Where each one leads
Audi S3
- Against cars of the same age, the Audi S3 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 19% more often than average) than the BMW 3 Series (passes 9% more often than average).
BMW 3 Series
- Fewer BMW 3 Series cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (5.4% against 11.1%).
- New BMW 3 Series cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 98 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 183 for the Audi S3 in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol BMW 3 Series uses 7.9 l/100 km on the road, the Audi S3 10.0.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi S3 | BMW 3 Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2000–2025 | 1986–2023 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 69,332 (2010–2022) | 1,714,816 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 36,555 | 472,359 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 2,533 | 127,670 |
| In traffic in Finland | 513 | 41,048 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi S3 | BMW 3 Series | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 81% | 75% |
| … against cars of the same age | +19% | +9% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.2% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | −29% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 11.1% | 5.4% |
| US owner complaints | 88 | 843 |
| Most complaints about | Air bags | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 2015 (53) | 2006 (202) |
| US recall campaigns | 12 | 8 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 4,671 | 1,116 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 6 | 23 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Audi S3 | BMW 3 Series | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2020) | 5★ (2022) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi S3 | BMW 3 Series | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 9.2 l/100 km (2026) | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 10.0 l/100 km | 7.9 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | — | 6.3 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 9.8 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 6.0 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 183 g/km | 98 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 228 kW (306 hp) | 137 kW (184 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,579 kg | 1,790 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €63,627 | €50,742 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 169,000 km | 226,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).