2020 Audi A3 vs BMW 3 Series

What's the difference?

How does that well-known saying go: “More choice than an Audi model line-up”. OK, there is no old saying that goes like that but there should be because Audi model ranges seem to have more grades, variants and types than any other brand.

But wait, now there’s even more with the arrival of the A3 40 TFSI S line plus special edition.

There’s also an all-new A3 being readied just around the corner – it’ll make its debut sometime in 2020 and then you can expect it to be rolled out in its various forms in the next 12 months after that.

This explains why we’re reviewing a special edition here. Manufacturers throw more value behind what will be a last-gen car soon to affect an 'orderly run-out' at the end of that line. 

What’s so special about this special edition, then? Do you get anything extra over a regular A3 40 TFSI Sport which this edition supersedes? What’s the catch? How much more do they want? And will an A3 even suit your life anyway – is it practical, fuel efficient, fast? The answers are all here.

Is the 330e the best of both worlds?

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), it’s a part-time electric car for the city and a full-time sports sedan for everywhere else.

Sound familiar? BMW’s been down this path before, back with 2012’s ‘ActiveHybrid 3’ and then its first 330e-badged successor four years after.

Both were based on the previous F30 3 Series shape. However, this year’s all-new G20 iteration improves the breed with a bigger boot, up to 50 per cent better range and brawnier performance.  

The thing is, it shares showrooms with the 330i and M340i xDrive, which represent a powerful return-to-form for the 3 Series.

So, the question isn’t so much ‘Is the 330e a good enough PHEV?’ more so than ‘Is the PHEV worthy of the BMW badge?’ Let’s find out.