Audi A3 vs BMW 1 Series vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class: here's our winner.
Audi A3 vs BMW 1 Series vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class: here's our winner.
By Martin Pretorius
With the three German premium brands each fielding their own, enticing competitors in the compact car category, buyers have a comprehensive selection of appealing contenders. We had a look at this talented field, and picked our winner.
With a nameplate that’s been around for more than two decades, the Audi A3 has perfected the art of offering a premium look and feel, wrapped in a smaller package. It’s also the only one in this group that’s maintained essentially the same design philosophy from the very beginning: Take a Golf, wrap it in some Audi style, add some technology features and high-performance options, and turn a big profit.
But the Audi A3 is much more than just a Golf in a stylish coat, these days. In fact, while the current A3 is based on Volkswagen’s excellent MQB component set, its cabin design and suspension- and drivetrain tuning are all unique to this model. And, following its recent facelift, it also offers more equipment and technology as standard than its Golf sibling does – even though the 3-door hatchback and diesel engine options were dropped at that time.
Body style and engine choices
Offered in three body styles, there’s an A3 to suit most buyers, with 5-door hatchback (Sportback), 4-door sedan, and 2-door soft-top derivatives on sale – an array of body styles its opponents simply cannot equal. It also has one of the most confusing naming structures anywhere, made up of numbers which seemingly bear little relation to the actual engine under the bonnet...
Engine options cater for most tastes, and range between adequate in 30TFSI form, (with a 1.0-litre turbo 3-cylinder petrol engine delivering 85 kW and 200 Nm) to decent as a 35TFSI (thanks to a 1.4-litre turbo “four” with 110 kW and 250 Nm), and tops out at the 40TFSI specification (which has a 2.0-litre turbo “four” with 140 kW and 320 Nm).
Sportback and sedan variants offer the whole engine range, but the cabriolet is only available as a 40TFSI, and they all feature a 7-speed dual clutch (“S-Tronic”) gearbox with front-wheel drive.
What’s it like to drive?
The A3’s real appeal comes in the driving experience on offer, and in the interior ambience. While the MQB platform doesn’t really offer engaging driving dynamics, it is extremely sure-footed and composed under all conditions. Overall refinement, ride quality, and fuel efficiency are other strong suits, and the cabin is beautifully made from high-quality materials.
It also has plenty of high-tech toys on offer – although many of them, such as the digital dashboard, are optional. It's not overly powerful in this company, however - the other contenders both have available engines with a fair bit more get-up-and-go.
As the relative newcomer in this comparison (first appearing in the mid-2000s), the 1 Series has had some time to arrive at an agreeable formula. And fortunately, the boffins at BMW mostly nailed their brief right from the outset: the 1 Series has always offered most of the qualities you’d find in bigger BMWs, but in a smaller package and at a lower price.
Now, nearing the end of the second generation’s run, the 1 Series is really more appealing than ever: the awkward styling which afflicted the earlier versions have largely been banished; and the thoroughly up-to-date engines, introduced with the 2015 facelift, are frugal and surprisingly perky.
Body style and engine choices
The range offers a selection of turbocharged petrol- and diesel engines, with all variants being rear-wheel driven. At the bottom end of the range is the 118i, which has a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine which produces 100 kW and 220 Nm. It can be had with either a 6-speed manual gearbox, or an 8-speed torque converter automatic transmission.
The next engine option is a pair of 2.0-litre 4-cylinder powerplants, in either petrol- or diesel flavours. In the petrol-fuelled 120i, it delivers 135 kW and 270 Nm, while the 120d features a diesel mill which develops 140 kW and a potent 400 Nm – this is the one you want if you’re addicted to torque, yet don’t feel like feeding the M140i’s rather prodigious thirst. Again, there’s a choice between the same manual- and automatic gearboxes.
Speaking of which, the M140i is a real stormer, because its 3.0-litre inline-6 engine delivers 250 kW and 500 Nm of stump-pulling torque. While it’s only available with the automatic gearbox, those staunch output figures certainly make for rousing performance: think 0 – 100 km/h in the mid-4 second bracket.
The 1 Series is however only available with the 5-door hatchback body, and coupé or convertible fans will have to look at the closely-related 2 Series instead.
What’s it like to drive?
As the only rear-wheel drive offering in this comparison, the 1 Series starts out with an immediate advantage in handling dynamics. While the steering is uncorrupted by drive forces, the electric assistance does rob it of feedback, so don’t imagine a pure driving machine in the vein of the old E30. It is very sure-footed, however, with high grip limits and predictable behaviour under most conditions.
