Introduction

The entry-level premium segment has become the new place for the luxury manufacturers to make their mark. Aimed at bringing new as well as first-time buyers to the fold, it has products from Mercedes-Benz in the form of the A-Class and B-Class, BMW with the 1 Series and Audi who will soon launch the A3 sedan.

The Ingolstadt-based automakers entry-level sedan will be the largest of the lot and in this regard will be rivalled by the Mercedes-Benz B-Class which is a slightly low riding MPV with similar proportions. We have decided to compare both the cars in another episode of ‘CarWale Comparison’ as they are expected to be major players in the segment by the end of the year.

Exterior

Let us begin with the area that matters to an Indian buyer the most-‘If I’m spending more than Rs 20 lakh on my car, is it giving me equivalent value in terms of looks and practicality?’

In terms of external design, the Audi A3 looks very similar to the Audi A4 which in turn looks very similar to the Audi A6, so as you see it’s a matter of downsizing but keeping intact the family identity and values. The B-Class on the other hand is a part of Mercedes-Benz MFA (modular front-wheel drive architecture) platform and embodies a new design language which is expected to be found on future three-pointed stars’.

Audis have always been known to have sleeper looks but get their performance both in the corners and straight lines spot on, while the Merc cars are known to be softer and more of luxury vehicles to cart people around in an urban environments in full comfort. That is not to say that the A3 is not a capable car, it just appears that the B-Class looks more up for the task at hand when it comes to the concrete jungle.

The Audi A3 is 4.45 metres long while the B-Class is around 110mm behind at 4.3 metres but with a higher roofline thanks to its MPV-ish) design. However, in terms of one of their major selling points, which is boot space, the A3 sedan gets a 425 litre boot while the B-Class has a boot space of 486 litre making it far more practical.

This is something we discovered during our Auto Expo road trip with our colleagues at Powerdrift as they were able to cram a lot of their equipment into the back of the car with ease. The wheelbase in the both cars is very similar with the A3 sedan getting 2.63 metres and the B-Class surprisingly has a wheelbase of 2.69 metres.

Interior

Despite having the same wheelbase, the B-Class has a front and rear headroom of 1013mm and 985mm while the A3 sedan has 1006mm and 924mm respectively. In reality these numbers mean very little as the cabin space in both vehicles is very similar thanks to their differences in design.

In terms of overall design both cars are very similar as they have similar positioning of buttons, dials, multimedia screen and layout of centre console. Even the overall colour scheme used in the cabin is quite similar in both cars.

The feature list appears to be standard across both vehicles and includes things that you would expect to find in vehicles in this price range like Multimedia interface with LCD screen (called Audi MMI and COMAND respectively), climate control, steering mounted audio controls, electrically controlled OVRMs, reverse parking sensors and proximity sensors. The upholstery is leather and can be found in all places including the three-spoke steering wheel and the dashboard across both cars.

Engine and Gearbox

The Audi A3 will be offered with two engines- a 2.0-litre diesel and a 1.8-litre petrol engine. These are the same units from the Skoda Octavia as they share the same platform and underpinnings. The diesel engine produces 141bhp and 320Nm of torque. The petrol on the other hand produces 177bhp and 250Nm of torque. Power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed AT gearbox in the diesel and a seven-speed AT unit in the petrol unit. It is possible that Audi may also introduce a quattro version later on with the diesel engine.

The B-Class on the other hand is powered by a 2.2-litre diesel unit that produces 107bhp and 250Nm of torque while the petrol is a 1.6-litre engine that produces 120bhp and 200Nm of torque. Both engines have been mated to the German automakers’ 7G-tronic AT gearbox.

Verdict

While both cars are very similar as we have discovered in the course of this report, it is a matter of personal preference when it comes to purchasing the cars as they both offer similar packages in different body styles. The B-Class is priced in the range of Rs 26 lakh to Rs 28.75 lakh. We expect that the A3 will begin at around Rs 25 lakh and go all the way up to Rs 28 lakh for the top- spec diesel version in a bid to ensure it does not cut into the sales of the A4 sedan.