BMW M4 vs Audi A3

What's the difference?

To say the BMW M4 CS is a hot ticket in Australia is something of an understatement.

Consider this. There is an even more expensive one, the M4 CS Edition VR46 – at a cool $346,900 – and it sold out in less than an hour. Now, granted, Australia only got four examples, but still, demand was running hot.

That car makes this one, the regular M4 CS, seem like an absolute steal. It's only $254,900 (yes, the word 'only' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence), and it shares the same upgrades, and makes the same monstrous power, as the VR46 – for Valentino Rossi’s 46th birthday – only it does it for around $100K less.

See? A bargain. At least, that's how I'd be justifying it to myself if I had a quarter of a million burning a hole in my pocket.

So, this or a Porsche 911? Read on.

Can a hatchback still be a fun and fashionable way to get around when the SUV has become such a status trend?

The facelifted Audi A3 certainly makes a case for it.

The refreshed 2025 A3 is, as Audi puts it, more competitive than before when it comes to not only value but also, you might agree, style.

Last year, before the update even arrived, the A3 sold almost as well as its Volkswagen Golf corporate sibling. In fact, it’s Audi’s third most popular model behind the Q3 and Q5 SUVs.

It’s also third in its segment of ‘Small cars under $40,000’, behind only the MG4 electric car and, you guessed it, the VW Golf.

As such, it also outsells its actual closest rivals the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class, both of which are close to the A3 on price.

Now that it’s been given a bit more razzle dazzle, let’s see if the A3 can keep that momentum going.