BMW M135i vs Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG vs Audi S3 Comparison by Car Magazine

Car Magazine puts the hottest hatches to the test. The BMW M135i is tested against the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG and Audi S3. The BMW M135i sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.1 seconds (automatic: 4.9 seconds) and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h – the top limit permitted by the vehicle’s electronic speed control system. Average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle is 8.0 liters (7.5 liters)/100 km, and the CO2 emissions level is 188 grams (175 grams) per kilometer. However, the AMG still walks away with the win. Learn why on this excerpt below:

Is the ‘M-Performance’ 1-series a poor relation?

The M135i feels significantly softer edged than the now-defunct 335bhp 1-series M Coupe. That little bruiser, mixing the M3’s suspension and brakes with a squat chassis, manual gearbox and punchy turbo engine was a riotous experience, but the M135i is different. Believe it or not, but the high-end 1-series makes the charismatic 1M Coupe pale in more ways than one. How come? Because this half-breed M car is benign instead of brutal, cossetting instead of crash-bang hard, relaxed instead of highly strung, easily accessible instead of radically focused.
Through the countless hairpins, up steep slopes, and on a very mixed bag of winding roads, the absence of driven front wheels and a limited-slip differential looked at the beginning of our drive like a deciding dynamic deficiency of the BMW – but we were wrong. Thanks to its good dynamic weight distribution, the chip-controlled traction management and those fine composed-to-order Michelin Pilot Supersport tyres, the semi-M car rarely put a foot wrong.

That engine is sweeter than apfelstrudel with cream, whipping eagerly through the revs, the mighty mid-range urge putting the four-cylinder competition into perspective, the two extra cylinders of the straight-six ensuring there are absolutely no artificial ingredients involved in making this 3.0-litre motor sound spine-tinglingly good when the mixture gates open. The optional eight-speed automatic cracks quickly through the upshifts too, is keener to downshift than the Merc’s dual-clutch ’box, and hides any trace of turbo lag. And the BMW also is clearly the most comfortable car in this group: even with the driving experience selector in Sport or Sport Plus, the suspension will soak up most vagaries with a smile.