00:00What would you say it is we're doing here?
00:11That's a coupe, that's a sedan, that's an automatic, this is a manual, this is rear-wheel drive and that's all-wheel drive. Make it make sense.
00:20You know, I'll tell you where they have a lot of commonalities. Number one, they are German.
00:24Number two, they are entry-level sports cars.
00:27And they both speak the same language.
00:30This may not be the apples-to-apples comparison for Motor Trends standards, but when you look at people shopping for cars like this, absolutely they're going to compare each two.
00:38As an enthusiast, you want to drive both of these and see which one gives you more fun behind the wheel.
00:44I want to really look at this one, mostly because you can't miss it. I mean, this is bright.
00:49Whoever picks this color wants to be seen everywhere.
00:52But look at how beautiful it is. I mean, it is a sports car right away.
00:56Those lines are strong, are sporty, right? They represent something.
01:00I mean, look at the grille. It's massive. It's black, right?
01:03You have these swoopy headlights, carbon fiber elements all around the car.
01:07There are some details there that tell you this is more than an A3.
01:11This is an RS3 and those two letters at the front matter a lot.
01:15Yeah, there's two details I really love. First of all, these wheels. These snowflakes are great.
01:20I also love what they did with the headlights here with these daytime running lights.
01:23When they light up, they make a checkered flag.
01:25It's very unique and it's something that the M2 doesn't do.
01:34First of all, this purple is delightful.
01:36Yeah.
01:37Man, this car just says sports car, right?
01:40You've got the classic long dash to axle ratio that says rear drive.
01:45The one part of this car that I'm not sold on still is right here.
01:49The squares on the corners here and in the back too.
01:51It's like they did squares on the bottom, curves on the top, and the juxtaposition of them just doesn't work for me.
01:56I know it's hard to do, but ignore that part and the rest of the car is beautiful.
02:00Yeah. You've got these coat bottle fenders and this bulge in the hood that says inline six.
02:04Very, very cool to look at.
02:05Yeah. And you know, I think you have a point that these cars are sort of speaking the same language deep down.
02:11But to understand that language, I think we have to drive them.
02:18This is a 2025 M2, 473 horsepower, 406 pound-feet of torque, inline six, six-speed manual.
02:29How does it feel?
02:31It feels kind of rowdy.
02:35I love this car. I mean, how many rear drive manual transmission cars can you get anymore?
02:40Manual transmissions are going away.
02:42And the fact that you can get one still today in this M2, it's a miracle.
02:47Honestly, I think this is the best manual transmission BMW has done in a long time, frankly.
02:51The clutch pedal is really easy, really soft.
02:54The shifter is super precise going into the speeds.
02:57And you know, you can get it with an automatic, too, if you want to be faster in a straight line and maybe even do a faster lap time.
03:03But if you want to keep it old school, I love that you still have that choice.
03:08So you've got a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive, which means you have to get the launch perfect.
03:12With automatic, like you've got launch control, you're going to get a much sharper launch, too.
03:16So from purely a specs standpoint, this one's at a little bit of a disadvantage.
03:19I don't consider it a disadvantage. I don't know for you.
03:22No, no, no. Listen to this.
03:24It revs to 7500 RPM, which isn't the highest in the world.
03:29But, like, I still catch myself short-shifting a little bit because I'm going by ear and I'm thinking,
03:33oh, I've got to be getting close to the red line.
03:35But the lights aren't flashing yet to, like, remind me.
03:37I'm like, oh, I can keep going. Like, I can push it even farther.
03:40I just assume that, like, I've got to be running out of gear and it's still got more.
03:43No, it has a lot of power. It feels like it never ends.
03:49But it's not just about the transmission in this car, right? I mean, God, what an engine.
03:54It's a 3-liter inline-six. You hear the sound. You feel the power.
03:58Everything feels so engaging in this car. The moment you step in, you buckle up and you turn that engine on.
04:04It really draws you in, right? It wants to make you keep driving it.
04:08And as soon as you hit the first corner, you want to go for the next one.
04:11And then the next one. The body roll is just almost non-existent here.
04:16It has so much grip from the tires.
04:18The thing I love about this car is that when you really want to push it, it makes you work.
04:22And that's fun.
04:24It does have turbo lag, so you've got to be right with the gears.
04:30The throttle, you can really control it precisely.
04:33Same with the brakes. It's got great brake feel, too.
04:35They stop really hard, but you can give it exactly the amount you want.
04:39You're getting that feedback from the car.
04:43The steering is super quick, so you have to really be precise with your inputs so that you don't overdo it.
04:50And it's got a lot of power going only to the rear wheels with an active limited slip back there that'll push the power out.
04:56You can get this car sideways coming out of a corner without trying too hard if you turn things off.
05:01So you've really got to, like, drive this car right, and that's a fun challenge.
05:06The suspension feels just right, too.
05:08I mean, it's definitely a little stiff, but it's stiff for a reason.
05:11Like, it really pays off in the handling.
05:13Yeah, you get bumped around a bit more in your seat, but it grips.
05:18It's tuned perfectly fine to give you that sportiness without feeling it too much.
