Aid7072

I've also got the current RS3 although in saloon version and you won't be disappointed especially if you put it in performance mode when starting it with a warm engine, give it a few thousand revs upon starting and the couple of pops/bangs you get out the exhaust are unreal. I find this most impressive when starting the car after it has been switched off for a few minutes when warm. I ordered mine via DTD last September, car was one of the first in the country in December but dealer agreed to hold until March 1st, changed my order early October and dealer messed up the price so ended up negotiating an even better deal. Like you I had a long drive home (400 miles) and the amount of attention I received was unreal, way more than anything I've experienced even after owning a few M cars. I've not managed to find an RS3 forum anywhere near as good as this forum is, makes me realise how passionate people are on here about their cars plus it was a great place to share my 8R frustrations 🫤

I have read various theories on a forum regarding the issue and it certainly seems to be widespread although not all cars suffer from it, hopefully you don't have thus issue but if you do at least your car is under warranty. I picked my car up in January 2023 and within 2 weeks and less than 200 miles the headlights were a mess with moisture, both units pressure tested and one failed so replaced and the other unit dried out in the spring when the weather improved.Both lights again got moisture ingress towards the end of 2023 which I put up with and again dried out spring 2024, then around November both units got bad condensation which never cleared and BMW kept trying to fob me off that there was no issue so ended up selling it to a local dealership who agreed there was an issue.

After my 8R I had an M240i in Brooklyn Grey for just over 2 years and it was a brilliant car, comfortable, quick and a fantastic interior to name a few positives.Would still have it/one if it wasn't for needing 4 doors again and a drawn out saga over faulty front headlight units which is a common fault.Mine was a MY23 car so hopefully the light issue has been fixed by now, I'm sure you will enjoy what is a very capable car.

The 8.5Y is the only Audi I have ever driven and although in early ownership stages it doesn't appear to suffer from much lag, I was unaware of the severe lag on the 8Y but know there were MMI issues so possibly these have been eradicated through one of the software updates applied to the 8.5Y. If the 8Y suffers with lag like the 8R then I take it back advising anyone to buy as its a big negative for me although there are the big positives you mention plus a much nicer interior. Value for money I'd say it's the R but unfortunately after my 8R it's not for me, had an M240i after the R and if it wasn't for needing a car with 4 doors again and constant headlight moisture issues on the 240 I'd probably still have it.Got fed up with BMWs crap customer service so gave Audi a try and ordered the RS3 saloon.

I've had an 8R which in all fairness I never fully got on with, currently I have an RS3 8.5Y which in very short ownership has so far restored my faith in VAG cars. I would advise anyone to buy an 8Y, it will be a completely different animal to the R. As stated they are different price points new but the gap closes if buying a used 8Y, residuals on the RS are currently ridiculous and seem steady.

Some of the 2023 cars had been for sale for up to 6 months, once Audi announced the FL the used market seemed to stagnate due to people like myself hanging off until pricing was revealed on the new model.If dealers want to shift their 1 to 2 year old cars they are going to have to drop their prices and take a bit of a hit. DTD had some great discounts when the RS3 launched, uptake was far better than expected though so Audi pulled the finance contribution after 2 days although it is back this quarter. I'm not surprised new car sales are well down, as for electric cars the only people I know with them have them as company vehicles.Wait for an RS3 is supposedly around 7 months so they are still in demand which will keep residuals high. Just hoping the car lives up to my expectations.

I was watching used prices last year for 2023/early 2024 cars with the intention to buy one and a sub 10k miles car was £55k to £60k which was very close to list price when new and absolutely absurd, with the facelift model on the horizon at that point I expected them to drop further in price but they didn't and it still hasn't really happened. Due to mainly having BMWs I wanted to try an ICE RS model before they became a thing of the past so actually ended up ordering the FL model for not that much more than a year old pre facelift. With more electric vehicles on the horizon I felt the RS3 was a good purchase depreciation wise should I decide to keep it long term, like yourself I think they are a safe buy.

Definitely need to go easier at first in an M2 if coming from an R, I went from an 8R to M240 and the power difference was considerable, then another step up between the 240 and M2 although the 240 definitely appeared to have more lowdown torque. Love my 240 but need back to 4 doors, had an M3X so went for the FL RS3 saloon this time as I've never had an Audi.

BMW seem to have applied bigger discounts to quite a few of their models over the last month, a dealer I have bought cars from over the past few years recently offered me around £9k off a new M2 factory order to try and tempt me which is unreal.Ive driven a couple of 2023 M2s and you are right saying they are brutally quick, wonder if the FL with an extra 20bhp feels quicker. I fully agree that the M2 is well ahead of the 8R on many fronts, also the M240i has a very similar interior to the M2 for those looking for a more secure drive without the wayward back end.

