Test Drive: Audi S3 Sportback

Another hot hatchback? You're damn right it is. And I've been driving this one.

The Audi S3 has been with us now for 16 years and from that day on been at the top of the hot hatchback game. Remember, this was a time where the Golf GTI (the hot hatchback to beat) had a frankly miserable 150 HP and Audi came along with a 210 horsepower speed and agility machine.

Years pass and today the current Audi S3 has an amazing 300 HP from a 2.0 litre TFSI engine. I can report that that power flings the car forwards at quite a nice pace. Around five seconds is enough to achieve 100 km/h and if you keep your ankle fully extended it will keep on going to a limited top speed of 250 km/h. With these performance numbers the S3 is challenging some serious sports cars. As in the previous S3's it has the quattro four wheel drive system to keep everything under control. Add to that the optional Audi Magnetic Ride suspension and brakes that stop the car so fast that when it has stopped you immediately check if your eyeballs are still in your head. You are going to have a hard time crashing the thing.

Audi S3 Sportback in Monsoon Gray metallic with the traditional silver side mirrors.

And this feeling of safety is apparent all the time. Even when your going at full speed it feels very controlled, like a German health and safety person monitoring everything you do from the passenger seat. Even though the speed is impressive and the handling is very well balanced it lacks a sense of danger. But most depressingly it lacks a sense of real joy, which in my view is the essence of a hot hatch.

The three door version looks better. This looks a tad bloated.

To help you have the fun the S3 has Audi's drive select system. Here you can choose the driving mode and the characteristics of the car. You can choose between efficiency, comfort, auto and dynamic. Obviously I chose dynamic first which makes the car more racy in many different ways. Throttle response becomes quicker as does the gear changes but most importantly valves open in the exhaust to make it louder. The S-tronic gearbox also keeps on moderately high revs for that ready to race feel at all times. In this mode the car also lets out a sort of burp noise when changing gear.
The driving mode most people will choose is the comfort mode, which is rather nice. Some of the sportiness is evidently lost when engine quietens down. If you make the change from dynamic to comfort while driving the gears go up by one or two for efficiency. It becomes a normal hatchback.

Four exhaust pipes are not really necessary. But it does look good.

Finally the interior. It's one of the best interiors for a small car money can buy. It's stylish and of great quality. The buttons are laid out perfectly and the display is the correct size and easy to use. But for heavens sake don't use it while driving it's just as bad as texting while driving, just don't.
The seating is good too. Sporty seats but not too hard or cramped. And as it has five doors it's easier to jump in the back. I have to report that the leg room is poor, so I wouldn't recommend the backseat for adults.

It's a very nice place to be, no complaints here.

The new Audi S3 Sportback is a great car, which it should be since it costs with the S-tronic gearbox and some other optional extras over 60 000€.  Even though it packs an overwhelming amount of technology in a 1,500 kg package, in my opinion that's too much money for a small car. But then again it's a serious price for a serious car.

BMW M5, a beast in disguise

An early history from developing race winning cars in the 1970's to converting mundane German cars into autobahn speed junkies, categorizes the BMW M badge to a status of legendary.

Even though the first production BMW with an M-badge was a racing car for the road, the M1, the BMW subsidiary changed direction by creating the BMW M535i. This is considered the genesis of BMW sports saloons. The next 5-series BMW also got the Motorsport treatment and it eventually got named M5, which has stuck ever since.

But more about the history of the M5 perhaps later on, now let me introduce you to the M5 I drove on a warm summer evening in southern Finland.

This is the third M5 named 5-series from 1999. It was the first M5 without the signature straight 6 since it boasts a hefty 5.0 litre V8 developing 400 HP (60 more than its predecessor) to the rear wheels. This particular M5 though had been moderately tweaked to a tested 412 HP to make it feel that more special. All this power is at your hands with a 6-speed manual. No feeble automatic action here. But a traction control button is much needed to keep the 500 Nm of torque safely on the road.

BMW M5 from 1999 in Avus Blue metallic.

