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All Torque!

by Murph

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Audi S3 - Sporty Spice

Sometimes I reminisce of the glory days of Group B rallying. Being a bit of a rally fan (you probably have gathered from earlier editions of "all torque"), I still remember the days of the Audi Quattro fondly, barking and snarling through rally stages throughout Europe. The wondrous sight of those super cars power sliding through gravel and snow, the surefooted execution of each twist and turn no matter what the conditions....
(That's enough of that - Ed)
The S3 has permanent 4 wheel drive powered by a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine. Not quite a match for the Subaru Impreza but impressive all the same. Belting out 210bhp, the S3 is capable of a top speed of 148mph. Costing almost �4000 more than the Impreza, though, you do get the legendary Audi build quality, but for the money the drive could be described as safe, not spectacular.

Not available in the UK until late summer this year, the little Quattro has discreet exterior styling, with the telltale S3 badge on the front grille (and one on the rear hatch) being one of the few give-aways as to this car's heritage. Under the front bumper can be found a large mesh grille - presumably required for extra cooling; or maybe just
The subtle styling revisions include a new, deeper front bumper with integral fog-lamps. Photograph provided by Audi UK
for effect! To the rear are twin tail pipes and not much else to set it aside from the standard A3. Well, perhaps the 17" "Avus" alloy wheels with 225 section low profile tyres... Luckliy, there is not a fifth one of these weighing down the rear end, thanks to a spacesaver spare wheel. The space saved in the boot is required to accommodate the VW Group four wheel drive system.

Go inside and you are greeted with Recaro sports seats, complimented by a chunky 3-spoke sports wheel adorned with yet another S badge. The build quality is superb, as expected, with much attention to detail. The instrument panel is plain and functional but brought to life with all those badges, and the very encouraging pattern on the gearknob signifying that this car has six forward gears. Nice.

If you are someone that likes a car to be understated then this may be the one for you. But I can't help but dream of the Quattros of old. This is a "nice" car but I'm not convinced that it deserves the Quattro badge. Maybe I'll have to wait for its cousin to appear later this year, the Golf 4-Motion (powered by the lovely VR6 engine) with the same chassis before I decide on that. There's always the Impreza to fall back on, with enough change to keep you in petrol for a while..
Murph - 2 April 1999 (Email)

Understated, yet stylish. This is where you really want to be right now, assuming that there is not an Impreza nearby...
Photographs provided by Audi UK

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