rsilvers129

When people complain about the price for a "small car" I wonder what they think the Cayman and 911 are. Are they not small cars? BMW M2 may be even smaller.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...s3-test-review

BaltimoreCaesar

My morning ritual at work is to check my FB feed, reddit, then open audiworld, audizine, vwvortex, then check caranddriver for a review. Thanks, been waiting a couple months for this.

Nachos Libres

I thought the review was good. The comments of course are the best - where the masses come and tell us how much better value a Mustang or Challenger are.

arU4ic

Well, I learned a new word, stonking

or its a typo.

Yeah, "small car" is a really annoying moniker in this review - even for car & driver.

colnago

FWIW, while it may not be a "small car", it has noticeably less rear seat leg room, and much less trunk space than my '13 Jetta GLI. I had been waiting since last summer to get an RS3, and glad I didn't pre-order if this was to be my "one car"...2nd guessing as I really feel like I'd be giving up a good deal of space. Started looking into an S6, but apparently the Jetta has more rear leg room than it as well, despite being a foot longer.

colnago

I'm slipping...didn't notice you were on the vortex RS3 thread, even when I'm also checking it everyday. Shout out from fellow tex'er in MD.

russbert

+1 And especially when the person making the comment about the rear seating capacity prefers a Mustang ... yea, there's a LOT of back seat space in there!

However, for me personally I've heard all of these arguments before re: Corvette vs my 911 Turbo and I'm sure I will hear several around the RS3 and ______ (fill in the blank with any car you choose). I don't really care what anyone else thinks. The RS3 passed MY internal test, I can afford it, and I feel lucky to have one coming fairly soon. End of Story!

Nachos Libres

I'm with you there. The reason I drive the cars I drive (now the S3 and before the STI) was that I wanted something that the masses didn't all drive. My friend has a GT350 and while it is a fun car to drive - it looks like almost every other Mustang on the road, and there are a lot of Mustangs on the road. I think I've seen one S3 in the town of 100k people that I live in in the 3 months that I've had the car.

rsilvers129

Jetta is a larger car. A lot of cars are larger. A Ford Fusion is larger too. I still don't get why a 2-seater, like a Cayman, can be $85,000 and small, and people say it is great. But you make a sedan that seats three more people, charge less for it, and "it is too small."

colnago

I always thought the S/RS3 and Jettas were built on the same chassis, given similar size, shape, body panels. I was hoping my eyes were playing tricks on me when looking at pics of the trunk and thinking it may just be a longer window line, and not just a shorter trunk. It wasn't until I drove the RS3, and then compared the dimensions, that I realized the 3s were "shorter" (RS3 is 7" wider, and they have equal front leg room)...was only comparing it to my gen Jetta. I am also thinking about keeping it, and adding a Cayman. No way I'd compare the RS3 to the Cayman's size/carrying capacity, but I know my bike will fit in the Cayman, I had to think twice about whether it would in the RS3 (without taking off the back wheel). I still wouldn't call the RS3 a "small car", just a car that may not have fit some of the larger items I've had to carry over the years.