I've always had a thing for fast cars. Up until this beast, the quickest motor I'd ever owned was a '95 BMW 328i, which was pretty nimble for the time. But the Audi RS3 leaves it for dust. But all in all, how has the general experience been overall so far?
My biggest initial concerns were the costs to run it. Sitting under the hood is a 2.5-litre turbocharged 5 cylinder monster that "can" drink gas like a mofo unless you drive her properly. Meaning, selecting one of the understated mode of the car. There are three to choose from being "comfort, individual or dynanic". Whilst "comfort" is perfect for myself considering I live quite central to the heart of London, "dynamic" is a whole other story. This kicks in the extra cylinder, releasing the almost 400 horses and roars loud enough to get heads turning down the street. But really speaking, in the city, you'd rarely be using that feature.
Expense wise, it would be the insurance and service costs which would make the most impact to your wallet. Otherwise, I've managed to get 23MPG out of her when I'm not in full-on lunatic mode. And a nice and unexpected surprise it was to see that too.
We took her in for a service not too long ago and I've gotta say Audi know how to treat their customers. They'll give you a courtesy car as well as washing it inside and out so it'll be handed back to you looking like new. I was most impressed. Luckily there were no issues to speak of, except for one where Audi themselves opted to replaced a fuel valve that could be faulty on the model I was driving. They did all the work for free. Result! Something I wasn't aware of is the Audi dealership near me is actually the largest in the world. All the biggest heads of the firm gather there for company meetings and car inspections. Pretty cool, right?
All in all, I've still pretty stoked with this motor. The official 0-62 acceleration statistic from Audi clocks in at 4.3 seconds, but I've managed 3.9 seconds in the right conditions. And if any of you guys get to drive one someday, testing out "launch control" is an absolute must. Check out the many YouTube videos showing you how it's done.
I do love this car and plan on keeping it for the next couple years at least. The only car I'd contemplate replacing it with would be a Porsche 911. I've always wanted to own one and that's the next car to be checked off the list. But for now, this beauty does the job more than adequately. So yeah, after one year in, still as happy as the day I got her... :)
