Edmunds InsideLine Comparison Test: 2015 Audi A3 Sedan Defeats 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250! Will The A3 Sedan Become The New Sales King of the Segment?

This was to be expected given Edmunds Insideline's review last week of the A3 Sedan where they said it was the new class leader.

The bigger question will be sales.

It is probable the A3 Sedan will continue to rack up comparison test wins against the Mercedes-Benz CLA given the many positive reviews it has received from a wide range of respected publications.

With Audi's A3 Sedan advertising campaign in full-swing are the days limited for Mercedes-Benz's CLA early sales success?

Last I checked the A4, A6, & A8 all seemed to hold more favor amongst U.S publications at launch...funny how that never quite translated into sales in the US at least.

I take any publication's comparison test with a grain of salt.

Yes, C4L, there's so much to be suspect of with regard to any of these published comparisons. If people took the time to read all the details, they'd find plenty of contradictions in the write-ups and the end results. And I'm not just talking about comparisons involving Audi. And they are certainly not consistent from one comparison to another. I actually had to laugh at the recent comparisons of the RS7/CLS63/M6GC and a separate on of the C63/RS5, by the same publication. They placed the RS7 above the CLS63 because of certain driving characteristics. However, for essentially the same driving characteristics, rated the C63 over the RS5. That's just one example. In another publication, in a comparison, they cited the S6's steering as a weak point, yet when named to one of their "top" lists, stated it has "exemplary steering". Really?

The A3 seems to offer a sort of anti-CLA. This is the first pairing of models in a specific market segment in the luxury tier that offer very divergent experiences, by intent. Mercedes clearly was going for a product much different than the rest of the lineup as not to encroach on the C-Class. Whereas Audi chose to closely align the A3 with the rest of the model lineup, and very closely to the A4. I think both approaches can be successful.

As far as sales, time will tell. Audi has been pretty consistent placing at the top of almost every comparison test in which they've been a part, for several years now. I can't remember the last time the A6 lost, to be honest. Yet there remains, in the US, a significant (and that might be an understatement) gap in their sales results versus the Big Three (MB, BMW, Lexus). Heck, they even lag behind Acura who hasn't won a comparison since…well, I don't remember. They also fall behind Cadillac.

So, what is Audi's issue in the US? It's certainly not product offering. It's certainly not the lack of good press. It's certainly not the absence of advertising. All this "Audi wants to grow the right way" talk is just crap. Audi wouldn't be taking the intentionally direct jabs at the competition if that were the case. And I think people are long past the unintended-acceleration debacle from 30 years ago. Maybe, at the end of the day, despite what any comparison test or publication review may say, they're just not truly building cars that the American luxury-car buyer wants/desires. Those shopping in the segment aren't spontaneous about buying decisions. They research. They do the test driving. They ask friends. Clearly, there's just "something" about Audi cars that doesn't totally resonate with the American buyers the way a Benz, Bimmer, or Lexus does. One of the first things to come to mind for me is reliability record, but Benz and Bimmer both have had their struggles with that in the past. Is it buying incentives? That might be a key, but I can tell you that at the time I was car shopping, Audi was offering deals commensurate with all other luxury brands, and they still couldn't make up the sales gap. And they do still offer incentives today, maybe not as extensive as BMW, but they're still out there.

So, back to the A3/CLA comparison. The A3 is a well-executed car, no doubt. But is it too well executed to the point of not eliciting emotion? The CLA clearly is a US and global sales success and it doesn't appear to be slowing down, as evidenced by the recent ramp-up in production to meet demand. Its styling is polarizing. Its interior is polarizing. Its driving dynamics is polarizing. Despite being polarizing, it's creating a response, a reaction, and sales are reflecting positive reactions. Maybe there's something in that.

Good point, cidflekken. Your comments about Audi's sale success (or lack thereof) in the U.S. is made even more interesting considering in China, the world's largest market for premium cars, it is clearly the best-selling brand by a wide margin over BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Audi is currently leading BMW and Mercedes-Benz in 2014 global YTD sales. Does that mean success in the U.S. is not necessarily a required component for global sales success given how large and important the Chinese market has become?

In Europe and China Audi is the sales market-leader ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Only the U.S. seems to be Audi's one weak global market with respect to the competition. However, Audi has managed 38 consecutive months of sales increases in the U.S. - indicating that it's U.S. momentum is strongly positive and moving in the right direction. I think the A3 sedan and Q3 SUV will add huge sales numbers to the U.S. total so Audi should have little trouble pushing it's sales record well into the 40-month range.

Careful with those China figures, remember Benz cut about 1/3 of the gap between them and Audi last month, and the majority of that 1/3 came from China.

I wouldn't hold my breath. I do hope Audi gets a chance to at least touch the top spot they are so vocal and passionate about holding as Benz held it for decades and BMW has held it for 9 years.

I hope Benz shows Audi some mercy and lets them hold the sales crown for at least 1 year.

Right. Kudos to Audi for doing a great job in understanding the Chinese market and attacking it appropriately. I can't speak for BMW, but Mercedes clear problem there was badly planned dealer networks, which they have already taken significant steps to rectify, as shown by their tremendous growth in that market so far in 2014. So, it will be interesting to see how things end up at the end of the year.

