I saw a write-up on this and WHOOOOOOOOOAAA!!!<p>Nice looking little quattro coupe with 210 HP turbo 1.8. Too bad it's only on the other side of the pond. :(<p>*moan*<p>I can just see myself........ munching up Canadian backroads in an illegal terrorist red S3........ WaaAAAAaaaaAA...... left, right, big time air....... whhhammmm, expertly negotiating a 180 switchback..... back on the gas...... wild ear to ear grin.<p>*slips back into reality* ......... :(

eom

"And yes, here's the 'but'. While 210bhp from a 1.8-litre four is impressive, the engine is coarse, noisy, and out of keeping with the Audi S-series heritage. Despite being turbocharged, it responds more like a Honda VTEC - only much more roughly. the power and torque delivery is completely linear, to the point where it doesn't respond like any other turbo I've driven, completely lacking the elasticity of turbo engines that makes them so enjoyable. The S3 is very fast but doesn't convey the on-road drama the on paper figures promise. I was left with a headache as a result of the unremitting under-bonnet blare. <br> This S3 lacks the sheer abandon of the Impreza and the sophisticated progression and power delivery of the five and six-cylinder S-cars. Even worse, its sister car, the VR6-engined Golf 4Motion, is only months away. It's better looking (in our eyes), more spacious, has a nicer dash and is bound to be much creamier and relaxed in delivering its 205bhp. The Golf will also be cheaper.<br>Until we drive that, the Impreza remains unconquered - while on the move, at least".<br>

<br>Are your talking abour the "European Car" comparo between S3 and the Subaru? I think it was in that mag, anyway. They loved the Audi for it's build quality and other things, but thought the engine was too buzzy for a car of this price. Hate to say it, but the comparo I saw ended up actually being a bit more favorable to the Sub, based mainly on price advantage and a few other things.<p>BDW '99 1.8Tqms

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... if you judge by the current Jetta VR6 - it's slow, heavy and the suspension & handling sucks.<p>The Golf (or Jetta) 4Motion will be even heavier and probably cancel all the funkiness of the VR6 engine.<p>I truly hope VW puts a little more "sport" in their future offerings, otherwise they lost me for good.<p>Andrei D<br>Ex 95 Jetta VR6<br>Ex 96 Jetta VR6<br>Red A4 1.8T QMS

I told him that we have a lot of interest over here in the A3 and S3. I told him that I would love to have one and his reply was as follows.<p>We have looked into the feasability of sending the A3/S3 to the states. Our engineers tell us that this could be done with very few modifications. It would be quit easy to send the A3/S3 to the states. He acted like it had been seriously considered, however I doubt Audi will make this leap of faith in our market. I think Audi would look at the A3 as a product that would devalue the Audi mark over here. I however think the S3 would be a giant hit due to the fact that it has no competition. We have lost all those fun pocket rocket cars from the 80's.

bye<br>