easymacgyver

My S3 is in for the 5K service and an airbag fault. In the meantime I have a silver A3 TDI FWD Prestige.
First thing i noticed different is that the FWD yields a much deeper trunk. Maybe 4-6"
The second thing I noticed was an additional 0.5" - 1" of front headroom. I need to look closer to see if that is because of a different floor pan, or different mounting for the seat. Being 6'-6", I need more headroom!
Definitely missing the MR dampers, the fat x-section steering wheel and of course the quattro and the power....

zzimbile

I had a chance to drive my friends 1.8T A3 and besides the obvious offset in power, I noticed that the in-dash display was not color like our S3s display. There was also a limited number of options as compared to what we have

shansoft

If you have premium plus packages, it's color screen.

gamegenie

the color screen is if you equipped your A3/S3 with MMI Nav Plus, if you don't get MMI Nav Plus you get the B&W dash and the small 5" pop-up.

The bigger room in the A3 1.8T and TDI is because they lack QUATTRO that eats up the space around the drive shaft tunnel and trunk.

easymacgyver

Yeah, i knew why more room in the trunk, although VW/Audi could have shortcutted that for the FWD models and kept w/ common sheet metal.... I am hoping that the increased headroom height isn't a result of the same reasons and I can get a part or two that could help lower the seat.

shansoft

I don't think there is head room difference at all honestly.

I test drove S3 and A3 2.0T, both of them have the same head room as 1.8T.
Interior room, IIRC, it's all the same.

easymacgyver

Definitely a difference. It may be FWD vs. Quattro rather than engine size. My head is against the ceiling in my car and not in this loaner.

joxer

Proabably a difference in the bolstering/design of the base flatter seats and the sport seats of the S3?

S3Tom

I have a a3 loaner right now. After about 200 feet I knew I made the right choice getting the S car. Every aspect feels different. It's a no brainer if you have the money for the S.

hamz01

I have an S3 without nav and the screen on the dash is color. My dealer also though the dash screen would be black & white, but it isn't.