A3 TDI Sport DSG vs BMW 320cd Sport

BMW - being associated with the most discourteous drivers on the road is a negative for sure and an old fashioned interior! Better suspension and ride quality (IMHO).

Audi, firm ride - advanced technology (a gerneration on from the beemer by today's standards).

Beemer will probably hold it's value better?

James,

Both nice cars, although i am not and never will be a BMW fan. Too much bad weather up here to make them truly practical for me and the missus.

Only you can decide, but I agree with you that DSG is great and probably going to keep me in the Audi camp for a while longer /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Beemer is the flasher shape being a Coupe but less practical and could look dated when the new 3 series coupe is launched.

Beemer is a bit of a Chav aspirational motor too!

Dont know if this is true, but heard that the 3 series now outsells the ford mondeo.. making the mondeo the slightly more 'exclusive' car..

seriously, this is similar to the choice I made a year back, though that was between the a4 and the Beemer.

Very good test drive in the beemer - it was quick, competent, did all I expected, felt good, and had the same quality feel.. but left me ever so slightly underwhelmed, whereas the audi (arguably less technically perfect to drive) put a smile on my face, and still does. So I got it. However, for every story like this there will be another where the exact reverse is true..

Trust your own instinct mate (feel the force young padawan etc) and dont decide til you've driven them both. Personally I think both are great cars, capable of giving you a lot of pleasure - but its YOUR ar$e on that seat so park it there and then decide!

If you dont like the perception of beemer drivers then prove them wrong, and FIND that indicator stalk!

enjoy..

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The DSG as I say really appeals, had a Golf TDi DSG the other week for a whole day and it took the focus of the bad interior /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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And that's without the steering mounted paddles........you're going to love them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Whats the price difference between the two? Would of thought better to compare A4 to 3 Series....

BMW usually holds value better.

BMW wins hands down surely? But if you go for the Audi you'll be happy unless you already drive a BMW 3 series.

Having had both, the BMW is an excellent car - here's my view on various points, with the better car shown. I wont comment on performance as the BMW i had was petrol, where my A3 is diesel, and I can't comment on costs as I never owned either so never paid for anything on them.

Handling - BMW (not a vast amount in it though)
Fun - BMW (hey, it's rear wheel drive)
Comfort - Audi
Style - Audi
Interior - Audi
Interior noise levels - BMW
Service level from dealers/manufacturer - BMW, by a loooooong way.
Design faults - BMW

Of course, as everyone has said, at the end of the day it is your decision, and you have to drive each car as much as possible before plunging in.

What would I choose if I had the choice now? Difficult question, my head says the BMW, but there is something about my A3... I think I would go for another A3, but make a few changes to the spec sheet....

How can you judge a hatchback against a saloon? Regardless of how good the 3 series is or not, they are not in the same playing field.

1 series vs A3 - yes

And looking at the current values they are selling for, I would say that Audi win them hands down on deprecation

One other thing to add to the pot is that every jack the lad, chav, drug dealer has a BMW. I have no aspiration to join them.

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How can you judge a hatchback against a saloon? Regardless of how good the 3 series is or not, they are not in the same playing field.

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Of course you can judge them between each other! Just because they are 2 different bodyshapes doesn't mean that you can't compare them - it just means that the prospective owner doesn't have a requirement for either style of car. If we were saying "Well I dont wan't an A3 because the bootspace is nowhere near as big as that on an A6 Avant" then there would be a point, but the cars are roughly the same value, so maybe the decision should be made on other specifics, like handling, fuel economy, performance etc etc.

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1 series vs A3 - yes

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Agreed, on face value they would seem the obvious choice if looking specifically for a small hatchback, but as above if this is not an issue, and you don't like the look of the 1 Series (As a lot of people don't) then why consider it? Plus, JamesD is looking for a 1-2 year old model, as the 1 series has not been out long there won't be many on the S/H market yet, and those that are available will be at a premium price.

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And looking at the current values they are selling for, I would say that Audi win them hands down on deprecation

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Agreed

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One other thing to add to the pot is that every jack the lad, chav, drug dealer has a BMW. I have no aspiration to join them.

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LOL! Get your point there! But, that doesn't stop them being a good car none the less. If you can handle being tarred with the same brush as all the other BMW drivers, then it is a superb car, but if not then bear it in mind when choosing!