At what power would you go 4WD?

[jayha11]

I chopped my MK5 GTI in for an S3 and haven't looked back. Go Quattro if you are plannig power gains, especially with the weather we are graced with in this country!

[bonelorry]

Depends on the software 

Any aggressive map will induce wheelspin, My friends Revo Stage 1 Rocco R would light the Front tyres up on demand as it had both an aggressive Torque curve and an over-sensitive Pedal map making it very hard to control.

My old ED30, R-Tech Stage 1 Custom mapped. 300BHP/317LB/FT of Torque. Very smooth map and 1:1 ratio pedal map too.

Very usable and tractable even in wet/damp conditions, Off the mark obviously it would break traction but then I never use full throttle in 1st or 2nd gear anyway regardless. 3rd Gear no problem in the wet and was flexible enough from 30-80MPH which is more than enough for overtaking and where you want the performance, Like anything if you provoked it then you could break traction but on the whole its more than manageable. Certainly not hard work in any way and I can only imagine that an ED30 or GTI with a few select Chassis upgrades would be even better!

Yes the MK6 R out of the box did everything, Required little input from the driver. Just put your foot down, Any gear almost any condition and it got on with it. As said though this just diluted the driving experience and made me feel numb and not excited, I can only imagine the MK7 R to be even more so and in DSG form I would probably fall asleep at the wheel.

Im not trying to provoke an argument on FWD VS 4WD or Manual VS DSG, Simply that for 95% of the real world driving that most of us do and where we actually need the performance there is little in it.

The MK7 Golf Clubsport S proves this, FWD and VW opted to go for a Manual Gearbox. Its a drivers/purists car!

[baka]

Thanks guys, sounds like the butter zone for the A3 might be stage 1ish and fwd. So it's basically the GTI I was really after but with fat guy seats and easy steering.

Then when the prices come down a bit I can go full potato and get the S3. 

[Charlie23]

That's the best decision mate fully agree. S3's have come down a lot lately keep your eyes out might get a bargain.

No one can say 4wd is Rubbish as it clearly is not BUT hope this does not offend anyone  all the talk above is Golf R, S3 etc etc high performance cars but the question was about a 200bhp A3 Quattro not even in the same league as a Golf R/S3.

haveing owned a few performance cars over the years I would say below 300bhp I would go FWD,so you get the feel and pull of the power.
 300+ go Quattro 4wd.

[r5gtt]

btw the carrera 4s is a beast and don't try to pull away too fast as the rear does snake 

Hope i dont sound a know it all but i also had a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 also 3.6L and i didnt like the drive of it one bit!!! Sold that to buy the Ed30 after 3 months of ownership, Wasnt even that fast handling was good have to give it that, when your in a Porsche 911 you expect great things and it didnt live up to its expectations im affraid. 
[/quote]Not at all mate, I bough the tt mk1 quattro onlt because I couldn't afford the 4s and I live thr drive of the 4s but would prefer the turbo any day  It's great fun and imho and I would have one as a daily if funds permitted and a turbo would be best but £££££ not in the bank lol
My brother should have gone turbo but he's not a petrol head like me 

[r5gtt]

S3 £9k ish on FB

[Charlie23]

Hahaha yes totally agree a 911 Turbo is a whole new ball game haha. But at £20k+ for a 2002+ car I couldn't justify it even if it is a Porsche lol

The Carrera 4 I had was lovely to look at (Aero Kit) but I didn't like the drive was my main car and I drove it to and from work every day. stuck in traffic in a 911 is not a nice place to be.  and I like all the creature comforts of the VW/Audi.

I would say tho the A3 has in its favour is Bose sound system! Why why haven't VW give the GTI/Ed30 a good sound system. That's one big plus to the A3/S3.

[rdfcpete]

....I would say tho the A3 has in its favour is Bose sound system! Why why haven't VW give the GTI/Ed30 a good sound system. That's one big plus to the A3/S3...

