BMW 3 Series Vs Mercedes C-class - Self-Driven

Can the new BMW 3 Series prove to be more of a statement of arrival, than the segment bestseller, the Mercedes c-class?

- Simran Rastogi

Let’s say you’ve got roughly 60 lakh rupees to spend on a car, and you’re dead set against an SUV for the daily grind. Firstly, congratulations for walking the other way. Secondly, your choice would’ve essentially boiled down to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which was refreshed last year to include the more powerful C300d into the range. But with the introduction of the all-new BMW 3 Series, the Bavarians have given you good reason to stop and think – more space, better interiors and the famed dynamics that used to make BMWs the eyes-shut choice for anyone with even a drop of petrol in their veins. Now, customers of this segment are said to largely drive themselves, so with that in mind – which of these is better?

Styling

On the one hand you have the 3 Series, which in its seventh G20 generation, is brand new. On the other, the C-Class, which has been in India since 2015, with a facelift last year. The BMW has grown larger than its previous generations but its CLAR underpinnings (shared with the 7 and 5) mean it’s actually lighter than its predecessor. That isn’t good news for the Mercedes, since the 3’s 1,450kg kerb weight undercuts the C-Class’ 1,715kg by a huge margin.

You wouldn’t be able to tell that by looking at them both though, the 3 is wider and longer, and actually has an 11mm longer wheelbase at 2,851mm. And while the grille’s grown in size (it packs active aero), the headlights are sleeker and the low, low front looks sporty, even if the new L-shaped tail lights aren’t very BMW sedan in their execution, tending towards some of the BMW SUVs we’ve seen recently. The twin round exhaust exits are a nice touch, though the chrome wishbones in the bumpers look overdone, and would like nicer in gloss black, as on the lower Sport trim.