Performance varies from reasonable to eye-widening, depending on your budget. This 1 Series generation is getting on in years, and this shows in the relative lack of modern features inside the cabin. Its trim quality isn’t quite up there with the Audi yet, and the new A-Class also out-classes it in this regard.
After two generations of downright weird, upright small cars (which were however amazingly cleverly packaged), Mercedes decided to go conventional for the third-generation A-Class. This revised approach brought immediate sales success, based mainly upon good looks and the prestige of the three-pointed star. For the current, fourth-generation A-Class, which arrived in South Africa midway through 2018, Mercedes-Benz stuck to this appealing recipe.
Because the new A-Class is still in its roll-out phase, the model range is still somewhat incomplete, but the biggest sellers are already available. Expect two high-performance variants in the near future (which will likely be called A35 and A45 and carry AMG badges), as well as a less-expensive A160 derivative. There might be more trim lines in the future as well. Available (often as options) across the range is the new MBUX interface, adaptive multi-beam LED headlights, digital dashboard screens, and a head-up display. Tick the right option boxes, and it’s a veritable tech-fest inside.
Body style and engine choices
In its current form, the A-Class is only available with a 5-door hatchback, although some international markets (such as China) also receive a 4-door sedan. The other 4-door alternative is the (soon-to-be-launched) CLA “4-door coupé”, but this one gets its own model name. One of the improvements in the new A-Class is enhanced practicality, which means that the luggage- and cabin space is now more competitive than it was with the third-generation model.
As for the engine range, the A-Class currently offers a choice between two petrol engines and one diesel, all mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic which sends power to the front wheels. AWD may appear later, but the chance of a manual gearbox is close to zero. There are two trim levels, with “Style” being the entry level and “AMG Line” being the up-spec one.
The entry-level A200 uses a new 1.3-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder, good for 120 kW and 250 Nm – that’s actually slightly better than the mid-level Audi A3 manages, and quite a way ahead of the entry-level BMW 118i. Next up is the A200d, with a new 2.0-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder, which produces 110 kW and 320 Nm. Both “200” derivatives can be had in either of the two trim levels. Topping the current range is the A250 (only available in AMG Line spec), which has a 2.0-litre turbo petrol that delivers 165 kW and 350 Nm.
What’s it like to drive?
Sliding behind the steering wheel, the improvements built into this new A-Class are immediately apparent. There’s plenty of cabin space in front, for instance, and the material- and build quality is properly up to Mercedes-Benz level this time. Moving down the road, the other improvement becomes clear: the ride-handling compromise is much better resolved than in any previous A-Class, and it handles curvy roads with the same grace as it handles uneven road surfaces.
Engine-wise, it’s mostly good news too. The diesel is refined and punchy, the A200’s tiny petrol engine has a decent turn of speed, and the A250 does a fair impersonation of Golf GTI-level performance. If there’s a weaker link, it’s in the dual-clutch gearbox, which doesn’t slip through the gears quite as buttery-smoothly as the similar unit in the A3, let alone the sublime ZF autobox in the 1 Series. However, the new A-Class is at least as good as its main competitors overall, and that in itself represents a major step forward from its predecessors.
Verdict
This is a really tough call to make, because each offering excels in its own way. The Audi A3 is the most practical, thanks to its selection of body styles and space-efficient packaging, and it’s probably the smoothest-riding of the lot as well (depending on the specified tyres and suspension tuning, obviously). Alternatively, the BMW 1 Series is clearly the driver’s car of this bunch, thanks to its RWD dynamics, and a clear performance leader in range-topping M140i guise. Meanwhile, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class may be the highest-tech car in its class, thanks to all that electronic wizardly, and it’s a very attractive design as well.
This leaves value as the main determinant here, and that’s where the Audi A3 delivers its knock-out punch. Yes, the entry-level A3 has the smallest engine here, but it also costs a whole lot less than the other base variants. Putting it another way: you can get an A3 30TFSI (the one with the smallest engine) and load it with many of the A-Class’s nice optional extras, and still end up paying less than you would for a bare-bones A200. The BMW isn’t far off the Audi in terms of list price, but its options are expensive, and you need to tick a multitude of option boxes to get to the A3 or A-Class’s specification. Lastly, the Audi A3 offers a range of body styles, while the others (currently) only offer one. Better value, top-notch build quality, greater variety, superb refinement and the most cabin space: these are the main reasons why the Audi A3 wins this comparison.... barely.