2017 Audi A3 vs BMW 2 Series

What's the difference?

You know when you reckon you've got the room, you've got some great stories in the chamber and everyone's looking at you and then someone else walks in. That someone else has an effortless style and sophistication, doesn't try too hard, just looks great all the time?

BMW and Mercedes know that person. It's called the Audi A3. It outsells the BMW 1 Series by two to one and even beats the Mercedes A Class home (although if you add the CLA, not so much). From 2015 to 2016, market share of the segment it occupies has grown from a quarter to almost a third.

So there’s probably no point in updating it, right? Wrong. Because it’s now four years old and BMW and Mercedes have been chucking the kitchen at their cars to try and catch up, knowing Audi has something up its sleeve.

And here is - a refreshed A3 with new technology, new engines and some of the more subtle styling changes you’ll see, even for an Audi.

If one is good, two must be better, right? Or twice as good. The question is whether that simple equation adds up for BMW's upgraded 1 and 2 Series siblings – the former, a range of five-door hatches, the latter, a line-up of cabriolets and coupes, with a major addition in the shape of the full-house, performance-focused M2.

Prices are up, and changes are mostly under the skin, so you're not getting  big visual bang for your extra bucks. But the new and improved 2 has plenty to offer when it comes to added spec and tech.

BMW invited us to the new car's Australian launch program along Tasmania's wet and wild west coast.