Browse over 9,000 car reviews

Audi S3 vs Mercedes-Benz A35

What's the difference?

VS
Audi S3
Audi S3

$52,800 - $69,950

2022 price

Mercedes-Benz A35
Mercedes-Benz A35

$39,800 - $71,950

2020 price

Summary

2022 Audi S3
2020 Mercedes-Benz A35
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Turbo 4, 2.0L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
7.3L/100km (combined)

7.4L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Sedan’s price premium over hatch
  • RS3 will technically trump it when it arrives
  • Looks alarmingly similar to old model

  • Media glitches
  • Back seat is tight
  • Terrible road noise
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.

View full pricing & specs
Interested in an Audi S3?
2020 Mercedes-Benz A35 Summary

If you want a Mercedes-AMG A45 sedan, you’re dead out of luck - there isn’t going to be one. Your alternatives are the sleeker, more style-focused CLA 45 four-door ‘coupe’, or the A45 hatch, which is more often associated with boy racer types… with deep pockets.

Or you could buy this car - the Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic sedan. A lot of pundits have questioned the two-prong AMG strategy in the hatchback range, with the A35 slotting between the already-pretty-hot A250 4Matic and A45 S.

In the sedan line-up, however, there’s a different approach, with the Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic topping the range. So is it a fitting flagship for the small sedan line-up? It certainly has the tech, safety and equipment levels to live up to buyers’ expectations. 

And as a rival to the likes of the Audi S3 sedan, BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and its own sibling, the Mercedes-AMG CLA35, does it offer a compelling alternative?

Let’s go through it, criteria by criteria.

View full pricing & specs
Interested in a Mercedes-Benz A35?

Deep dive comparison

2022 Audi S3 2020 Mercedes-Benz A35

Change vehicle