Drive the deal vary in flexibility depending on their agreement with the dealer/manufacturer, you are correct in that VWs have to be collected within 7 days or certainly did when Medway handled their orders. I ordered another brand of car with the agreement were it built quickly it could be held until March for collection, DTD said they didn't see an issue with this but had to check with the dealer and get back to me. Once they got back to me DTD confirmed the car could be held until March for registration if required, when speaking to the dealer handling my order they confirmed they would hold the car until March as agreed with DTD.

Congratulations on the new car. They are brilliant cars, so responsive with a nice deep exhaust note once run in and the excellent interior makes for a great place to be. I've enjoyed mine greatly, unfortunately 2 doors no longer suit family life so it will be back to 4 doors in the coming few months.

From what you experienced in your TTRS I don't think you will find the x-drive system any less confidence inspiring, I find it an excellent system and not likely to cause loss of control of the car. Recently the exhaust note on my car has improved giving a deep rumble upon start up plus some rather loud pops between gear changes when pushing on hard, it's actually rather addictive and a pleasant surprise considering the restrictions these days.The problem is it's made me not want to go back to a 4cyl engine, similar situation to what you have found after leaving a TTRS. I test drove 2 M240s, the first without the M Tech pack and the second with it.I could definitely notice the better response from the bigger disks and calipers over the standard set up so added it to my order for £300 at that point (I think a few early reviews in 2022 mentioned the brakes weren't the best, not terrible but could be better) When I ordered my car which is a MY23 the base spec had just changed and was different to now as it included things like red calipers, shadowline trim and the leather M seats as standard so the pro pack was not offered(it was on the MY22 cars). To be able to add the M Tech pack you need to spec the 893M alloy wheels (with performance tyres) which look really good. Bearing in mind the standard spec when i ordered was different from now I added Brooklyn Grey paint, Technology Pack, M Tech Pack, 893M alloys, Comfort Pack, HK audio and M Adaptive suspension (again one test drive car had this and one never) The picture of the wheel shows the way the larger brakes from the M Tech pack fill the 893M wheel.

You are right the M240i is rear biased but in my time of ownership I've rarely had the back end kick out, when I have it's been from stationary at a junction turning right and down to me pressing the accelerator far too hard whilst turning 90 degrees. The car is extremely quick to correct itself with what feels like a sudden jerk of its body, it happens so quickly that I've never felt at risk of oversteering. M240i power delivery is so much more responsive and crisp than my 8R was especially in the less aggressive driving modes, the lag on the 8R used to annoy me at times.I've had some spirited drives on country roads in both the M240 and 8R and would say I probably went into corners slightly faster in the R due to it feeling more nimble and go kart like, not that I'm lacking confidence in the 240 just that it seems to have much more power available when exiting the bend and being more of a lump of a car. I've had no traction issues in the wet in the 240 and found it to be very good, it certainly sticks to the road extremely well in poor conditions and let's me confidently accelerate hard. Have you considered a test drive? Within 10 minutes of my first M240i test drive I knew it was for me and that was the beginning of the end of my 8R ownership. I'd describe the back end on the current M2 as lively especially in the wet and even from stationary, it was enough to put me off getting one even though it was brilliant on dry roads.

I've had my M240i around 20 months now and you won't be disappointed plus you already know what the engine is like since it's the same brilliant B58 unit which is in the M440i, if you can live with 2 doors it's a fantastic package both inside and out. Due to family needs (kids) I may have to go back to 4 doors so have been looking at possible cars and the M340i is certainly a contender along with the new RS3 saloon which possibly may be revealed tomorrow. Like the M240i there are great discounts on the M340i, did you try TRL/Tony Lewis for a deal as he always seems to beat whatever is out there? The wait when it's on a boat from Mexico is a killer!!

I'm with you and think it looks like a backwards step, then again if it fully functions then it's a big step forward. Glad to read VW have improved the turbo to improve responsiveness, the lag on the 8R was definitely one of the negatives during my ownership.

You will notice a massive difference in the car once you get rid of the contis,I fed back to bmw that they were not a suitable choice to fit on the vehicle. On short 2 and 3 mile journeys I think we were getting low teens,it's a small price to pay though. The differences between the S58 and B58 are so noticeable,B58 pulls much harder and with ease from lower revs than the S58 yet the S58 pulls so much harder once it gets to around 2500/3000rpm. Your roads sound so much better than mine,I can still visualise the kids bobbing up and down in the back on certain not so well maintained roads. It's a great choice of car if you can live with the ride,sounds like you were prepared for it so in my opinion you've made a great choice.

