New A3 rivals BMW 116d

Audi A3

New A3 rivals BMW 116d
D Brailey
July 2009

Usually a vehicle trades higher top speed, horse power and quicker acceleration for poorer emissions and MPG.

Since the introduction of EfficientDynamics 3 years ago, BMW has led the way in well-rounded vehicle performance. In March this year they introduced the 116d, their most fuel efficient BMW to date.

In answer to this, Audi have announced their A3 1.6 TDI. Let's take a look at how they stack up to one another.

Both are available in three and five door configurations with 4 grade choices on each.
The Audi's 1598cc diesel engine delivers 105PS, a top speed of 121MPH and accelerates 0-62 in 11.4 seconds.
The BMW's 116d has a 1995cc diesel engine that delivers 118PS, a top speed of 124MPH and accelerates 0-62 in 10.2 seconds.

So the BMW takes a slight lead in power but, as mentioned in the opening sentence, you trade power for economy.

The A3 1.6 returns a combined 68.9MPG, a CO2 emission figure of 109 g/km and a range of 833miles on a single fuel tank.
The 116d returns a combined 64.2MPG, a CO2 emission figure of 118 g/km and a range of 720miles on a single fuel tank.
Both have a company car tax of 13% and pay £35 VED for a year. When it comes to price the Audi A3 range currently costs between £17,485 and £21,350 whereas the BMW 116d range currently costs slightly more at £17,605 up to £21,690.

Although these two cars are in competition they don't quite step on one another's toes, where each offers something a bit different. As the current trend of buyers look to economise we can see here that the premium sector is stepping up to consumer demands with these two serious choices.

If you found this comparison useful but have some other cars you want to throw into the mix then why not use our complete comparison tool, where you can compare any cars and get all sorts of other useful information like boot size, NCAP safety ratings, insurance figures and so on.

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