Hi all, owned my standard 56 plate Fabia VRS for two years now and got to the stage where I won't be covering very many miles any more. So at a bit of a crossroads...I quite fancy one of the old S3's as a bit of fun before i'm a bit older and have other commintments etc but am a little worried that most examples appear to have a very high mileage (100k plus). My car is now 4 years old and covered 35,000 miles so technically needs a cambelt service due to age which i would have done if i was to keep it and then probably go down the lowered + remap route...

Just wondering if anyone has any experience of Audi S3's, especcially if you could compareit to the Fabia VRS. Also would be interested to hear anyone's opinions, particularly if you have been in a similar position?

Many thanks in advance! Boots.

Take a look here - worth having a read through to see what issues people have with them.

Cheers, signed up to have a look. First impressions is the forum is nowhere near as populated / informative as Briskoda

Cheers, signed up to have a look. First impressions is the forum is nowhere near as populated / informative as Briskoda

yes i had a look too and the design is not a easy to read, the text size and layout is not great, and the colour scheme contast is terrible on my screen, very difficult to read. there's no sections relating to specific cars like on here

Yeh, i found the same!

Can anybody compare the two cars? Interested to hear how much quicker an S3 feels than a Fabia - considering similar torque figures and the Fabia's concentrated power delivery...

Funnily enough, an S3 doesn't feel as fast as a Fabia, but it's actually MUCH quicker. The torque of the vRS pushes you forwards in your seat whereas the S3 just sort of gathers speed in a smoother way.

It's one reason why I find petrol cars very frustrating now. I like to feel my car accelerate!

Thanks for the reply Wja96! Out of interest what do you make of the Audi you've got, imagine it shifts...

don't have a VRS but I had an Ibiza TDI 130 (pretty much the same) and tried it on with an old S3.... didn't know what hit me! they are pretty fast... obviously

Edited 29 September, 201015 yr by madfaz

Anybody any experience of the reliability of older &/or higher mileage S3's?

Which gen S3 are you looking at? I'm going to assume its the first one; I had one the first (T plate) 1.8T S3s when they first came out.

I loved my S3, amazing levels of grip, far more that you'll ever need standard or even mildly warmed over. Plenty of expansion room for big power if you fancy it. Compared to the Fabia is night and day, S3 with similar power to weight ratio as the Fabia (otherwise both all standard) would leave it for dead over the twisty stuff, straight line would be about the same. S3 is also much much nicer inside but doesn't have that much more room due to the large Recaro folding seats.

However the S3 costs a lot more to fuel (I got 35mpg driving carefully, 30 more the normal for my remapped S3), servicing and parts are again a lot more and I'd be surprised if the S3 cost less to insure than a modded Fabia.

I think its possible to build the Fabia to match the S3 in pretty much all areas bar grip (unless you do the 4x4 swap as well) for about the same money and still have a car that costs a lot less to run.

old 1.8t engines are good

some are 210bhp i believe (the older ones)

the newer ones are 225bhp

remapped these will go like s7it off a shovel

power difference wise a standard 225 s3 will pull away from a remapped fabia vrs

and a remapped s3 (265-270bhp) will blow you away they are properly quick

power difference wise a standard 225 s3 will pull away from a remapped fabia vrs

and a remapped s3 (265-270bhp) will blow you away they are properly quick

Sorry Jase, but I don't agree.

Having owned a few 1.8Ts in my time, I don't believe that (when moving) a standard S3 will pull from a mapped vRS. In my experience, it is pretty equally matched.

You are however, total correct that a remapped one will pull massively on a mapped Fabia - it wouldn't even be sport! :p

Thanks for the reply Wja96! Out of interest what do you make of the Audi you've got, imagine it shifts...

The Audi is nowhere near as much fun as the vRS. Yes, it's quick, but the power delivery is quite petrol-like ie. it needs to be revved and apart from the phenomenal traction out of corners it's less fun to drive than the vRS in my opinion. But it's a real attention-getter!

Sorry Jase, but I don't agree.

Having owned a few 1.8Ts in my time, I don't believe that (when moving) a standard S3 will pull from a mapped vRS. In my experience, it is pretty equally matched.

You are however, total correct that a remapped one will pull massively on a mapped Fabia - it wouldn't even be sport! :p

High up in the rev range an S3 will eat a stage I remapped vRS for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add in the fact that it's 4WD and the first time they get to a roundabout the S3 will just walk off into the distance. I know it doesn't feel like it, but that's the magic of torque.

Thanks for all the replies guys! Yes it would be the earlier S3's. Guess the best thing to do is to have a test drive to see what an S3 is like...

The things about the VRS that annoy me are: Condensation on the inside of the windows / Bushes, anti roll bar etc noises and generally not very good standard suspension / Fairly cheap interior / Standard ride height. I know alot of these things can be cheaply fixed or improved however when you are considering changing your car anyway obviously such problems add to those feelings.

On the other hand a VRS has: Nice straight line performance / Economical / Cheap ish insurance although not as cheap as you might think for group 9 :S / 5 door is good for my golf clubs on back seat.