My wife had one of these for 2.5 years,phenomenally fast in a straight line and dare I say it good fun to drive.We did a lot of short journeys so averaged 17mpg during ownership and managed just under 30mpg on a few decent motorway trips,didn't order it for its fuel economy so didnt see that as an issue.The downside for us was the very firm ride especially on the country roads leading to the village we live in,this was a major factor in not ordering another.Also it came with contis on and they lasted 6000 miles from new without it being driven particularly hard,thing used to be wayward at times to say the least with these tyres,replaced with michelin ps4/4suv and the road handling improved immediately.She is now in an X3M40i,not quite the same brutal acceleration but a very quick vehicle with the B58 engine and more importantly very smooth and comfortable on the country roads,early days yet but looks quite a bit better on fuel also.Enjoy the car,they are superb depending on the roads where you live and I love the colour.

The R32 still sounds good and still a great looking car.

Absolutely spot on,both the Rs I had last year sounded c**p at best.

Thanks,so far both BMWs have been great and so has the dealership.The BMW dealership is as good as the VW one is bad so at least theres still some decent ones out there. I thought I'd got lucky with my 8R until 6 months in then it really went off the rails and a diabolical VW dealer didnt help make me want to keep it with so many faults,once you get fed up with a car then it's hard to see any positives and the negatives just keep growing. The Tiguan was going the same way throwing up new errors regularly,again the dealer was no use so it resulted in me longing to be rid of it which shouldn't have been the case. No matter the issues with the Rs they are still desirable,due to the huge discounts via DTD a few years ago the profit I made selling my 8R has almost been wiped out by the small loss on the Tiguan meaning I'm still slightly in profit from owning both which is unbelievable.

My 7.5R was a great car and worked exactly how it should,we now have an M240i and X3M40I and the cabins are a huge step up in quality although you pay for it especially with the X3M40I over the Tiguan R.

I had an 8R(sold a year ago) and my wife the Tiguan and both suffered from the various issues well documented on the 8R gremlins,the Tiguan also developed a heads up fault,infotainment could take ages to load plus in the last week of ownership the sound would vanish on any music being played and the sat nav volume also which could only be rectified by unplugging the subwoofer for the HK in the boot. The lag on the Tiguan when in comfort was bad,it often took far too long to decide what gear to be in when driving up a hill and once it decided would occasionally stick at around 4000rpm before eventually sorting itself out. The leather seats were comfortable to sit in but felt really "flat" by letting you feel like you were sliding about in them,they needed better side bolsters for support.This would have been fixed easily had they used the leather seats from the 8R instead of the ones from an R line. Quality of materials inside was not the best,clearly some cost cutting had gone on and the dash even with the discover nav pro felt a little dated. Maybe I expected too much,list on the car would be around £58k so I dont feel I'm being too harsh about the seats or quality of some materials used. Misses had an X3M comp before the Tiguan which was too harsh a ride on some roads where we live so has taken delivery of an X3M40i this time around.

After 17 months of ownership the R has been sold via Motorway and collected plus sold again by the purchasing VW dealer within 24hrs of being advertised. The R was my wifes car and ordered during Covid restrictions due to all options she wanted being available from VW but not BMW which she normally has,she picked 11 of the 13 optional extras making it one of the highest spec Rs out there if not the highest. Unfortunately the R never lived up to expectations so looking for its replacement started after 6 months of ownership,an order placed after 9 months and the new car arrived after 17 months of R ownership. The plus side is due to the massive discounts when we ordered and a great price via motorway due to the huge spec the 17 months ownership depreciation was very low. I hope the rest of you enjoy whatever R you have,this time around they weren't for us.

I replaced my 8R with an M240i x drive and have since added an M3 x drive,both cars an absolute delight. Had my fair share of VW issues due to having and 8R and Tiguan R at the same time last year,dont regret owning them but they did me a favour acting up therefore making me replace them.

I had a 7.5R which was faultless and for the money a great car,8R turned into a bit of a let down in the end with slow throttle response and the well publicised issues. When I handed back the M240i I'd had for a test drive for 24 hours the underwhelming feeling I had driving away in my 8R meant it had to go. My wife has a Tiguan R which also has various issues so its days are numbered,back to BMW for my wife also once her car arrives. I've had various VWs and cant fault them until the 8R and Tig R so cannot see me having another for a while. The 128ti sounds like a great car,I've driven an M135i which was great to drive plus a very nice cabin and better than expected exhaust note. You are spot on about the BMW infotainment systems being so much better to use and look at plus they do exactly what they are meant to without any issues. I'm glad I experienced the 8R,it was fun to drive but never had that "wow" factor the 2 BMs have as they are constantly commented on plus a real "feel good" place to be when driving. Maybe comparisons in my head are a bit unfair due to the £10k+ difference in cost new(after discounts) between the 240 and R but it shouldn't be too much to ask of VW that a car works how it's meant to.