Regarding US "momentum", it's pretty much non-existent. We need to stop touting this "38 months" stuff because when you start at the bottom, there's no place to go but up. And keep in mind that, in total, Audi's "lead" over last year is not even 50 cars. It's 49 cars. That's YTD for the entire lineup. That is not what I'd call "strongly positive" momentum, by any means. I'm sure the A3 will impact that, but the A3 may also negatively impact the A4 sales considering how closely aligned they are. And let's also remember that Benz and Bimmer continue to grow in the US also. Sure, their percentage of growth may not appear to be as high as Audi's, but based on prior-year sales figures, a 10% increase for Benz and BMW is greater than a 20% increase for Audi, in raw units.

The 38 consecutive monthly sales record is important because it shows Audi is consistently improving over a long-period of time. Yes, if you start from a low-base the percent increase will be higher, but remember that Audi has achieved this record over the last 6-12 months with an outdated lineup in terms of volume models. The A4, while refreshed is the same basic A4 that came out in 2009. The Q5 is more or less the same SUV it was when it made its debut in the U.S. a long time ago. The different LED headlights/tailights and some upgrades to MMI are the only major differences for these two high-volume models, but the rest of their designs are pretty much the same.

The all-new, high-volume A3 sedan should give U.S. sales a nice boost next month and the Q3 should add further growth in Q4 of 2014.

It will be exciting for sure to see how the U.S. and global sales results evolve for 2014 for the German 3.

Mercedes actually had the oldest volume models last year and still managed to capture the top spot in the U.S only aided at the end of the year by the CLA and New S.

E Class(best seller) and current C (#2) still oldest in their segments with new C hitting showrooms within the next month.

"38 months at 10-15% growth" is not substantial when you are trailing your direct competition by half in total sales, and your competition continues to experience growth as well. For Audi to truly make progress, their growth, year-over-year needs to sustained at a rate of at least 25%+, while Mercedes and BMW remain flat or decline. Yes, consecutive months of improvement is great, but for the last two months COMBINED, the increase in total units over the previous year was only 49. That was 45 in January and 4 in February. Not substantial by any means especially when you consider Mercedes is ahead of last year (as of Feb) by over 600 units.

Not sure which I'd take. The CLA looks ghastly in pictures, but I quite like it in the flesh, the A3 is smart enough, but the styling is a little played out by Audi. The Audi appears to be the better car from what I've seen, but the balance of interior space usage isn't so much of an issue for me. If the CLA had been RWD it would have been an no brainer, but the A3 appears to be the better drive. Tough choice.

I do wonder though, how much it will impact A4 sales, if my choice was A3 v A4 instead of CLA v A3... I'd be unsure of why I'd go for the bigger car.

In the event the backseat was too tight and you needed more space you would get an A4.

All this talk of A3 sedan sales cannibalizing A4 sedan sales is misleading. The two cars have different prices and interior dimensions to account for their respective buyers needs and wants.

The A4 wins for the family with children and/or pets and a larget budget and the A3 wins for single people without kids and a lower budget. It's not very difficult to understand.

Those who need a usable backseat will not purchase an A3 sedan and those who don't need a usable backseat won't purchase an A4 sedan.

No, the interior dimensions of the A4 and A3 are closer than you think. Legroom is about equal at 35.1 and 35.2 inches respectively (and possibly the most important measurement when it comes to rear seat accommodations). Headroom is about an inch greater in the A4. Shoulder room about an inch greater. Those aren't substantially different dimensions and, with a lower price for the A3, the deciding factor may be in trunk room. And when you talk about small(er) children and/or pets, those differences are much less relevant.

I love my Audi A6. The quality and craftsmanship are wonderful. I'm thinking maybe buy the wife an A3; she likes the not too over the top sedan (subtle and conservative look) with a high quality interior. I don't much like the CLA. When you add a few options, the price goes up quickly. All of the car companies do that so they can say they are at $29,990. They probably get 1 of those models and the rest are loaded up which gives a truer indication of what the pricing will REALLY be. For the A3 I'll say it will push $39K-$40K with a few goodies on it.

I do think that in English speaking countries in general, but especially America, Mercedes Benz have the edge over Audi in terms of image and desirability, but having studied the interiors of the A3 and the MB A class in general, the Audis are way ahead in terms of perceived quality. The MB interiors are nothing much to look at in terms of materials and design, say in comparison with newer Peugeot interiors. I get the impression that American buyers have something against VAG dealers in general, and from what i have read the VW dealerships are really lousy compared to ours in Europe, where a VW alone is considered practically as a prestige car these days. Audi took a very long time to become established alongside BMW and MB, but in Europe (and here where we are on post in Beirut) the marque has enormous success, and an A8L really stands out as a super luxury car, while the 4s and 6s are doing very well. In my opinion the A3 is far superior, but I wonder if it will sell as well as the flashy little CLA in America, even though Mercedes are rubbish in comparison to what they were 20 or 30 years ago.

After reading this article, I would say it is a toss-up by this comparison test. I hardly see what was said about the Audi as being positive...in fact, statement for statement, more positive things were said about the MB...honestly, the weighing of the comparison was completely subjective and blown out of proportion by the Audi fan-boys here. I would not be bragging about this compare if I were you.