Are the S3's renowned to be very reliable? Also is a mileage of 80k - 120k anything to worry about on these cars assuming cambelt's changed and serviced etc regularly? I ask this as you would be hard pressed to find a car with under this mileage for reasonable money and if such a mileage isn't a problem then would be a good buy for me as I dont cover that many miles anymore.

Cheers Boots.

The Audi is nowhere near as much fun as the vRS. Yes, it's quick, but the power delivery is quite petrol-like ie. it needs to be revved and apart from the phenomenal traction out of corners it's less fun to drive than the vRS in my opinion. But it's a real attention-getter!

High up in the rev range an S3 will eat a stage I remapped vRS for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add in the fact that it's 4WD and the first time they get to a roundabout the S3 will just walk off into the distance. I know it doesn't feel like it, but that's the magic of torque.

yes agreed mapped fabia will be similar to 70mph if there both rolling but after that the s3 (standard) will rip a whole in it

Here's another thought the s3's retain they're value

for the money i'd look at a Leon Cupra R, essential the same car bar the 4wd....

also the LCR gets brembo brakes and you'll be able to get a lower mileage younger car for the s3's price

High up in the rev range an S3 will eat a stage I remapped vRS for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Add in the fact that it's 4WD and the first time they get to a roundabout the S3 will just walk off into the distance. I know it doesn't feel like it, but that's the magic of torque.

Having owned both cars, I simply do not agree with your opinion on the straight line speed. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Launching, corners, roundabouts etc, or a map for the S3 are a totally different story though :p

Edited 7 November, 201015 yr by Gareth_1.8T

Having owned both cars, I simply do not agree with your opinion on the straight line speed. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Launching, corners, roundabouts etc, or a map for the S3 are a totally different story though :p

mapped vrs's are dynamite until 70-80mph then they just run out of puff where the bigger more powerful 1.8t will keep marching on

the 225's go to 150mph a fabia vrs only does 130mph

mapped vrs's are dynamite until 70-80mph then they just run out of puff where the bigger more powerful 1.8t will keep marching on

the 225's go to 150mph a fabia vrs only does 130mph

My argument is kinda based on real world day to day straight line speeds and performance on the British roads. These days I would never try to 'max' a car - far too risky these days, and i value my licence too much.

'bigger'?!?! - tut tut Jase

I'll have to stop now - I feel like I'm betraying my username, and I do love a 1.8T

Back on topic, the 8L S3 is a well built, superbly capable all rounder, with massive tuning potential and awesome grip, but IMO needs a remap to get the pulse racing.

I had the equivalent seat cupra r 55 plate, very quick lots of boost great with 007p forge, green filter and drilled box,but in all honesty it bored me. Imo my previous pd150 golfs and my current std fab vrs are much more rounded and more fun day to day. For me fun and running costs can't be beaten by the pd engined cars

Yeh guess the real world arguement of the VRS is a fair point however the counter arguement would obviously be that even a standard powered VRS can sometimes struggle to get its power down - I had a hairy moment recently where I tried to pull out onto a quick moving roundabout and because the roads were a little damp just got oodles of wheel spin until I was in second. Not a problem you would have in a 4wd car I imagine.

Is an S3 ok with a generic remap? Much the same story as with a remapped VRS I imagine. Also what did you make of the S3's interior? I sometimes think the VRS's interior is a bit plasticy but do like the space above the heater dials / useful 'hidden' storage spaces and the dials.

Four wheel drive makes a huge difference. My husband had a FWD A6 1.8T that he had remapped to about 205bhp. That thing was quick once it was moving, but in the wet it was a liability especially pulling out at busy junctions/roundabouts. He's got an A6 3.0 quattro now - it just grips and goes, no drama, no fuss, even in the heavy snow and ice we had last year.

Anyway, BigJase came up with an alternative for you in the Leon Cupra R. If four wheel drive is important to you then here are my alternatives - A3 1.8T quattro, Octavia 1.8T 4x4, Golf V6 4-motion (or Golf R32). The 1.8T cars will be usefully cheaper than an S3 and relatively easy to tune to get near S3 power. You can also get different Haldex controllers that send more power to the rear if that's your thing - click here

I agree with Julie that you should be aiming at something 4x4 if you want a big improvement over the fabia and the 1.8t at usable road speeds. Otherwise just spend the cash getting the fabia properly sorted fixing all your issues.

I'm not a fan of the vr6s or similar in the golf, far too front heavy and that from me with the front heavy fabia

What do you think to the S3 Brian? Any experience?

To be honest also, I do quite fancy a 4wd car. I would also wonder just how useable a car with circa 250bhp+ through only the front wheels would be; a guy I know had a remapped Mk 5 golf gti and he said it was wheel spin city in first, second and third...

I do love my VRS but I do also find it a little cramped at times. I'm 6 foot 4 and so have my seat fully back which means I then can't have the back seats folded flat. I'd like to do this because I play a lot of golf and don't like putting my clubs on the back seat because of the inpractical cloth colour. Guess I would need to check this could be done in a new car of course.