Anyone Considering an RS3 Sedan?

[BMWFanatic2008]

I would take M2 over RS3.

[Dethsupp0rt]

Originally Posted by neilum

In the US it will be sedan only which makes it a useless car for anyone with kids. The back seat is not reasonably big enough.

I think you have it confused with the TT RS. The rear seats in the A3/S3/RS3 are far from useless.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by neilum

In the US it will be sedan only which makes it a useless car for anyone with kids. The back seat is not reasonably big enough.

How would the five-door form factor make the car any more suitable for kids? Are you going to throw them in the hatch with your gym bag?

If your children are sufficiently grown-up, any car this small is going to be too small. You don't gain backseat room by changing to a two-box, you gain it by sizing up a class. An M3 (or competitor) is the right answer for you.

[DS_BMW]

Why did they not flair the fenders like the B7 RS4. Bummer

[Kief]

Originally Posted by RACEM4TE

I recall i saw it on ordering guide either for germany or canada, saw it on an RS3 forum dont recall which one but search on the rs3 forums and you'll find it

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/atta...rs3-canada.pdf

[Towerworld]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

How would the five-door form factor make the car any more suitable for kids? Are you going to throw them in hatch with your gym bag?

If your children are sufficiently grown-up, any car this small is going to be too small. You don't gain backseat room by changing to a two-box, you gain it by sizing up a class. An M3 (or competitor) is the right answer for you.

6 foot 2+ people fit pretty comfortably in the back seats of my golf R which would be completely identical to a RS3 hatch. the hatchback provides substantially more headroom and surprisingly more legroom as the seats are further back I guess because the trunk takes up less space?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Towerworld

6 foot 2+ people fit pretty comfortably in the back seats of my golf R which would be completely identical to a RS3 hatch.

I don't agree they are "completely identical", but for the purposes of the discussion, let's just say they are.

the hatchback provides substantially more headroom and surprisingly more legroom as the seats are further back I guess because the trunk takes up less space?

More than what? There is no Golf sedan, but there is a Jetta sedan which may very well fit a 6'2" individual too.

Now, I concede that your point about headroom in the hatchback is good. But wait a minute though. He said "anyone with kids"? Anyone with kids? Unless those are 6' kids the headroom isn't the issue. So no, the hatchback isn't the magical missing elixir for "anyone with kids". But, yes, if what you need is a bit more headroom for your back seat passengers, I agree that the hatchback would probably provide a little more space. But I will stick by my bottom line point that no vehicle in this size-class is your ideal family hauler if you have the big and tall genes in your pool.

[Towerworld]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

I don't agree they are "completely identical", but for the purposes of the discussion, let's just say they are.



More than what? There is no Golf sedan, but there is a Jetta sedan which may very well fit a 6'2" individual too.

Now, I concede that your point about headroom in the hatchback is good. But wait a minute though. He said "anyone with kids"? Anyone with kids? Unless those are 6' kids the headroom isn't the issue. So no, the hatchback isn't the magical missing elixir for "anyone with kids". But, yes, if what you need is a bit more headroom for your back seat passengers, I agree that the hatchback would probably provide a little more space. But I will stick by my bottom line point that no vehicle in this size-class is your ideal family hauler if you have the big and tall genes in your pool.

There are the exact same chassis, with the exact same wheelbase, width ect.
More than the S3/A3 Sedan which is closer to the golf than the current Jetta is as it is built on a different platform entirely.
But you would be surprised, the golf R and other compact hatchbacks like the Civic which actually have more room than the M3 despite being much smaller cars(Golf R headroom/legroom: 38.1/35.6 inches. M3 HR/LR: 37.7/35.1)
Also one of the benefits of a FWD based platform but under-steer is the cost obviously.
The magic Elixir by far is a minivan for hauling kids but a Hatchback or wagon is much better than a sedan in every circumstance for the same chassis in terms of space.

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by Towerworld

There are the exact same chassis, with the exact same wheelbase, width ect. More than the S3/A3 Sedan which is closer to the golf than the current Jetta is as it is built on a different platform entirely.

But the rooflines are absolutely are different, which is germane to your specific point. How about we don't debate further because I already agreed to call them the same for the sake of argument. Cool?

But you would be surprised, the golf R and other compact hatchbacks like the Civic which actually have more room than the M3 despite being much smaller cars(Golf R headroom/legroom: 38.1/35.6 inches. M3 HR/LR: 37.7/35.1)

Actually I am not surprised at all since I own a Jetta Sportwagen.

The thing is, again to make sure we do not lose sight of the genesis of the discussion, 0.4 inches of headroom and 0.5 of legroom do not change a car that is "useless car for anyone with kids" into one that isn't. Nevermind that seat width, which I would bet (but not swear) favors the M3 you used in your comparison, matters with kids too.

