FAST SHALL BE FIRST

Thrills meet daily usability in these upmarket four-wheel-drive rocketships. But should we be listening to the gospel according to Audi or BMW?

NEW BMW M240i Coupé

xDrive

List price £45,795 Target Price £44,585 Range-topping version of the latest 2 Series Coupé packs almost as much power as the RS3 and yet costs thousands less to buy

Audi RS3 Sportback

Carbon Black

List price £58,400 Target Price £57,775 One of our favourite hot hatches, because it combines fun with everyday liveability better than almost anything else on the road

Yes, we know: one's a hatchback and the other's a coupé. But aside from their different body styles, the Audi RS3 Sportback and BMW M240i (the current pinnacle of the 2 Series Coupé line-up) have an awful lot in common.

Both hail from Germany. Both have four-wheel drive. Both have almost 400bhp. Yet unlike more hardcore alternatives with this much firepower, including the Mercedes-AMG A45, both promise more than a small dose of civility.

On the face of it, the M240i would seem to be a relative performance car bargain. True, £46,000 is an awful lot of money, but it's some £8000 less than the starting price of the RS3. And if you go for the latter car in our preferred Carbon Black form, that gap grows to more than £12,000.

Brochure prices only count for so much, though. Is the M240i such great value in the long run and for the many buyers who plan to take out a finance agreement? And even if it is, does the RS3 justify its price premium?

DRIVING

Performance, ride, handling, refinement