Evo: Video of Golf R vs new RS3 track battle

[charv94]

I love both the S3 and the RS3. The latter is a fantastic car and I don't give a jotting toss what the journos say about it. It is total eye candy for me, sounds epic and I love it to bits.

I absolutely agree with you there! The rs3 noise is incredible and I love it to bits. A also agree with an earlier point that on the road the extra power on the road would cause the rs3 to be quicker I think.

In relation to a Cayman/Boxter for 40k. You'd have a pretty hard time getting one of them....I think they start at 50ish and let's face Porsche are the worst for giving aware options...Bluetooth is an option for gods sake. So you'd need at least 10K on top of base to get a nice one

[am1w]

Autocar rankings:
1. VW Golf R
2. Audi RS3
3. Honda Type R
4. Merc A45 AMG
5. BMW M135i

BTW, the Type R noise level is 77 dBA at 70 mph, whereas the R is 68 dBA. That Honda is a noisy bugger.

[dirvy]

He says Audi faster out of corners and on the straight. But.... Brakes fade sooner and can't carry as much speed into corners, hence R .5 s faster on lap.

Real world ... You decide.

It's your money, and it's encouraging that VW can fettle their chassis so well that they can challenge a five cylinder +10k uber machine at all

[Ivor Mk4 Turbo]

Yeah, its a load of nonsense. Some of the R boys are getting very excited by this review but then a lot of them think that the R will destroy anything on the road including AMG's, 911's, M3's etc. These guys need a reality check.

The fact is if I were to pull up at a set of traffic lights alongside an R and an RS3 I know which one I would want to be in even forgetting which one is quicker (i'll give you a clue, it's not the former).

That's no disrespect to the R cause I would take that over the GTI

This is exactly right Craig.  This is why that video is tosh.  If you have a wander over to the R forum, you'll see a thread on this video, along with various other threads whereby the R owners are creaming themselves over how quick the car is.

Is the R a great car - yes!  Will it beat anything on the road - no!  An RS3 would beat an R off the line every day of the week, all this video does is feeds the R fanboys fantasies.  Honestly, as an R owner I'm embarrassed by it all - it's like the old Playstation vs Xbox arguments - the fanboys are so blinkered and biased!

What did all those R owners do when the Cupra 280 beat the R around the track on the Auto express video??   

[Snoopy]

^  Must admit I watched the autoexpress video test of the Cupra, megan and type R thought I preferred the cupra even though it was slightly slower than the honda. Watching him bounced about in the type r was funny. The next video from them was the M3 v Type R v RS3 watching that made me think cupra still as it was the same track.
Sorry I just find 4WD boring and DSG and 4WD more so. People who complain about traction imo need to learn to drive and should buy some performance driving lessons.

[remlapeel]

^  Must admit I watched the autoexpress video test of the Cupra, megan and type R thought I preferred the cupra even though it was slightly slower than the honda. Watching him bounced about in the type r was funny. The next video from them was the M3 v Type R v RS3 watching that made me think cupra still as it was the same track.
Sorry I just find 4WD boring and DSG and 4WD more so. People who complain about traction imo need to learn to drive and should buy some performance driving lessons.

It's not about being able to drive, there is a limit to what the front wheels can do. Given that in the UK it rains 290 out of the 365 days a year, even moderate acceleration on a bad road causes the traction light to come on if the weather is poor. I would prefer to enjoy the performance my car can give more than 2 out of the 12 months.  You remap it and it's even worse. 250-300bhp is pushing the limit of FWD and that's a limit some people don't want.

[Hawaii-Five-O]

^  Must admit I watched the autoexpress video test of the Cupra, megan and type R thought I preferred the cupra even though it was slightly slower than the honda. Watching him bounced about in the type r was funny. The next video from them was the M3 v Type R v RS3 watching that made me think cupra still as it was the same track.
Sorry I just find 4WD boring and DSG and 4WD more so. People who complain about traction imo need to learn to drive and should buy some performance driving lessons.

It's not about being able to drive, there is a limit to what the front wheels can do. Given that in the UK it rains 290 out of the 365 days a year, even moderate acceleration on a bad road causes the traction light to come on if the weather is poor. I would prefer to enjoy the performance my car can give more than 2 out of the 12 months.  You remap it and it's even worse. 250-300bhp is pushing the limit of FWD and that's a limit some people don't want.

^^Well said mate! ^^^Patronising too.

The only thing I don't like about my GTI is its ability to put all its power down in wet or damp conditions. Hell.. sometimes even in the dry! You kinda feel cheated. Does that make me a bad driver. No. It's the limit of traction and torque through its front wheels. That's why some folk plump for 4WD (i.e. an R). Especially with 300bhp stock.

[monkeyhanger]

Knowing that the car has a lot more to give with better rubber is galling when you get sh!tty bridgestones. When you've got a GTD or GTI shod with Bridgestones, driving "better" means pulling away with a lot less throttle than if you had better tyres - Pirelli P7, Conti 5, Dunlop SP01, Michelin PS3/PSS...take your pic, none of them cause tramping like the Bridgestones.

Fair enough if you're driving an MX5 and you know it's going to be a slippery bugger no matter what rubber it has on it, if not driven properly. When VW choose to impede the MK7's abilities with Bridgestones, it has nothing to do with driving ability, you choose to drive the car to far less than its potential or you choose to suffer tramping and a lack of lateral grip knowing full well the car could do so much more with better shoes.

If I wanted to slip and slide around for kicks then i'd buy a GT86, not take a very capable and stable car and put crap tyres on it.

[corgi]

People who complain about traction imo need to learn to drive and should buy some performance driving lessons.

That's a bit harsh but in some respects fair.

There used to be a load of people who'd crash their S2000s, reporting over on S2KI, almost always it was younger guys who'd stepped out of modern traction controlled fwd hot hatches and were used to the electronics "saving them" and before 2006 traction control was not even an option. I drove mine for close to 80k miles and only ever had issues in the snow (never got stuck but had to be careful) or when I wanted to play But I was brought up mainly on rear wheel drive

All I will say is that I don't feel the need for 4WD in my XKR... and if you're not careful that will spin the rears at 70mph in 3rd gear in the damp... I don't feel short changed either.

One further note. In rallying in this country, a well set up and driven Ford Escort Mk2 is still more than a match for a Group A Lancer EVO or Subaru Impreza... and often they'll beat WRC Focus and the like... hence the "in some respects" comment above relating to driving ability...

If you buy a front wheel drive car - especially with > 200bhp and/or lots or torque then you're going to have issues with traction at times. Fancy diffs, good tyres and clever traction control can mitigate some of that but the underlying issue will still remain. The same, of course is true for rear wheel drive but they intrinsically have better traction than front wheel drive under acceleration...

[James75]

I've just watched this - the point of the review wasn't to say which was better as such, but see if the RS3 is worth the extra money (personally I don't think it is).

People will buy it because it's an Audi...

I've said somewhere else here, it's just too expensive for me, and personally, I don't want to have to pay for every single extra, it's not that special.

What will be interesting is the pricing of the R4200/R400 - where VW will place it - give it a good basic kit - price it below the RS3 and it could be a sensational bargain - there will be the argument about 'it's just a Golf' but if they can translate the breadth of abilities the R has to a more powerful version, surely it will be something amazing.

The RS3 is about bragging rights, it's a great video, not because to some extent the R wins but it shows another way of thinking when it comes to cars, most people it seems just keep tuning and adding power, what makes a great fast hatch is clearly and obviously more complex.

James