Firstly, you're comparing the 8P A3 which has much harsher suspension than the new 8V. Secondly, you're comparing apples with oranges. The 3-series BMW is an entire class up from the A3 and 1-series and intended to compete with the A4. As such it's a larger car with a longer wheelbase which will always ride better than a shorter wheelbase car.
I disagree. We are comparing two cars. Yes they are meant to be in different 'classes' but, I don't really get that argument. The OP had test driven both cars and was trying to make a choice between the two.
For the argument on size I show below the difference between the new A3 sportback and the new 3 series touring
BMW Audi Diff (BMW over Audi)
Length 4624mm 4310mm + 314mm
Width (rear) 2031mm 1966mm + 65mm
Width (front) 1811mm 1785mm + 26mm
My point is that although the length is just over foot longer I don't really see any difference from the drivers seat where I sit most of the time in terms of space in the cockpit. So both cars are pretty similar in size and I would argue the extra 314mm length that the BMW has is for luggage space and perhaps in the rear seats where the occupants gain an extra few mm. However, look at these differences on a ruler in terms of where the driver sits in cockpit space and you'll see that a different class means what - somewhere between 26mm and 65mm?
I accept I drive both the old models that the OP has been looking at but, I just thought I'd share my views having lived with both cars. Don't get me wrong the Audi is a nice looking car both inside and out. But, the BMW is what they say - a drivers car. I do nearly 25,000 miles a year and doubt I will go back to an Audi has my main driver.
My view is that the OP is going for looks and gizmos over the driving experience and I can see why the Audi is going to win every time in these respects. This is why there are so many different makes of car on the road as people expect and what different things from their cars.
Finally, one lesson I have learnt from buying new cars in the past is that I would do all I could to avoid buying a new car and instead look at ex demos or cars under a year old. Why? Well my current car specs out at over £45k list - too much for me. Found an ex demo on via the BMW used car selector for less than £35k which after a bit of haggling meant that I 'saved' the best part of over 25% for taking a 'second hand' car with 7,000 miles and 2.5 years of warranty remaining. This is were I've found Audi to be quite canny in 'marketing' and to a certain extent restricting the supply of vehicles to try and maintain what I see as 'false' demand which means that cars less than one year old which are 'fashionable' or in demand seem to be not far from the price of a new car. We saw this when looking for a Q5 when first launched. Hence we now have the S3
If we lived in an area where parking and road sizes / congestion weren't such a problem, maybe we might change our minds..
