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First Drive: 2015 Audi S3 Sedan

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Old 11-14-13, 11:51 AM
  #31  
spwolf
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Originally Posted by Blackraven
You guys are missing out if Audi USA is not selling the hatchback.

I say that because in most cases:
Hatchback > Sedan

A class > CLA class
A3 hatch > A3 sedan

Probably one exception would be the Cruze because the Cruze 5 hatchback looks off compared to the sedan.
generally yes.. but new A3 is pretty disappointing car IMHO, even hatchback. Old A3's were huge sucess cars for Audi, they are far better cars compared to the rest of the class.

Now? I sit in A3 and Golf and Golf has better materials... the other day A3 passed me and I thought it was A1 since it didnt look that good, and it was A3.. A3 used to be head turner car that everyone aspired to own in this class. A1 is just horrible little expensive car.
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Old 11-14-13, 11:59 AM
  #32  
TangoRed
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Originally Posted by Infra
You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what platform sharing is. The interior has absolutely nothing to do with the platform. A platform consist of a template for common mounting points for the powertrain and body. To use a stark example, the Trailblazer and SSR shared the same platform. Do their interiors look the same?

$50k cars earn MUCH more revenue than they cost to build. What you're paying for is the overhead, or G&A, or R&D, or basically all the operating costs that go into building a premium brand image and incorporating new technology first. There's absolutely nothing about platform sharing that degrades a $50k car simply because it shares a platform with a $10k car. In fact, BOTH cars will benefit because BOTH cars are cheaper to manufacture, and therefore more money can be spent offering more features for both.

Automakers make decisions on what options to offer based on the tens or hundreds of dollars to remain cost-competitive with their peers. (Porsche alone seems to be immune to this. They sell LOTS of $100k+ Cayennes despite sharing a platform with the Q7/Touareg). Engineers are the most expensive group of employees they employ, so whatever can be done to reduce the labor cost spent on them, as well as the tooling cost resulting from their designs, benefits everyone involved.
Exactly. Spwolf, I think you still have a misunderstanding of the MQB platform. There's still plenty of freedom to be had with the MQB platform interiors. Audi could've used a different design with better materials if they wanted. The Golf interior is quite different, for example:

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Old 11-14-13, 12:31 PM
  #33  
UpSideDown
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Originally Posted by spwolf
generally yes.. but new A3 is pretty disappointing car IMHO, even hatchback. Old A3's were huge sucess cars for Audi, they are far better cars compared to the rest of the class.

Now? I sit in A3 and Golf and Golf has better materials... the other day A3 passed me and I thought it was A1 since it didnt look that good, and it was A3.. A3 used to be head turner car that everyone aspired to own in this class. A1 is just horrible little expensive car.
A3 has never been a head turner car. But the new A3 looks much sharper and modern than the last gen. I see them every day on the road. And how can you mix it up with A1?
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Old 11-14-13, 07:33 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by spwolf
Not for MQB platform... what you are talking about is how Toyota did platform sharing before. What I am talking about is new MQB platform from VW Group that shares a lot more parts than any other platform before.

Toyota's next platform is going to do the same thing as well.

Both are doing it to maximize profits.
I'm talking about how everyone's always done platforms.

And the sole purpose of a corporation is to maximize profits.
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Old 01-22-14, 05:07 PM
  #35  
bagwell
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Now that I've seen the A3 in person - really excited about the S3.....hoping for $40K base (as S4 base is $48K).
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Old 01-22-14, 06:46 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by bagwell
Now that I've seen the A3 in person - really excited about the S3.....hoping for $40K base (as S4 base is $48K).
2.0t is $45k loaded with nothing crazy.
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Old 02-02-14, 03:53 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by UpSideDown
A3 has never been a head turner car. But the new A3 looks much sharper and modern than the last gen. I see them every day on the road. And how can you mix it up with A1?
I agree, It's always been a bit too frumpy (IMO) - had a nice nose/front fascia but the sides and rear looked like they were stuck in previous generations as in never evolved with the car
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