Facts and figures
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Grille Stakes- WhatCar? Roadtest
07.11.2008 |
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Everyone has a beef about the cost of motoring, so does the frugal, efficient and revised BMW 318d make a better case as a company car than its big-badge rivals?
The Contenders
Audi A4 2.0 TDI 140 SE Multitronic
List Price £25,050 Target Price £23,486
The A4 has a classy image and low price on its side. Is that enough?
BMW 318d ES Automatic
List Price £25,715 Target Price £24,213
It’s always been great to drive and own. Face-lift has made it better, too.
Mercedes-Benz C200 CDI SE Automatic
List Price £26,670 Target Price £24,938
Can cool sophistication outweigh the Merc’s higher costs?
What's new?
When times are tough and cost-cutting is not only sensible but inevitable, how can you maintain luxury standards on a tight budget? Here’s how – with three fuel-efficient and low-cost company cars. Take the BMW 318d ES, with its exterior styling tweaks and cabin changes. Cheap to run, great to drive and smoother than melted chocolate with the optional auto gearbox in place. What’s not to love?
What's it up against?
The other two parts of the compact executive Holy Trinity: the Audi A4, in 141bhp turbodiesel form and linked to an automatic gearbox, and Mercedes-Benz’s entry-level diesel C-Class, which promises huge style but with low bills.
What are we looking for?
Style and a thrusting image won’t be enough to cut it: our winner will have to drive brilliantly, makes us feel good, and keep the company accountants off our backs.
What are they like to drive?
From the driver's seat
BMW 4/5: Fidgety ride apart, it’s superb to drive
AUDI 3/5: Acceptable handling; pity about the crashy ride
MERCEDES-BENZ 4/5:Comfortable and refined: a great motorway car
THESE CARS ARE all about miles – lots of them. Most will be done on the motorway, so quiet, comfortable high-speed manners are a must.
With its punchy diesel engine and slick six-speed automatic gearbox, it’s effortless to keep pace in the BMW. There’s little wind or road noise, too; only the firm ride can disturb. There’s no such problem in the Mercedes: it feels like it’s made for the motorway. You’re not troubled by outside noises or the state of the road, either, leaving you to settle back and let the miles waft on by. Waft by they will, because you won’t be able to make them go much faster. The Merc is not a fast car, especially when its auto ’box has just five speeds to play with. To make anything near brisk progress, you have to rev the engine hard, but the racket it makes will soon put you off.
Excess engine noise isn’t something Audi drivers have to put up with, nor any shortage
of shove on the motorway. Yet they’ll be turning up the stereo to mask the wind and road noise, and feeling unsettled by the jiggly ride. It’s not overly noisy or harsh at speed, but it’s just not as good as the BMW or Mercedes.
Turn off the motorway and the cars couldn’t feel more different. The BMW is the keen driver’s choice – yes, the ride’s firm, but it’s never obtrusive. Besides, from there on it’s all good news: the pedals and steering are accurate and well weighted; head down a twisty road and there’s sharp turn-in, loads of grip and beautifully balanced handling to enjoy.
The Mercedes is the complete opposite. It’s set up for comfort, not thrills, with a ride that seems to make the worst lumps and bumps in the road melt away. It changes direction keenly, but it has the least grip of the three here. You’ll have to put up with a lot of body lean, too.
The Audi sits somewhere between these two, but it’s not a good compromise. It’s got a firm ride like the BMW, but without the great body control. In fact, there’s a surprising amount of body lean through bends. Its automatic ’box can get confused when you ask for a burst of acceleration, too. In short, it’s not as engaging as the BMW nor as comfortable as the Merc.
What are they like inside?
Access all areas
BMW 4/5: Well built, stylish, but short on toys
AUDI 3/5: Reasonably kitted, trails for headroom
MERCEDES-BENZ 4/5: Reasonable space; standard Bluetooth
THE ONE SIDE of a car you’re guaranteed to notice when you’re driving it is the inside. That’s why a classy, comfortable cabin is a must, and in this respect, the BMW has its rivals licked.
It should easily shrug off the rigours of your daily life, because it feels tough enough to withstand a couple of ice hockey players having a full-on scrap in there without leaving a mark. The plastics have that sturdy sponginess that only the best cars manage, while all the controls, stalks and switches have a suitably high-quality feel.
The Mercedes feels well built, too, and the plastics used high up on the dashboard are pretty classy. However, some of the dials and switches have a slightly light, insubstantial action not in-keeping with the Merc’s image.
Audi used to be the master for interior style and quality, but no longer. Some of the plastics feel too flimsy, while even the carpets don’t feel as luxurious as they should.
All of the cars here will carry you and three robustly proportioned business pals with ease, although your colleagues will feel better off for headroom if you’ve got a 3 Series. If your front-seat passenger has long legs, the Audi and Merc offer a bit more stretching room. Move into the rear, though, and everyone will be grateful if you’ve gone down the BMW route, because it has marginally the most legroom.
Executive car buyers like their toys, so it’s just as well that all of the cars here are pretty well equipped. All come with alloy wheels, four electric windows, and remote central locking as standard, and all have some form of chilled air. However, where the Audi and Merc have full climate control systems, the BMW has just manual air-conditioning. Audi needn’t feel too smug, though, because the A4 is the only car that you can’t plug your iPod into. Merc’s trump card is standard Bluetooth: you can hook your mobile up to any C-Class.
The BMW is the only car here with a conventional handbrake lever. The Audi’s electric system is simple once you’re used to it, but the Merc’s foot-operated parking brake is old-fashioned and clumsy.
Will they break the bank?
To buy, run and resell
AUDI 4/5 : Cheapest to lease; low tax; huge online discounts
BMW 4/5: Costly to lease; low company car tax; great economy
MERCEDES-BENZ 4/5: High CO2 emissions; great residual values
IF IT’S YOUR company that picks up the tab for your motoring, the corporate bean-counters will definitely be nudging you in the general direction of your nearest Audi dealership. According to HSBC Vehicle Finance, an A4 will set you back just £474 per month, which compares well with the £496 HSBC wants for the Merc each month and £514 for the BMW.
However, if you persuade the money-men to let you have the 318d, it’ll pay you back in the long run. For a start, even in the automatic form tested here, its produces just 144g/km of carbon dioxide, which puts it in the 19% band for company car tax. Next best is the Audi on 154g/km and 21% tax banding, although the A4’s low list price means that you’ll pay slightly less each month to run it as a company car. The Merc brings up the rear by puffing out 173g/km, putting it in the 25% tax band.
The BMW is the most economical of the trio, too, covering 52.3mpg – this is virtually 10 miles farther on every gallon than the Merc. The A4 Multitronic sits between its rivals on 48.7mpg.
If you’re spending your own money on any of these three, you’ll be on the hunt for the best discounts and massive resale values. In these tough financial times, dealers are desperate for your dosh, which is why our Target Price researchers found discounts of around £1700 available on all three of these cars.
Of course, if you’re shelling out your own cash, the last thing you want is a car that sheds value faster than HBOS shares. None of these will let you down, although the 48% of the Audi trails the 52% of the BMW and 53% of the Merc.
If you’re a private owner, you’ll also want a car that’s cheap to run. In that case, the BMW reigns supreme: it’ll cost you £729 to maintain over three years and 36,000 miles, whereas the Audi will cost £1043 and the Merc £1054. Ouch.
