Audi A3, BMW 120i & Mercede Benz B200

I am going to evaluate them individually (in alphabetical order based on brand name), and then rank them at the end of this reply.
Audi A3 --
Pros: Design, built quality and material used are top notch. 2.0T engine has almost no turbo lag and great potential for modification. Decent handling. Enough rear leg room and trunk space.
Cons: Understeer when pushed over 7/10 of what the car is capable of. Poor resale value compares to BMW and Mercedes Benz. Require extra care for the engine (better use synthetic engine oil). Why get an Audi with no Quattro AWD?
Verdict/Advice: Buy the Golf GTI which is almost the same car and save some money, or step up to the R32 or S3 if you don't really need the 2 extra doors.
BMW 120i --
Pros: The Look. Precise, direct steering. Superb handling in its class. The communication between the road and your hands on the steering wheel. Rear-wheel drive if it's a must.
Cons: The Look. Rear seat space is a joke. Trunk space is so-so. Interior design is too "cold". Material used is subpar and a shame to wear a luxury brand. Lack of power and overweight for the size of the car. Steering and gas pedal may be too heavy for new bimmer driver. Why buy a BMW without its perfect inline-6 engine?
Verdict/Advice: Get a used E46 3-series instead, or get a 130i or 135i if you really want a 1-series.
Mercedes Benz B200 --
Pros: Efficient packaging with great space inside that should put this car into a different class. Innovative safety feature. Improved built and material quality. Nice dampening on NVH for a car with this much opening. SPACE!
Cons: Exterior is kind of feminine (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Suspension too softly sprung. Not enough power.
Verdict/Advice: For $300,000, get an A200 Turbo; or shell out another $32000 for the B200T.
CONCLUSION: A3 is not a bad car, but it's just like vanilla ice-cream -- refreshing in a hot summer day, but just plain and you don't want to have it every day. It's scoring well in every evaluation category, but just nothing exceptional. The Bimmer sacrifice some ergonomics and comfort for driving dynamics and pleasure, while the B-Class almost provides the "best value" in this class if you priced the tri-star logo heavily. I can't make a decision between the 120i or the B200, but if it's a B200T, I will pick it in a heartbeat.

2007-08-29 09:12:51 補充：
Sorry, Zung Fu increased the price on B200T to $355,000

2007-09-07 11:42:02 補充：
It's an opinion so there's no good or bad answer. My question is, why this question requires readers to pick the best answer for him and not by Thomas Yung himself is beyond my imagination.

I love Audi A3 and BMW 120i, but BMW 120i's are so 窄, and, Merc B200 has turbo, so, it will 秏油. So, if you want to choose, I will choose audi A3, I'm very love this car very much.

Audi is usually more reliable at least for Asia models with BMW right behind it. Mercedes is definitely way behind on reliability. as for build quality i would say its Audi then MB then BMW and for driving dynamics and handling i would say BMW then Audi then MB