_2015-audi-s3-first-drive






I thought this was a really good review; love how the red accents in the seats contrast with the grey exterior color. From reading the review, seems like MMI with navigation will be standard. Optional features look to be sport seats, Magnetic ride with 19 inch rims, LED headlamps, B&O audio system and the safety nannies. I think the push start looks to be standard as well. Also pricing estimates have gone up to $42k. I would have wished it was at $40k, but if this means even more equipment is standard, im all for that .


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Egh, that's the first place I've seen $42,000 thrown out. That's probably on the high side of a reasonable guess, I figure. I still think we may see something around $39,000. It's going to be a $50,000 car fully loaded if they start at $42,000 and still have all of those options.


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## MaX PL (Apr 10, 2006)

Didnt C&D say $42k as well?


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

MaX PL said:


> Didnt C&D say $42k as well?


yeah they did....


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

Dan Halen said:


> Egh, that's the first place I've seen $42,000 thrown out. That's probably on the high side of a reasonable guess, I figure. I still think we may see something around $39,000. It's going to be a $50,000 car fully loaded if they start at $42,000 and still have all of those options.


i am hoping for $39-40k as well, but if both Car And Driver and Motor Authority are quoting this higher figure, something must be brewing at Audi.


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## DaLeadBull (Feb 15, 2011)

I swear if Audi is pricing this as if its a direct competitor to the CLA45 in the US and forgo the RS3 I will be pissed!


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## v6er (Dec 18, 2000)

Dan Halen said:


> Egh, that's the first place I've seen $42,000 thrown out. That's probably on the high side of a reasonable guess, I figure. I still think we may see something around $39,000. It's going to be a $50,000 car fully loaded if they start at $42,000 and still have all of those options.


50K we're talking S4 territory now - that's going to make my decision a lot more difficult.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

caliatenza said:


> i am hoping for $39-40k as well, but if both Car And Driver and Motor Authority are quoting this higher figure, something must be brewing at Audi.


Maybe so. If they start north of $40,000, they're going to severely gimp the potential market for the S3, IMO. I don't need all the gee whiz safety stuff that only adds to the electrical complexity of the car, so I have no problem denying that if they start with a higher base price but don't trim the base car accordingly.

The market is going to be amazed by the level of finish in the base A3 at $30,000. At $39,000, I'd say the same for the S3. At $42,000, it'll start to look more pedestrian if they aren't adding $3,000 of options as standard. Even still, they're going to piss off some contingent of their potential buyers by making all kinds of unnecessary stuff "standard."



v6er said:


> 50K we're talking S4 territory now - that's going to make my decision a lot more difficult.


Getting north of $50,000 would only push my decision toward keeping my current car. I'm atypical in that I don't care to jump to the next segment above a certain price point. I'm buying the S3 because it is small. If Audi were to deliver poorly on the S3, they'd not benefit from moving me up one segment; they'd just lose the sale.

I _suspect_ that there are others like me in the A3/S3 market- those who are sick of cars getting more bloated and obese for no reason other than to do it. I imagine they'll still have plenty of luck pushing people up to an A4 S-line instead of an S3, and an A6 instead of an S4, etc.- but I do imagine that the number of people willing to be pushed that way will be lower, by percentage, for '3 buyers than '4 and/or '5 buyers, for example.


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## Cajetan (Feb 1, 2012)

v6er said:


> 50K we're talking S4 territory now - that's going to make my decision a lot more difficult.


Exactly... also having an A3 2.0Tq makes it just as tempting to keep the current and convert it as I want a hatch anyway.


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

Dan Halen said:


> Maybe so. If they start north of $40,000, they're going to severely gimp the potential market for the S3, IMO. I don't need all the gee whiz safety stuff that only adds to the electrical complexity of the car, so I have no problem denying that if they start with a higher base price but don't trim the base car accordingly.
> 
> The market is going to be amazed by the level of finish in the base A3 at $30,000. At $39,000, I'd say the same for the S3. At $42,000, it'll start to look more pedestrian if they aren't adding $3,000 of options as standard. Even still, they're going to piss off some contingent of their potential buyers by making all kinds of unnecessary stuff "standard."


