Used Audi A3 Sportback vs Mini Clubman

What will they cost?

New, you’d have paid a premium of around £600 for the A3. Now, at three years old, you’d need around £1000 more to secure it. However, it’s likely that its residual values will be stronger than the Mini’s going forwards, so it’s unlikely to depreciate quite as much in the future, although the Clubman is a popular model and it’s no mean performer on this front. Because of this it’s likely the Clubman will be the more expensive of the two to run, despite being slightly cheaper to insure and service.

As far as fuel economy goes, both cars are evenly matched. The A3 has an official average figure of 68.9mpg, as does the Clubman. Both cars have similar CO2 emissions figures, with 108g/km for the A3 and 109g/km for the Clubman, which means you’ll pay the same in road tax for both cars.

Both cars are well equipped, with sat-nav, a DAB radio, Bluetooth and cruise control. They’re quite similar on the specification front, but there are a few minor differences. The Clubman’s cruise control also provides a brake function, for example, which allows it to maintain the desired speed down steep hills, instead of picking up pace. In contrast, the A3 has rear parking sensors as standard, which were an option on the Clubman.

The A3 achieved the maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash testing, but it was tested in 2012 when the requirements weren’t so stringent. The Clubman was tested in 2015 and attained a four-star rating. It scored well for adult protection, but returned average results for pedestrian and child protection. Each car has plenty of safety kit, though.

You shouldn’t have to worry about either of these cars being stolen either because both attained the maximum five-star rating from security expert Thatcham. Both also proved very resistant to break-ins, earning four-star ratings in this category.