I can spot a "I'm gonna take this opportunity to hate on German manufacturers for not importing my favorite hatchback/wagon" troll comment pretty well. Can you?

One of the benefits of a FWD based platform but under-steer is the cost obviously. The magic Elixir is a minivan for hauling kids but a Hatchback or wagon is much better than a sedan in every circumstance for the same chassis in terms of space.

Not "every circumstance". But again, I am not going to be dragged into a debate about it.

Here's what we will do though - we'll end this discussion here because we are going off topic. Thank you.

[RickFLM4]

The driver makes a big difference to backseat room. My last car was an S4. If someone 5'8" or shorter drove I suppose there would be legroom for a human being to sit in the back seat. When I drove, there was no way someone could sit in the backseat behind me. A3/S3/RS3 can't possibly have more backseat room that an A4/S4.

[Dethsupp0rt]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

The driver makes a big difference to backseat room. My last car was an S4. If someone 5'8" or shorter drove I suppose there would be legroom for a human being to sit in the back seat. When I drove, there was no way someone could sit in the backseat behind me.

Must've been before the B8 . . . as the B8/B9 chassis S4s are boats.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Dethsupp0rt

Must've been before the B8 . . . as the B8/B9 chassis S4s are boats.

B8.5. Zero room in backseat with seat all the way back.

[Dethsupp0rt]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

B8.5. Zero room in backseat with seat all the way back.

I think it's a given for any mid-size sedan, if you're large enough to require the seat to be all the way back, then there isn't going to be room for a passenger behind you.

I'm 6'1", and with my seat in the normal driving position, I fit fine in the seat behind, with several inches between my knees and the seat. The S3, on the other hand, is tight.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Dethsupp0rt

I think it's a given for any mid-size sedan, if you're large enough to require the seat to be all the way back, then there isn't going to be room for a passenger behind you.

I'm 6'1", and with my seat in the normal driving position, I fit fine in the seat behind, with several inches between my knees and the seat. The S3, on the other hand, is tight.

Well, I am only 3 inches taller, so surprised backseat is usable for you. In fact, I went with an M4 coupe in part because I figured the M3 backseat wouldn't be much more usable. Fortunately, I don't have much need for the backseat.

In any event, I can't imagine getting into something smaller for driving on a regular basis.

[neilum]

Originally Posted by Towerworld

6 foot 2+ people fit pretty comfortably in the back seats of my golf R which would be completely identical to a RS3 hatch. the hatchback provides substantially more headroom and surprisingly more legroom as the seats are further back I guess because the trunk takes up less space?

Bingo. Golf R has more legroom in the backseat area than the S3 dpe for example. The R has a smaller hatch area front to back, but more back seat space.

S3 has a longer trunk but less space in the backseat.

This was just my take after quick seat time in each car, I see people are taking what I said very literally. I could be wrong but it seemed the R had a more usable back seat for child seats/leg room plus the hatch area seemed better suited to lug around kid crap more easily.

My comment wasn't hating on Audi not bringing a hatch here, I like the M3 too much to switch even if it was a hatch here in the states.

[cwhands]

This thread got derailed for leg/head room discussion...

In any case...

Does anyone have any US production information on this car? I've been looking all over to no avail. On a "will call" list at 2 dealerships.

I want this car. I wish it would be a sportback (I have an A3 Sportback). I'm more excited about the engine than anything else.

[Dethsupp0rt]

Originally Posted by cwhands

Does anyone have any US production information on this car? I've been looking all over to no avail. On a "will call" list at 2 dealerships.

I want this car. I wish it would be a sportback (I have an A3 Sportback). I'm more excited about the engine than anything else.

I've heard the US order guides will be out next month sometime. As soon as they are, I'll be hitting up some dealers around here.

[DocWeatherington]

I will go check one out then decide

[cotmfk]

I will probably buy one.


For my wife.

[brianeck]

Originally Posted by Kankles

I'm trading my F80 in on the manual tranny version when it hits the US

We're getting a manual? I thought Audi had forsaken us on all their cars

[cotmfk]

Originally Posted by brianeck

We're getting a manual? I thought Audi had forsaken us on all their cars

Unfortunately no manual.

[brianeck]

Nah. Its a nice ride but I don't need a smaller, slower vehicle at this time. I'm thinking I might go with something slightly less agile but more practical since I'm always carrying stuff around for work. . . I would love a better wagon/hatch selection here in the states, and if that really awesome looking RS3 hatch came over I'd think about it.

The perfect non-US offered car for me would be an RS4 or RS6 wagon. . . I might just bite the bullet and get an RS7, the tuning potential is utterly bonkers. The only thing is I would really like to buy a new car so I can Euro Deliver it, and I think come december I'm going to fall into the "in between" model years trap.

I'm still not "unsold" on the f90 M5, I'm just itching to hear more about it as well.