The numbers are indeed worthy of the M5 badge, which there are a lot of. These are the only telltale sign of the beast within. Otherwise it looks like a normal E39 5-series but with some added slice of testosterone with those beautifully crafted exhaust pipes. This particular M5 has 262 thousand kilometers on the clock, but you really don't notice it on the exterior or the interior for that matter. It has been taken good care of.

I'm not really sure about the colour of the leather, it was spotless though.

It does have a manly stance

The driving experience is quite what you'd expect. It's seriously fast when you straighten your ankle but if driven respectfully it feels like a normal car. The seating position is excellent as are the seats. The seats compliment the ride elegantly as well. The ride is firmer than a normal 5-series', to cope with the immense acceleration, but still surprisingly smooth, even on Finnish back roads. The steering had a bit of play in it but did tighten up a bit with 'sport' mode switched on. But for a large powerful car it is as easy to drive in traffic as a hatchback. But when the traffic light turns green you find yourself having a remarkably heavy right foot. But if you drive like a normal human being the M5 doesn't shout about and behaves the way it looks, stylishly and discreetly.

The diffuser has been given a carbon fibre look. Which, weirdly enough, works.

On the whole the BMW M5 (e39) didn't disappoint, but then again why would it. It's a piece of expert level German engineering which shows both inside and out. The distant rumble of the V8 and a quick glance at the speedometer will be an everlasting reminder of the beast within.

... Oh yea, and the millions of M-badges.

M5

In house tuning

When we hear in house tuning we usually think of AMG, SRT or Nismo. But there's one manufacturer who has a nameless in house tuning business. It's all very sneaky and mysterious. 

The company in question is Ferrari. They've been doing this sneaky car tuning since the 512 Testarossa if I'm anywhere close. But it really started with the Ferrari 360 which then later got the Challenge Stradale treatment. And now the new mainstream Ferrari, the 458 Italia, has been tuned up by the ninja wing of Ferrari. It's called the 458 Speciale.

It has as near as makes no difference 600 horsepower and weighs 90 kg less than the standard model. It also has many other numbers that are supposed to impress me and you, but i don't care about those. What I care about is that the exotic three exhaust pipe design is now a more traditional two pipe set up. But at least those silly whiskers are gone. I think it looks great! Better than the F430 Scuderia. I like the stripe too. 

So Ferrari did it again with this one. They made the best handling sports car that every filthy rich bought. But four years later they release the same car with essentially an in house tuning package. So now everyone with a standard 458 are dreading the day when a Speciale shows up at their cocktail party. 

That stripe is really the nightmare of the owner of standard 458

And yes it's going around the famous hairpin in Monaco.

I do miss the three pipe arrangement, but it does look racier like that. 

  

The SUPERmini

Audi has been quite loony lately of the confidence boost that the R8's success has brought them. They've made S this and RS that and it doesn't seem to have an end.

This car though has to be the craziest of them all, the Audi A1 Quattro. By putting a 2 litre turbo pumping out a very super 256 hp in a car the size of a desk fan is absolutely diabolical. The A1 was created so that Audi could compete with the VW Polos and Ford Fiestas but only 5000€ more expensive. It was the richer choice in the supermini wing of cars. This made me hate it almost immediately. Why create a small car that isn't in the price bracket of 80% of the potential buyers? I guess it's because Audi can do that sort of thing. 

What they also can do is stick a powerful engine in it, give it 4-wheel drive and price buyers (here at least) 80 000€ for it.  Lets keep in mind that the big brother called the S3 that has 40 more hp and costs 20 000€ less than the A1 Quattro. Luckily Audi have only made 333 A1 Quattros, because there are not many more mad people in the world that would buy such an overpriced car. 

The A1 Quattro has obviously been made because Audi had some spare parts spread around the factory, which then lead to the question; Which car could we make less sensible? 

Only exclusivity would make me buy this car, and even then, who would notice?

The detailing is quite nice though.

And yes. One of the 333 A1 quattros was found in Monaco

That massive wing is the cars way to say; Hey! I'm special!