Alex AutoScaut I took S3 for a long test drive and the BMW kills it for straight line poke and interior quality all at a lower price… ride quality / turn-in I would give to the S3 though.
S3, when you did the numbers with a couple of small options such as wheels and paint was nudging $90k drive away in BNE… I feel this is $10-12k too much for the segment and car you are getting.
Interior quality has gone backwards in this latest gen…..MB A Class may be flashier but the BMW 1 series feels more solid and premium….the Audi A3 feels more Volkswagen that Audi!!
You can talk about the benefits of the PPF but from my understanding this has been instigated by VAG to allow for the removal of port injection and still meet emissions targets. My concern is that direct injection ONLY will exacerbate the carbon build-up issues that are broadly reported in countries where they only have direct injection. The US in particular. I have a 2018 MK7.5 Golf R (dual port injection) and have been considering an upgrade to a MK8 Golf R. Knowing that it will only have direct injection with a PPF is dampening my enthusiasm. A PPF may be expensive but dual port injection is even more expensive.
The other issue for Australia is our petrol. It has a higher concentration of sulphur and Sulphur destroys PPFs. The ONLY fuel in Australia that passes the Sulphur concentration limits, and only just, at this point is 98 octane. Do you think the average Aussie would understand this? Using 95 octane, or less, will destroy the PPF over a relatively short time. It doesn’t do that to port injectors. Ask people who own Diesels and the problems they have had with DPFs. It’s a similar scenario.
I think I may have to stay with my MK 7.5 Golf R!
The average sulphur content in 91 RON petrol is up to 150 ppm but the sulphur content in both 95 and 98 RON petrol is up to 50 ppm, which is still too high compared to most European petrol but hopefully will come down when the updated refineries start producing the lower content sulphur fuels within the next couple of years.
The A45 competes directly with the RS3, not the S3 (The S3 is cheaper). I would argue the A45 has always had the better performance, but the RS3 the better finish and build quality
Glorious pre PPF sound and according to Motor Australia magazine actual (PCOTY 2018) test 0-100km/hr 3.5s
Only 2 seats though.