Lets hope pricing is $39-40K then . I would love for nav to be standard because i would be paying extra for that anyways. I see Audi doing Premium Plus and Prestige, just like the S4; They dont have any other options structure here in the US anyways. The only safety nanny i want is Side Assist, i can do without lane keeping assist and active cruise control.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

caliatenza said:


> Lets hope pricing is $39-40K then . I would love for nav to be standard because i would be paying extra for that anyways. I see Audi doing Premium Plus and Prestige, just like the S4; They dont have any other options structure here in the US anyways. The only safety nanny i want is Side Assist, i can do without lane keeping assist and active cruise control.


Yep. I suppose standard nav and standard safety suite would make $42,000 base reasonable. Meh.


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

Dan Halen said:


> Yep. I suppose standard nav and standard safety suite would make $42,000 base reasonable. Meh.


i doubt any of the safety stuff will be standard, other than Pre-Sense basic, which is standard on all A3's. I am thinking Nav and MAYBE B&O audio will be standard; thats the only way i see the starting price at $42k or whatever they are saying. Then again the MMI+Nav package on the A4 is like $3k , so i could see just that making up the car to 42k or so.


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## macscac (May 15, 2011)

Wait till you hear that b&o compared to the current cheapie b&o setup!!
It really is amazing in the A3!!


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## mike3141 (Feb 16, 1999)

MMI is standard on the A3. On the U.K. site, Nav is £495 and B&O is £750. And as an aside, Audi U.K. thinks a lot about the Super Sport seats: £1590.


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## Chimera (Jul 6, 2002)

I wonder why the reviewer said one of the body styles to be released is an "Avant wagon" while in the same sentence calling the etron a "plug-in hybrid hatchback". Is he misinformed or does he just consider the Avant wagon and hatchback to be the same?


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

macscac said:


> Wait till you hear that b&o compared to the current cheapie b&o setup!!
> It really is amazing in the A3!!


why is the current B and O setup $800 in the A4?? .


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## Diggz92 (May 18, 2013)

Chimera said:


> I wonder why the reviewer said one of the body styles to be released is an "Avant wagon" while in the same sentence calling the etron a "plug-in hybrid hatchback". Is he misinformed or does he just consider the Avant wagon and hatchback to be the same?


Well the 5 door is longer than it used to be but not as long has a true "Avant" but I guess he got his words messed up.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## DaLeadBull (Feb 15, 2011)

Does the B&O system include a subwoofer?


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## Bamm1 (Oct 17, 2013)

DaLeadBull said:


> Does the B&O system include a subwoofer?


Yes

http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/car-audio/car-models/audi/A3,-,Limousine


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## v6er (Dec 18, 2000)

Just read autoblog's review of the S3, didn't like this quote from the article:



> One misgiving: even in full manual mode with the Drive Select set to Dynamic, we couldn't get the DCT to hold gears at redline.


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## brennok (Jun 5, 2007)

v6er said:


> Just read autoblog's review of the S3, didn't like this quote from the article:


I thought with VW and possibly Audi there was a trick to do it since even in manual it will auto shift. I want to say you have to hold the paddle.


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## DaLeadBull (Feb 15, 2011)

Bamm1 said:


> Yes
> 
> http://www.bang-olufsen.com/en/car-audio/car-models/audi/A3,-,Limousine


Thanks!


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

v6er said:


> Just read autoblog's review of the S3, didn't like this quote from the article:


also note the pricing estimate (40,000 base-- 47500 optioned up...jesus where did 7500 dollars in options come from  ).


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## MaX PL (Apr 10, 2006)

caliatenza said:


> also note the pricing estimate (40,000 base-- 47500 optioned up...jesus where did 7500 dollars in options come from  ).


prestige package?


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

caliatenza said:


> also note the pricing estimate (40,000 base-- 47500 optioned up...jesus where did 7500 dollars in options come from  ).


I can see $7,500 in options. Silk nappa leather, leather-wrapped console trim (think it's called mono pur something or other in one of the European option catalogues), B&O, magnetic suspension, nav, full LED lighting, full safety suite, super sport seats...

It's a stretch, but I think it's doable.

If we were talking $47,500 total, I'd probably cut the safety monitoring (if it's a standalone option code), add paint, and come in under $50,000. Speaking of paint, keep in mind that something like Estoril Blue Crystal or Panther Black Crystal is likely to be a non-Exclusive option for about $1,000... so that works nicely to get you up to $7,500 in total available options, I imagine.


