Interior dimensions compared: New BMW 3 Series Vs Mercedes-Benz C-Class Vs Audi A4

It’s the battle of the mid-size premium sedans and the newest player is the latest generation BMW 3 Series. Unveiled in 2018 and now launched in India with prices starting from Rs 4140 lakhs (All-India ex-showroom). There are two variants and three trims across two engine options.

As the title suggests, we are looking at the new BMW 3 Series and two of its closest competitors in terms of the kind of interior space they are offering. The numbers are pretty straight forward, but what do they actually mean? Well, read on to find out. All dimensions mentioned are in milmeters.  

But before you begin we are super psyched to tell you that we have driven the new 3 Series! You can read about that by clicking here or even better watch our video at the bottom of this story!

Front seats
These cars, even in the Indian market, are still the preferred ones for those who like to drive themselves, thus making the front seats very important. The new 3 Series tops the list in terms of front leg room as well as seat base length. This means you get more than sufficient legroom as well as under thigh support when compared to the rivals. The Audi A4 tops out in terms of shoulder room but is only marginally ahead of the new 3 Series in this category.  However, the all-important ingress (a.k.a space for you to enter and exit the vehicle) is a fight that has been won by the Audi A4 and it stands decently above both the 3 Series and the C-Class.

Rear seats
First up, the battle of legroom for the rear seats has been won by the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but the new 3 Series is not too far away. The difference in numbers is marginal but even this small margin counts in terms of actual space.
Oddly enough, the 3 Series and A4 are closely matched in terms of headroom but are quite far apart from each other in terms of shoulder room. These dimensions come into play when you actually consider the space on offer across both cars. The Audi A4 has won the battle of ingress/egress once again among all three cars but is only ahead of the C-Class by 10mm.

Boot
One of the defining traits of these cars has been the way their parent companies have integrated the boot into the design of the cars. At the heart of things, they are traditional 3 box sedans and this forms an important part of their appearances. The Audi A4 has the most pronounced boot and thus tops the list in terms of length, width as well as height. However, it has the highest loading lip height and lid height and this means you have to lift stuff just a bit higher to load it in, compared to the 3 Series and C-Class.