I had the opportunity to try the new S3 out very quickly today, and was impressed with a lot of things. The car has a decidedly more aggressive feel to it than a regular A3, although with the S-line exterior the latter isn't too far off. Still, though, the S3 is more muscular in design and the sideskirts/rear diffusors look a lot better IRL than on pictures. That goes especially for the front air intakes too. Actually, the car was standing next to a 130i and....well...let's say that the beemer didn't look half the sports car that the S3 did.

Interior wise, the standard seats actually aren't identical to the A3's, but have better side support and feel and also a slightly different design. In my view, a much better looking seat than the vulgar bucket optional. Small interior details are somewhat subtle (coloured seems, aluminium air vent details, instrument cluster index design, etc, etc), but are still important contributions to the S3 feeling like more than just any A3. I wouldn't say it feels exclusive in any way, but it is sufficiently different from the A3 to justify some of the extra bucks.

As for driving impressions, the gear box was beautifully smooth, direct (shortest travel on an Audi so far....?), and distinct, i.e. even better than the 6MT in TT 2,0T. Steering and cornering more direct than regular A3, chassis quite well balanced for a front-heavy Audi (as far as I could make out from this short trip). And the enginge punch was phenomenal compared to the A3 3,2's and R32's I've driven. So much for "only 15 BHP difference"! And turbo lag was not as dramatic as I had come to expect from reading various test reports, far from it.

All in all, my impressions were positive and the car is in every inch more desirable than I've ever thought the old S3 to be.

As for pricing, the car is actually not that expensive here in Sweden. Only a few hundred more £ than the 130 and almost exactly the same price as R32. But comes better equipped than in particular the 130i. Inclusive of all optionals one would normally want, the beemer is suddenly decidedly more expensive. Thus, the choice is eeeeeeeeeeeeasy. As if it wasn't already from the start...