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

Dan Halen said:


> I can see $7,500 in options. Silk nappa leather, leather-wrapped console trim (think it's called mono pur something or other in one of the European option catalogues), B&O, magnetic suspension, nav, full LED lighting, full safety suite, super sport seats...
> 
> It's a stretch, but I think it's doable.
> 
> If we were talking $47,500 total, I'd probably cut the safety monitoring (if it's a standalone option code), add paint, and come in under $50,000. Speaking of paint, keep in mind that something like Estoril Blue Crystal or Panther Black Crystal is likely to be a non-Exclusive option for about $1,000... so that works nicely to get you up to $7,500 in total available options, I imagine.


okay when you spell it out that way, it makes sense, still though . I am hoping for nav to be standard, so that the only options i need to grab are B and O and Side Assist. I am still undecided on the magnetic suspension.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Yeah, I'm coming around to spending the scratch on the magnetic suspension. I'm not incredibly jazzed about it being packaged with 19" wheels, but I'll make do. A wheel that large borders on clownish on a car of this size. Think about it... when you saw a B5 A4 on 20" wheels back in the day, didn't it look laughable? But I guess it's okay when it's factory. :laugh:


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## caliatenza (Dec 10, 2006)

Dan Halen said:


> Yeah, I'm coming around to spending the scratch on the magnetic suspension. I'm not incredibly jazzed about it being packaged with 19" wheels, but I'll make do. A wheel that large borders on clownish on a car of this size. Think about it... when you saw a B5 A4 on 20" wheels back in the day, didn't it look laughable? But I guess it's okay when it's factory. :laugh:


its probably going to be a $2500-3000 option, knowing Audi. I know the regular active suspension is only $1000 for the A4, but this one is so much more advanced than that. I dont know if i can spend $3000 on the mag suspension; i am hoping to be proven wrong on the pricing though.


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## mookieblaylock (Sep 25, 2005)

caliatenza said:


> its probably going to be a $2500-3000 option, knowing Audi. I know the regular active suspension is only $1000 for the A4, but this one is so much more advanced than that. I dont know if i can spend $3000 on the mag suspension; i am hoping to be proven wrong on the pricing though.


if you want to use the car frequently on bad surfaces in winter the 19s might be too harsh so it would require dedicated winter tire and wheels. At 39k whatever, at 42 i don't know


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## Cyncris (Aug 12, 2012)

I have mentioned it before but.....Keep this in mind for options......
The A4, S4, A5, S5, A6, S6, A7, & S7 all have a $19,000 difference between poverty spec and completely loaded. Most of us want the cars that have about $9,000-$11,000 worth of options. I can give examples if needed but, just trying to help set expectations so that when pricing comes out that several of you are realizing that it is way more than you bargained for.


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## Dan Halen (May 16, 2002)

Cyncris said:


> I have mentioned it before but.....Keep this in mind for options......
> The A4, S4, A5, S5, A6, S6, A7, & S7 all have a $19,000 difference between poverty spec and completely loaded. Most of us want the cars that have about $9,000-$11,000 worth of options. I can give examples if needed but, just trying to help set expectations so that when pricing comes out that several of you are realizing that it is way more than you bargained for.


So you're saying base A4 to fully-loaded S4 is roughly $19,000, and that carries for the A5-S5, A6-S6, and A7-S7? That'd put us at a top-end of about $48,900 for the S3 which, frankly, is right where I imagined it.


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## davewg (Jul 30, 2001)

Dan Halen said:


> So you're saying base A4 to fully-loaded S4 is roughly $19,000, and that carries for the A5-S5, A6-S6, and A7-S7? That'd put us at a top-end of about $48,900 for the S3 which, frankly, is right where I imagined it.


Which, I think, for a lot of people gets them thinking about other cars altogether. For someone spending $48.9k (list), is not much of a stretch to $50k. It brings back the whole discussion of top rung small(er) car versus more basic larger car.

I for one would take more features in a lower level model every day of the week. I'm not in the S3 market because of price (I don't want to spend $50k), but am looking for the most features at my price point in a vehicle that meets my needs/wants/desires. I'm not going to step up just to gain _prestige_. Seems that most of us feel similarly.

Not in any particular order
- Small(er)
- Sporty
- High feature level
- Decent mileage
- Flexibility
- AWD


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