Audi S3 vs Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo Activity

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.

Mercedes-Benz is having a crack at the camper van market with its luxury recreational vehicle, the Marco Polo Activity. Not quite a van, not quite a camper van, this compact pop-top is aimed at appealing to those members of the ever-growing van-life sub-culture who prefer clamping over camping. 

We put an Activity through its paces on daily family duties for a week, as well as a 200km loop of bitumen and dirt roads, in order to see how well it fared as an Adventure mobile.