Well let’s start with the power and performance. The Golf R with its 2.0 turbo charger 4 cylinder is equivalent to the Audi S3 with just a bit more power.
The Golf R will give you up to 315 horsepower where the S3 will almost match with 306 horsepower engine.
What is the comparison between these 2 vehicles on the road?
The Golf R has amazing grip on the road due to its four wheel drive ability, this allows you to dart through bents and turns at a fair speed.
Whereas the S3 is a much better cruiser on the long road.
Let us go deeper into the sub titles of these two vehicles with ratings:
Exterior:
With the S3 it has the advantage of having availability in the saloon and hatchback form. Both of these styles comes with the same visual updates as the new A3- 18-inch alloy wheels, aggressive front grille, big air inlets, rear bumper and matrix LED headlights.
On the other side the Golf R a somewhat smaller vehicle, but it has the same practicality and passenger space as the S3. If you are looking to fly under the radar, the Golf R is just the vehicle for you.
Both these hatchback vehicles comes in a youthful 3-door and family 5-door options. Both the S3 and Golf R comes in different variety of snazzy and funky colors. They are also not afraid to boast with their brand signs “S3” and “R”.
Overhaul the S3 has a 4 ½ out of 5 and the Golf R 4/5
Driving experience:
With the same 310bph 2.0 liter turbo-charged four cylindered engines means there is quite little to differentiate between these 2 amazing vehicles in forms of performance. Both vehicles reach the top speed of 249.44 km/h and are capable to do 0-100 km/h in less than 5 seconds.
One way how these two beasts may differ is their standard gearboxes.
The S3 has a standards automatic, 7-speed, DGS dual clutch gearbox and the Golf R unfortunately has only 6-speed manual gearbox but can be upgraded.
Regarding the steering, the S3 might fall back a bit against the R. Due to the R having 4 wheel drive it sits quite solid to the road at high speeds around tough corners.
Ratings: S3 4/5
Golf R 4/5
Interior:
Leather sport seats comes standard to the S3, while it has a flat bottomed steering wheel and gear stick stamped with the popular “S” badge. Unfortunately it only has a 14.73 cm radio screen that controls most of the vehicles systems.
Although the Golf R does not have the luxury feel like the S3, you will still find the carbon fiber effect from the trim pieces on the dashboard as well as the soft plastics found around the cabin. The Golf R comes with standard sport seats and are not leather but can be upgraded. Even though there is not much to say about the R interior, you do get top of the range 20.32 cm touch screen info system that is easy to use.
Ratings:
S3 4 ½ /5
Golf R 4/5
Practicality:
With all of their upgrades these 2 red hot hatchbacks don’t let anything stand in their way when it comes to space and practicality.
Both the S3 and Golf R has up to 40 liters of boot space. The S3 has bolstered front seats for a comfortable long road drive and also offer a decent amount of back seat space with loads of leg space.
The Golf R front seats are very adjustable but can get a bit tight on the long road. On the other side if you jump in the back side there is enough space for three tall-ish adults.
Ratings:
S3- 4/5
Golf R- 4/5
Costs:
In terms of cost you are going to have to fork out a couple of extra rands to land the S3. The Golf R is slightly cheaper with almost same amount of spec. But the R is surely on its back.
Ratings:
S3-3 ½ /5
Golf R- 4/5
Overhaul these two vehicles are very similar. Some factors are in advance of the S3 and some for the Golf R. From different points of view it stays up to you to decide.
Visit our website regularly for more updates and comparisons.
