2016 Audi A4 Vs 2016 Bmw 3 Series - Design!

Audi A4 Vs Bmw 3 Series

We Put The New Audi A4 Up Against Our Current Favourite, The Bmw 3 Series
What Car? Team

The Past 18 Months Have Been Something Of An Executive Saloon Car Fest. The Mercedes-benz C-class Kicked Things Off In 2014 And Was Followed By The Jaguar Xe Earlier This Year. Only Weeks Ago We Put The Heavily Revised Bmw 3 Series Under The Spotlight And Now It’s The Turn Of The All-new Audi A4.

This New A4 Is Longer, Wider And Lighter Than The Car It Replaces, With A Range Of Improved Engines That Offer More Performance And Better Fuel Efficiency.

In Our November 2015 Issue We Awarded The Bmw 320d M Sport Top Spot In A Group Test That Included The Xe 2.0d R Sport, So It Seemed Only Fitting To Pitch The Winner Against Its Audi Equivalent – The A4 2.0 Tdi 190 S Line.

The Contenders

Audi A4 2.0 Tdi 190 S-line Auto

The New A4 Is Bigger, Lighter And More Efficient, In A Bid To Challenge The 3 Series.

Bmw 320d M Sport Sport Auto

With A Host Of Recent Revisions, Is The 3 Series Good Enough To Hold On To Its Crown?

What Are They Like To Drive?

Both Cars Have 2.0-litre Diesel Engines That Produce Identical Amounts Of Peak Power And Torque, With Maximum Torque Being Available From Just 1750rpm.

That Low-rev Pulling Power Means Both Cars Provide Similarly Effortless Acceleration In Relaxed Driving, Although The Audi Feels Gutsier When You Put Your Foot Down Hard And Was Ultimately Quicker Against The Stopwatch In All Of Our Acceleration Tests. This Is Probably A Result Of It Being The Lighter Car, Although The Fact Its Seven-speed Automatic Gearbox Reacts More Snappily To Kickdown Requests Than The 3 Series’ Eight-speed ‘box Also Helps With High-speed Overtakes. Mind You, The Bmw’s ’box Is Slightly Smoother In Traffic And When Parking.

Both Cars Resist Body Lean Well Through Corners, But The Rear-wheel-drive 3 Series Is More Fun On A Twisting B-road Thanks To Its More Playful Handling. However, The A4’s Steering Is Just As Precise, And Its Weighting Actually Feels More Natural Than The Overly Heavy Optional Servotronic Set-up That Was Fitted To Our 320d Test Car. The Bmw’s Brakes Could Also Do With More Feel.

Both Cars Ride More Firmly Than They Do In Cheaper Trims, Although You Can Opt For An A4 S Line With Comfort Suspension For No Extra Charge – We’d Recommend Doing So. Even More Sophisticated Adaptive Dampers Are Optional On Both Cars, Which Allow You To Vary The Stiffness Of The Suspension By Pressing A Button. Our Test Bmw Had These Whereas The Audi Didn’t.

Switch The Bmw’s Adaptive Suspension To Comfort Mode And It’ll Take The Sting Out Of Most Rutted Surfaces, With A Settled Ride At Motorway Speeds. Our Audi Dealt Well With Speed Bumps But Was A Little Too Firm To Dial Out Small Undulations As Effectively, Which Meant It Fidgeted More, Particularly At Motorway Speeds.

That Said, The Audi’s Cabin Is That Bit Quieter. Its Engine Is Considerably Smoother Than The Bmw’s And There’s Far Less Wind Noise And Marginally Less Road Noise At Speed.

Our Verdict

The Bmw’s Reign Didn’t Last Long. However The Margins Are Fine And The 3 Series Can Still Claim To Be The Keen Driver’s Choice.

The New A4 Matches The Bmw, Pound For Pound, In Many Areas, While Just Sticking Its Nose In Front In Terms Of Quality, Refinement, And The Fact That Safety Kit Such As City Braking Is Included As Standard. Both Cars Are Very Good, But As An All-rounder, The A4 Is Just That Little Bit Better And Easier To Live With.
More New 2017 Test Drive Bmw 320d

"subscribe Now"