05:25Now, you do pay for the privilege of all this performance, just north of $80,000.
05:31At $80,000 as equipped, you do get a lot for your money.
05:34Not only the performance part, but the cabin is really nice.
05:37The screens are big and bright.
05:39And I love how well-coordinated it is.
05:41If you look closely, they're using the M, you know, three-stripe colors, right?
05:45It's on the doors. It's on the seats.
05:47Everything goes together really well.
05:48And you don't see that kind of, like, attention to detail in just anything.
05:51The experience here is how the car drives, but everything that we have here inside is just an extra.
05:58You can see where your money went in this car.
06:00Okay, I got to pull my phone down.
06:07McGill's driving.
06:08All right, so we are now in the Audi.
06:11So far, so good.
06:12The BMW is six-cylinder, rear-wheel drive for more than 400 horsepower.
06:17This is a five-cylinder, all-wheel drive, 394 horsepower, 369 pound-feet of torque.
06:25If you look at the specs, this one doesn't do quite as well on a corner, but, like, it's quick.
06:30This is under four seconds to 60.
06:32It's got a great launch.
06:33It's also lighter than the BMW, too.
06:35So it really takes off like a Rocky.
06:38It feels a lot more nimble.
06:40And that's what's so cool about it is this car has this super-trick twin-clutch rear-deferential
06:44where there's a clutch on each rear axle.
06:46Of the power that's going to the back, it can send zero to 100% to either wheel.
06:50When you get into a corner and you, like, start getting on the throttle,
06:53it can send all the power to that outside wheel and really push the car around the corner.
06:58And it really makes this car feel like an all-wheel drive car.
07:01Audi's engineers have really maxed out of everything that they could do with this platform
07:06and still deliver a car that is super fun to drive, is able to compete with a rear-wheel drive car,
07:11and just deliver on the enthusiasm, on the performance behind the wheel,
07:16on that connection that you feel with the road.
07:19And it's $77,000, so a little bit cheaper than the BMW.
07:23Only a little bit, though.
07:24You can tell that Audi put all the money into the performance of this car.
07:27It has carbon ceramic brakes on the front axle.
07:29It's got this engine. It's got this trick rear differential.
07:32It's got all this power, but that's where all of it went.
07:36Everything in this Audi is kind of shiny plastic.
07:39It feels like all the money that went into the interior went into making it green in Blazes,
07:44which is cool. It matches the outside grade. It's kind of fun.
07:47It still, it doesn't feel like as expensive a car as it is.
07:50It just feels like you're getting a bit more in the BMW.
07:54Both of them are quite expensive, but once you compare apples to apples,
07:57I think the BMW wins that battle.
08:00And if you look purely on performance too, this car only wins in a straight line.
08:04But everywhere else, the BMW just blows right past this in any kind of like handling test.
08:09And as much as this car feels like it's really planted and has a ridiculous amount of grip,
08:14the BMW is just playing fast around a road like this.
08:17The Audi has a very sensitive brake pedal.
08:20You have to be very careful on how much you want to really step on the brakes.
08:25Yeah, because the fronts are carbon ceramic and doing most of the work,
08:28like you have to get some heat in them before they really start to work.
08:31And once you do, like the ride is a little bit softer.
08:34That is something that I love about both of these cars is that
08:37for as fast as they are and as much fun as they are to drive,
08:41both of them, when you turn off the sport modes and M modes and everything else,
08:45they both become pretty livable for performance cars.
08:47They're reasonably quiet inside.
08:49They're easy to drive around town.
08:51Like neither one is like super aggressive all the time.
08:53Yeah, but it's just like the quality of the materials is where I just feel like
08:58if I'm paying $77,000, I want something that's nicer than this.
09:03But then you still have this.
09:04I know, but it's still fun.
09:06I love both of these cars.
09:08I love the way both of them drive, but they are different.
09:11And that's what makes it so hard to pick them.
09:22I don't know, Miguel, I'm still kind of conflicted.
09:24I love the way each of these cars drive individually.
09:28If I could, I would just have both.
09:30And I think if anybody went to a dealer and they only drove one and then bought it,
09:33I think they'd be very, very happy with it.
09:35But I don't know how to make that into picking a winner.
09:37Absolutely.
09:38I mean, they're both great.
09:39I think the BMW has a stronger case.
09:41And, you know, when you look at performance of intended function,
09:44both of them deliver everything.
09:46I think the BMW handles better.
09:48And then, you know, for three grand of a difference, like, you know,
09:51anybody buying a $75,000 plus sports car doesn't really care about three grand.
09:56And with those three grand, you get a hundred extra horsepower,
09:59a hundred extra pound feet of torque, another cylinder,
10:02a nicer interior, a car that handles better, manual transmission.
10:05You know, so there is a lot more that you get for that small price difference.
10:10The Audi is great.
10:11Don't get me wrong.
10:12But when you look at that, I think that BMW makes a stronger case.
10:16No, I think you make a really good point.
10:17When you, when you consider everything we have here,
10:19I mean, I think the BMW has to be the winner, right?
10:21I think so.
10:22So to read more from the M2 and the Audi,
10:25RS3, head over to MotorTrend.com.
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