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BMW 4 Series vs Audi S3

What's the difference?

VS
BMW 4 Series
BMW 4 Series

$59,999 - $99,988

2022 price

Audi S3
Audi S3

$64,900 - $75,900

2022 price

Summary

2022 BMW 4 Series
2022 Audi S3
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 6, 3.0L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
7.8L/100km (combined)

7.3L/100km (combined)
Seating
4

5
Dislikes
  • Slender door handles
  • Low roof for ingress/egress
  • Overly keen 'Lane Departure Warning'

  • Sedan’s price premium over hatch
  • RS3 will technically trump it when it arrives
  • Looks alarmingly similar to old model
2022 BMW 4 Series Summary

Without a whole lot of fanfare BMW has slipped yet another model into its Australian line-up.

Sitting alongside existing coupe and convertible variants, the new 4 Series Gran Coupe follows the template established by the previous gen version. 

A sports luxury four-door with a sleek, fastback twist, it provides a more adventurous alternative to its close 3 Series cousin. 

Offered in three grades, this is the M440i xDrive, the 3.0-litre, six-cylinder, all-wheel drive 4 Series Gran Coupe flagship. 

It competes with premium all-wheel drive four-doors like Audi’s S5 Sportback, the Jaguar XF P300 R-Dynamic HSE, and the Mercedes-AMG C 43.  

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2022 Audi S3 Summary

The moment Audi slaps an 'S' badge on any of its cars, you know you could well be looking at something a bit special. That single S has usually inferred a big jump in performance and an overall much sportier flavour than the Audi 'A' car on it's based on.

And now there’s an all-new Audi A3 coming to showrooms about now, the chance to take a deep dive into the equally new S3 was a no-brainer.

Describing the S3 as an A3 with more of everything sounds a bit trite, but it’s also accurate. And this is not new; Audi is as good as any other carmaker (and better than most) at taking a volume seller, piling on the good gear and letting it loose to appeal to a cashed-up buyer profile.

Available in both Audi’s usual Sedan and Sportback (that’s Audi-speak for a five-door hatch) the new S3 boasts more of everything from engine output, to handling, to luxury and connectivity. No surprises there, it’s pretty rare to hear of a car going backwards in any of those departments. But compared with the A3 – and this is the important bit – the S3 offers more of the attributes that appeal to buyers with more cash to splash.

While much of the car might be new, Audi fans will recognise the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine. It’s been tweaked this time around for more power and, significantly, Australia gets the full-fat, Euro-spec engine, rather than the slightly detuned 'hot-weather' specification we’ve seen in this model in the past.

Other changes over the new A3 include the usual S touches including lower, firmer suspension, bigger wheels and tyres and a more industrial braking package.

Inside, there’s more connectivity and multimedia potential than ever before, and safety has been given a leg-up with the latest driver aids.

The other significant thing about the S3, of course, is that until the even hotter RS3 turns up in showrooms sometime later this year, this car will represent peak A3-platform performance.

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Deep dive comparison

2022 BMW 4 Series 2022 Audi S3

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