- Choosing a German compact should not depend on your alignment with Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz. You need to think about features and tech.
- But how should you balance design, engines, and gearboxes when choosing the right compact German luxury sedan for your needs?
- And does a German luxury sedan still make sense for South African buyers, instead of a crossover or SUV?
If a rewarding driving experience and a safe laptop and luggage storage space matter to you, the German compact luxury sedan is still a thing.
They might not be as popular as they once were, but compact German luxury 4-door cars are still a status symbol.
For long-distance highway cruising, they offer stability, confident overtaking acceleration, and plenty of passenger comfort. Remember, a luxury sedan has a lower centre of gravity than a crossover or SUV, and that matters when you need to make an evasive steering action to avoid a collision or pothole at high speed.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz define the segment. Offering the A5 (formerly the A4), 3 Series and C-Class. Of those three, the C-Class is locally built, which has some benefits for parts prices and the supply chain if you plan to keep your German compact luxury sedan for a long time.
Although each of these models has an equivalent crossover/SUV version (Q5/X3/GLC), there’s still value to be had in the sedans. The A5/3 Series/C-Class all have a much lower roofline and centre of gravity compared to their crossover/SUV siblings. That means they are more stable at high speed, especially when you need to steer around a potential road hazard or collision risk.
The other benefit of a German compact luxury sedan, is the boot. All crossovers and SUVs have a tailgate, which means there’s always the risk that the tailgate glass being broken, allowing access to valuable items you’ve stowed in the luggage area.
A sedan’s boot is metal and has no glass-panel vulnerability points. That makes it a much safer space to keep your laptop or family valuables when journeying on a weekend away.
But which one to choose?
BMW 3 Series
The forever benchmark for compact executive sedans. Still engineered to deliver an engaging driving experience.
BMW’s latest-generation 3 Series is no longer that ‘compact’, which means decent rear legroom and more boot space than the A5 or C-Class.
Mid-size luxury sedans are a shrinking market, but 3 Series is still the best driver’s car in class.
You can feel that BMW brand engineering obsession in everything. From the driving position to the steering accuracy at high speeds, and perfectly coordinated throttle response. Something is amiss in Chinese luxury cars.
The 3 Series automatic transmissions are 8-speed torque converter ZFs, instead of dual-clutch gearboxes. These ZF 8-speeders are possibly the greatest transmissions ever engineered, with good durability and excellent shift characteristics.
If you never do any gravel travel and live in a part of South Africa with good roads, 3 Series is a more rewarding driving experience than any crossover or SUV.
All engine options are excellent, but the 320d remains an incredible long-distance cruiser. With 400Nm for powerful overtaking acceleration and real-world sub 7l/100km high-speed cruising economy, the 320d is a smart money 3 Series.
Want a new or used 3 Series? We have the best selection of 3 Series for sale
The Mercedes-Benz compact executive sedan that’s bigger than a clamshell boot CLA.
Once a staple of Mercedes-Benz’s local business, the C-Class has ceded much of its sales to the GLC. Still a good luxury-car platform, with rear-wheel-drive architecture and excellent long-distance driving ability. Smaller boot than 3 Series, though.
You pay a lot of money for tiny engines. The C220d’s turbodiesel makes a lot more real-world sense than the C200’s 1.5 turbopetrol. With 440Nm, the C220d flattens any mountain pass or long highway incline, while amazing 6l/100km cruising fuel economy is possible.
Mercedes-Benz uses a 9-speed torque-converter automatic transmission in the C-Class, which is very smooth and should offer better long-term durability and lower servicing costs than a dual-clutch gearbox.
C-Class is built in East London, which means there’s always a reasonably good supply of service and repair components in-country.
Want a new or used C-Class? We have the best ones for sale
Audi A5
Audi’s renamed A4. The very new B10 A5 has a stunning design, true to Audi’s compact sedan heritage. There are simply no unattractive angles, surfaces or proportions to this German luxury sedan.
The cabin materials aren’t amazing for the money you pay, but the interior architecture is gorgeous, and there’s all the tech you’d want. A5’s infotainment is powered by an Android Automotive operating system, so if you are a legacy Android user, you’ll love it.
The 2026 model-year A5 has two 2.0 turbo petrol engine options. The 146kW/340Nm version is entirely adequate. But if you want a more immersive driving experience, there’s the more powerful 2.0 turbopetrol, with 200kW/400Nm, which also features Quattro all-wheel drive. And that all-wheel drive can be a handy feature during heavy Highveld thunderstorms, if you need to get up a steep parking garage ramp, or an even steeper, off-camber, driveway in the rain.
Both A5 powertrain options use Audi’s very slick, responsive, and excellently calibrated 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. But that transmission does have additional clutches, computations, and moving parts. And those can become a maintenance consideration at higher mileages, compared to a traditional torque-converter automatic transmission.
Debits? Boot space is smaller than in the 3 Series, options are incredibly expensive (like any German luxury car), and there’s no super-economical diesel engine option, unlike the Mercedes-Benz C220d and BMW 320d.
There aren’t many of the new A5s on the market yet, since it’s so new. But the last-generation A4 also offers a compelling German compact sedan experience. If you are drawn to the edgy Audi design language and cabin architecture.
Is the fact that Audi’s A4 and A5 are front-wheel drive an issue? Well, it does constrain front-suspension design because you need to accommodate those CV joints, limiting suspension options due to packaging constraints. That means the steering and ride quality will never quite be like those of a rear-wheel-drive architecture like the 3 Series or C-Class.
But the lack of a transmission tunnel running to the rear axle means that centre rear-seat passengers have much better legroom in a front-wheel-drive A4 or A5 than in a 3 Series or C-Class.
Want a new or used Audi A4? We have the best ones for sale
