Met up with this friend for lunch and did a quick test drive afterwards. First impressions of the S3 are very good. The interior is typical Audi - not too flashy but everything is high quality. The design feels fresh and modern (more up-to-date than my MK6 GTI, for example) and the switchgear has a nice tactile feel to it. I liked the slick integration of the boost gauge under the tachometer. I was able to find a good seating position easily and would have no complaints on a long road trip, but there isn't much bolstering on the seats - even less than my GTI surprisingly. This may prove to be an issue at the track, but we'll see. Also the leather isn't the softest, but feels good enough for the segment and should hold up well over time. My only real complaint is there are a lot of fake buttons on the dash. He said he ordered it fully loaded so I'm guessing there are options in Europe that we don't get.

In terms of driving, it is much closer to GTI than FR-S. It's comfortable and quiet, but there isn't a ton of feedback or steering feel. You kind of just aim the car and floor the gas. There's a hint of lag down low, but once the turbo spools, the car just explodes forward. He hasn't had time to put in his stage 3 kit yet, but even with stage 1 he says it's making ~350 lbs-ft to the wheels starting at 3000 RPM. The power dies off above 5500 RPM, but by then you're flying past everything on the road and need to slow down. He says peak hp is only around 340 whp, but it felt even quicker than a 500 whp supercharged M3 I recently drove, probably because of the massive midrange and the way the turbo delivers the power.

The AWD system worked seamlessly on the street. I didn't get any wheelspin even flooring it mid-corner in 2nd and 3rd. We'll see at the track though. In terms of ride quality the magnetic shocks were oddly jarring, even in full comfort mode. The RCE T2's on my FR-S feel like they do a better job damping some of the smaller stuff. The stoptech BBKs were solid, no complaints there.

We're heading to the track in the S3 next weekend, but overall first impressions were really good. For better or worse, it felt like an AWD autobahn GTI in sedan form, which it pretty much is. Definitely makes for a quick/fun street car.

@Burrcold Just following up from the track day in the S3. I've got some mixed feelings about it. My friend and I co-drove his car, him in intermediate and me in advanced.

First the good.

- The S3 was pretty fast, one of the quicker cars out there. We rarely needed to give point-bys in our sessions.

- The engine was stout. Even with just a stage 1 tune, the S3 was reaching 131 mph on the main straight. That's about as fast as a 505 hp Camaro Z/28 (~130 mph). I think part of that is AWD helping put power down, especially on the last corner leading onto the main straight.

- Also the car felt fairly neutral coming off the apex. There were a few higher speed corners where the rear end rotated slightly on throttle.

Now the bad.

- The car is kind of numb and doesn't give much feedback. AWD is distributing power and you can hear tire squeal, but hard to say which end is about to let go. Steering feel is almost non-existent.

- The suspension was strange. I drove with the dampers in the firmest setting and TC/VSC off. Very harsh over bumps, but there was also a lot of body roll. Even with -2.5 degrees camber at the front, we were getting excess shoulder wear on his RS3's.

- The seats were awful at holding you in place. Definitely worse than GTI seats for spirited driving or track use.

- The DSG transmission would not hold gears. It upshifted on its own in manual mode before redline, often leading to a double upshift and some swearing. I've never had that issue before, even in my GTI which is also DSG (and will hold gears to redline in M mode).

- There was noticeable turbo lag if you were hard on the brakes and immediately went full throttle (for example, a narrow chicane).

Conclusion?

I liked the S3 on the street, but after the track day it ended up being a mixed bag. It's definitely fast on track and easy to drive, but there's a feeling of disconnect about it. I can imagine it appealing to someone who wants a refined car to daily drive and also be fast at the track, but personally I was looking forward to getting back in my FR-S. My friend wanted us to co-drive his car again at his next track day and even offered to cover my entry fees, but I declined as politely as I could.

...

I know this won't go over well with the masses, but I've made a decision on a 2016 Ford Edge Sport. Yup lol. Out of the 20+ vehicles I've owned I have never bought domestic (this being VERY domestic as the Edge is built in Oakville, Ontario...15 mins from my house).

Anyway, I have no idea really how I came to this decision but it was an absolute blast to drive and really gave me such a balance of power, looks (subjective), luxury (surprised!), handling, and value!

The 2.7L twin turbo V6 (315 hp / 350 lbs tq) is low in the power band and has next to no turbo lag. It's crappy that it's mated to a conventional 6 spd automatic but again the value is there.

I basically ticked all the boxes on the options list including the optional 21 inch black/gunmetal rims.

Anyways it's a lease so if I grow to regret it, oh well I'll choose more wisely next time.

For anyone that hasn't seen the "Sport" model before, mine looks identical to this.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopo...arter-left.jpg

Congrats! Any idea for a first mod?

Thanks! Definitely a tune, and upgrade the tires.

Haha I did not see that coming. Nice choice though. How's the rear seat room?

Thanks! Rear seat room is great, although I rarely have anyone in the back of my car (hence having the BRZ - my two kids have never even been in it before).

My mistake, I thought you had a third one on the way. So, since you only had one before, and two now, the first kid sat sideways in the back seat of the twin, or? Either way, I'm glad you like the Ford. With 315 HP and double the weight, you'll probably love the extra room.

I have 2 now (2 girls - 6 & 3). Another baby on the way, which is why we got the 3 row 2016 Mazda CX-9 (for my wife to drive the kids around). I bought the Edge for some additional room if ever I need to take one or two of the kids somewhere. Currently with the BRZ, nobody but me goes in it. No child or grow up for that matter has ever been in the back seat. The passenger seat has only seen a person's behind maybe 5-6 times. Yes I'm anal about my cars...cleanliness, OCD, etc etc. :)

Cool. Yeah, me too. You can stay on the forum though, you're Alumni! :D

Haha thanks I'll definitely stick around! I didn't necessarily need to get an SUV, I could have just gotten another small sporty car but really I just wanted a change. I've gone from one coupe/sporty car to the next for 20 years. I figured a big comfortable SUV that actually still has good handling and tons of power was just the compromise I was looking for.

Also owning a Ford should be interesting! I've owned Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Volkswagen, and Subaru. Never a domestic. Should be a little different and there are Edge forums to get my posting fix in lol.

.

A few pics of the 2016 Ford Edge Sport. Surprisingly I've been having a blast with this thing! Handles very well for an SUV, has loads of power especially fun when in sport mode, and the quality/fit/finish...Ford has impressed me so far! This thing feels better put together and quieter than my old IS.

The 2016 Mazda CX-9 I got for the wife has been awesome as well. Really comfortable and great low end power for booting around town (which is all she does with it).

Now I'm on the hunt for a project sports car. I'm thinking AP1 S2K or if I can find an MR2 in good condition. Now that the BRZ isn't my daily driver, I can park a project car in the garage all winter and slowly work on it. Very excited, and pissed a bit that I didn't go this direction a long time ago.