Swapped my rather clean GTi...
For a rather dirty RS3...
But only for a short while..
A grey RS3 just went past my house and the first thing I saw when I clicked on the forum was your pic! How odd.
Review required.
I'd love an RS3 but not the price.
Then again I might be disappointed with it, who knows?
Not sure if i can post a review here as it's not too on topic? But quickly...
Looks - bit more compact estate with roof bars and really needs the black pack in my opinion
Interior - I think I actually prefer the Golf. Audi's went minimalist and the screen although cool when it appears out the dash is quite small and more dated than the Mk7.5. The wheel is easy to use though compared to touchscreen. I'd say the seats in the GTI feel more supportive and this one had the Super Sports seats.
Driving - I've driven one twice before and the engine really is epic. I've been lucky to drive a lot of performance cars but noise this thing makes is so good - justifies the price in my eyes. Engine and exhaust, even though this one didn't have the optional sports exhaust (which borders on outrageous) it still sounds fantastic and getting back in the Golf last night it felt rather uneventful. The RS3 seems more turbocharged if that makes sense, you can feel a bit of lag whereas the GTI never really feels turbocharged. But acceleration is hardcore and grip even if in this weather is very good. Owners have data logged them under 4 seconds to 60.
Overall I'd say it feels a lot more special (which it should do of course) than the GTI and even driving around at slow speeds, you can sense it has an edge to it. I think fast driving would require some concentration as speed increases very quickly. I experienced some under steer at low speed which I know is an issue in all the tests.
Having not driven a Golf R I can't compare the 2. But the RS definitely is one serious hot hatch.
This is how it was returned to it's owner...