You're not wrong, it's excellent for a factory system 
Everyone who hears the speakers asks if I've got some sort of 'system' in the car... I'm way beyond those grand old days 

If you go A3/S3, get a Black Edition. Again, worth it 

[FJ1000]

I've had 2 mapped 2.0T VAG cars; the current GTi, and an A4 s-line Quattro.

In the golf, I have enough trouble using the 240bhp Ish with the front wheel spin at full throttle in 1st and 2nd, to not want to do any more to it (plus the wife uses it more than me, and I have another car.)

However, the 290ish I had in the A4 was useable all the time, wet or dry, and it would have been fine with much much more.

IMO, Quattro makes sense if you have the option.


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[rich83]

Stick with fwd and buy the best tyres you can get.

[baka]

Some excellent points and food for thought thanks.

The Bose stereo in the A3 is impressive for a stock system. Not firing the woofer at your arse definitely helps. 

I was surprised as I've got the non Bose stereo in my A4, and it's the worst I've ever heard!

[AJP]

Some excellent points and food for thought thanks.

The Bose stereo in the A3 is impressive for a stock system. Not firing the woofer at your arse definitely helps. 

I was surprised as I've got the non Bose stereo in my A4, and it's the worst I've ever heard!

A 2+ k03 quattro will be pretty quick but it wouldn't set my pants on fire. What sort of stuff are you used to driving?

I do love my GTI and it'll be a bit silly putting a k04 in, but I guess I'm kind of commited to that now. If I had the chance to do it again (knowing I'm a sucker for tuning) I'd hold out for AWD and k04. You've just got so much more headroom in more than one way in those cars. It's just budget really.

[993BOY]

Yes the MK6 R out of the box did everything, Required little input from the driver. Just put your foot down, Any gear almost any condition and it got on with it. As said though this just diluted the driving experience and made me feel numb and not excited, I can only imagine the MK7 R to be even more so and in DSG form I would probably fall asleep at the wheel.
[/quote]

I've had an S3 manual and found it really thirsty and only slightly faster than a bog standard K03 Gti, I was very disappointed with it, didn't keep for long!

I'm now on my 3rd Gti, had 2 K03 and now the K04 Pirelli, it has been mapped to Stg 1 and is great fun to drive.

I also have a Mk7 R, in comparison the R is far too safe and boring even though manual! The Pirelli is by far a much more fun car to drive and is certainly faster once you are up and moving, and a bl00dy sight cheaper to boot.......and I think it looks better too 

[993BOY]

btw the carrera 4s is a beast and don't try to pull away too fast as the rear does snake 

Hope i dont sound a know it all but i also had a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 also 3.6L and i didnt like the drive of it one bit!!! Sold that to buy the Ed30 after 3 months of ownership, Wasnt even that fast handling was good have to give it that, when your in a Porsche 911 you expect great things and it didnt live up to its expectations im affraid. 
[/quote]

I have a 911 2S air cooled, it is not about speed, as modern cars are way faster, it is more about the whole driving experience and feeling like you are part of the car, and the sound of that air cooled flat 6 you never tired of 
If I am honest, my Pirelli Stg 1 is probably faster from A to B than the 911 and much easier to drive, but each car is amazing in different ways 

[topdawg]

I'm at 270bhp and 345lbft on a k03 GTI.

1st and 2nd are useless at WOT. It'll sometimes try and spin up in 3rd at 3000rpm. If I wasn't on Super Sports it would be worse. And this is in warm, dry conditions. But it's lots of fun.

Would AWD help at this stage? Yes. But at this power level I think it'd cease to be fun.

So just as a 2WD car with 270-300bhp is fun and reasonably manageable, I'd imagine I'd personally want something with around 350bhp if I went AWD or it might feel a little too steady. You're adding at least 150kg with AWD.

I'm probably going to do a k04 conversion at some point, and then I'll learn the car's real limits. Next car will be AWD or RWD.

So yes, get AWD if it's an option, and plan for ~350bhp. I reckon that'd be a good balance.

These are my thoughts too