Audi S3 vs Mercedes-Benz C300

What's the difference?

In a world where car upgrades often feel like saying, “Can I upsize that?”, it’s refreshing to hop into the updated Audi S3 Sportback.

The flagship RS 3 may still be the holy grail of hot hatch dreams, but with boosted engine outputs and upgraded tech, the S3 is stepping up.

Is the S3 Sportback the smarter pick over pricier rivals? It delivers serious performance and polish without stretching into RS 3 territory. With fierce competition in the segment, let’s see what this contender brings to the table.

Australia's relationship status with the Mercedes C-Class has long been… complicated.

Over 40 years and five generations, the German midsized luxury sedan has been a paragon of efficiency and safety on one hand, but on the other, well, the quality and ride comfort haven't lived up to brand expectations.

Now the completely redesigned version has landed in Australia, with shrunken S-Class limousine styling to take on not only the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Genesis G70, but rivals as disparate as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Tesla Model 3.

The question is? Is this latest, sixth-generation, new-from-the-ground-up C-Class good enough to take on all those and more? Let's find out.