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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
2007. - 2011.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2008. - 2012.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4239 mm
1748 mm
1421 mm
330 liters
1150 liters
51 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4238 mm
1765 mm
1421 mm
350 liters
1080 liters
55 liters
2007 BMW 1 Series
2008 Audi A3

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1995 cc
170 hp
210 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
2.0 TFSI AXX
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1984 cc
200 hp
280 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1265 kg
7.7 s
224 km/h
8.7 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.4 l/100km
153 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1335 kg
7.1 s
238 km/h
9.9 l/100km
5.6 l/100km
7.2 l/100km
167 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1285 kg
8.3 s
222 km/h
8.4 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.3 l/100km
155 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 6 gears
1370 kg
6.9 s
238 km/h
9.8 l/100km
5.7 l/100km
7.2 l/100km
166 g/km

Expenses

2500 EUR
Price from
4500 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the BMW and front in the case of the Audi). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 200hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

The first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the BMW being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Audi A3 offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW, as well as Audi, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 1 Series as average reliability-wise, and A3 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as 1 Series rank it on average as 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.4 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.6 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 238 kilometers per hour, 14km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 1 Series, averaging around 6.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (44 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 13% difference compared to Audi A3.


Verdict

BMW appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, 1 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the BMW. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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