At the tender age of 10, I made a solemn promise to myself that my first car would be an Audi ur-quattro, just like the one I watched rally ace Hannu Mikkola slip-sliding through forests and fields of ice on TV in the early ‘80s. The offbeat warble of the five-cylinder engine, those flared arches and angular proportions: I was hooked.

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Quote, originally posted by George@Fourtitude »

At the tender age of 10, I made a solemn promise to myself that my first car would be an Audi ur-quattro, just like the one I watched rally ace Hannu Mikkola slip-sliding through forests and fields of ice on TV in the early ‘80s. The offbeat warble of the five-cylinder engine, those flared arches and angular proportions: I was hooked. Full Story

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GLS_VR6 » I guess the E90 turned out to be a dissapointment to be, largely because I could see how better the E46 was

vwgilly » -Texas is not the South.

God Bless America and George W.

wish list:
Audi S4 Avant, RS4, BMW M3 sedan, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR, Dodge Challenger

Audi would sell every S3 that it could import without issue here...

I'd be happy to take one as a 5-door if this was the easier route for Audi to import it...

What I want is the 2.0T + Quattro + Manual ...Please Please Please...

But 17" brakes? Don't think so.
Aluminum bearings? Nope, but there are aluminum bearing carriers (spindles).

It's nice to see we have Quattro GmbH developed goodies we can fit to our cars, and the faster steering rack looks to be one of those gems.

The lap-timer-enabled NAVI+ software would be very nice as well!

Volvo C30 may be closer in comparison, but isn't as fast or as quality on the inside where Audi really shines. Those who want performance over anything else will go with the Mazda, the Lancer or the Subaru. However, I still think there's a business case for it, as there is with the A3 over the Mazda3 5-door.

If you guys wanted to do a petition, I'll pass it along to product planning.

BTW, don't count on the optional Recaros (same as RS 4) because they would fail for US market for same passenger airbag sensor reason.

The article was written by a UK contributor. They report brake sizes differently over there, as in the minimum wheel diameter that will clear the rotors. That's the discrepancy in size, though I failed to catch them on my edit last evening.

I would tend to think that the number of potential buyers in the $40k segment would prefer an S4, 3 series coupe or the like in lieu of the S3. The R32 will fill in the $30k segment very well, but even there Volkswagen took nearly 18 months to sell through the 5000 (?) 2004 models. Audi is having a hard time selling 8,000 A3s annually in the US, I find it difficult to believe that the cost entailed to certify the S3 for NA sale would be recouped easily.

Sounds good to me George...

The seats don't interest me....What the majority of us want is the Quattro drivetrain with the 2.0T and Manual transmission...

Travis' post does make sense. Audi would have to charge about 40k. A3, as is already pushing into the A4 territory.

Don't get me wrong I've been such a huge fan of the A3 for the last 10 years and absolutely love my A3 2.0T. But I could justify buying the used A3 because it was cheaper without the quattro. Other wise add the quattro add the s-line - well why shouldn't I buy the A4 then.

Of course S3 would be great but Audi would screw up the pricing…
Instead of buying the S3 I would trade in my 2.0T for a manual Quattro 2.0T and chip it right away.

see the link, I did this last night

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2971355

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The packaging on the A3 needs to be reconfigured to make it a better value in North America. Audi is under extremely heavy currency-valuation related pressures when it comes to pricing. As is, I'm sticking to my recommendation that Audi improve the value of the A3 by bumping the base price to $26.5/27k, but with that, include Quattro, Xenons, Convenience package and a standard sunroof.

Options shoudl be pared down: sport vs. premium, Opensky, Navigation+Bose

This offers greater overall value to the vehicle. As it is, people look at the A3 and think, "for a few thousand more, I can get an A4!", especially if you load up on options. However, were Audi to package the A3 such that you get a heckuvalot for your dollar, the two cars become very distinct models.

For those who have spent a lot of time in the A4 and the A3, I think you find that after the initial impressions wear off, the A4 feels to be a more substantial car than the A3. That alone accounts for a great deal of difference (besides the whole hatchback thing, ya know.)

Quote, originally posted by angryrican66 »

Seems like Audi should revisit their current configuration, though I doubt most would actually buy an S3 sportback, the 2.0T with quattro is so far the most requested non existing platform in the US see the link, I did this last night http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2971355

Exactly my thinking, or even consider the Passat Wagon.

S3 is a different thing.

2.0+quattro= winner
TDI + quattro= winner for life.

I tend to agree. IMO, the S3 would appeal mostly to existing Audi fans but have little potential for conquest sales as the competition (at the predicted price point) is rather fierce. Given that, I can understand Audi's reluctance to bring the S3 here.

A3
Sportback S-Line 2.0T FWD 6MT
Cold Weather
Rear Airbags
Bose Audio
Technology with Bluetooth
Open Sky
$32450+1800 if Quattro were availabe
with 2.0T
$34250

A4
Avant Quattro 2.0T S-line 6MT
Cold Weather
Rear Air Bags
Bose Audio
Convenience+Blue Tooth
Sunroof(included in S-line Pkg)
$39915.00

that is a whopping $4800 difference, in case anyone is wondering
an S4 with the same package is a whopping $51575!!!!
What is my point? The S3 is a speciality low sales volume car
$42-46 isn't really that bad, for a car only a few people would buy Just in case I used $1800 as an average figure for
the difference between same engine same option Fwd to Quattro Audi's

Modified by angryrican66 at 5:40 PM 12-11-2006

Modified by angryrican66 at 7:04 PM 12-11-2006

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People usually cross shop the GTI against the A3 2.0T

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Given that the bad exchange rate either means losses or pricing the car out of its market spot, I too see a much better business case for a regular 2.0TFSI quattro A3. (hey I just happen to be a fan of that combination, anyway). It's an Audi, so just put in heated leather, Xenons and a sunroof standard, and keep other options simple and few. Despite the 5 doors it will still cost federalization $$ if the rumors about the tank & manual combo are true, but if they can sell 5000 of these vs. perhaps 1500 of the S3, that should compensate. IMO, to keep cost down, they should put in a less expensive (than the S3), only slightly beefed up 230-240hp version of the engine that has the smaller turbo with virtually no lag, which is what Americans may prefer to drive, anyway. Also only use steering and suspension upgrades of the S3 that are cost-effective. Keep the entry price close to the regular A3, +$1500 to 2000 for the Haldex.

As to apples and oranges, I think size-wise, the A4 compares to the Jetta, not to the Passat.

I for one in principle cross-shop the GTI, R32, A3, and A4 wagon. Haven't bought anything because of the lack of 5-door 2.0TSFI AWD combo (especially manual) except for the A4 wagon, which is currently more money (~$40K) than I want to spend for a car... especially when you can get a Passat 3.6 AWD for about or even under $30K after discounts.

VW EV, plug-in Hybrid, and/or 1.4-2.0 VVT&VVL T/dual-charged FSI engines for the US would be useful...