The Audi Q3, the BMW X1 and the Mercedes GLA have been the default premium compact SUV shortlist for a decade, and most comparisons still treat them as three versions of the same decision.
They are not, and the reason is timing. The Q3 is brand new, on its third generation. The X1 is mid-life with the widest engine choice of the three. And the GLA is a run-out car: an all-new, electric-first GLA was shown in July 2026 and reaches showrooms before the end of this year, with no plug-in hybrid announced to replace the one you can order today.
On a three or four year agreement that matters more than almost anything on a spec sheet. Here is what separates them, including two things neither Audi nor Mercedes will tell you.
The Short Answer
The Audi Q3 if you want the plug-in hybrid. 73 miles of electric range is a long way clear of the other two, and it is the only one of the three whose plug-in can take a rapid charger at all.
The BMW X1 if you want choice or boot space. It is the only one of the three offering petrol, diesel, two different plug-in hybrids and a fully electric version, and its plug-in hybrid loses no boot space at all.
The Mercedes GLA if you want physical climate buttons, which it is the only one of the three to keep. Go in knowing it is the outgoing car and that its Euro NCAP rating has expired.
What You Can Actually Order
| Audi Q3 | BMW X1 | Mercedes GLA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | Yes, 150PS to 265PS | Yes, 170hp to 300hp | Yes, including AMG |
| Diesel | Unclear, see below | Yes, two | Yes, three |
| Plug-in hybrid | Yes, one | Yes, two | Yes, one |
| Fully electric, same name | No | No | Arriving now |
| Fully electric, different name | No | Yes, the iX1 | Yes, the EQA |
BMW has the widest range here by a distance and is the only brand offering two plug-in hybrids, the 245hp xDrive25e and the 326hp xDrive30e. Mercedes still sells three diesels, which is more than either rival.
Whether the new Q3 is offered as a diesel in the UK. Audi UK's own pages list no TDI and an Audi retailer's order list shows only petrol and plug-in hybrid, while several motoring titles and the leasing derivative data all carry a 150PS 2.0 TDI for the 2026 car. Diesel availability would be a genuinely useful differentiator and we would rather leave a gap than fill it with a guess. If a diesel Q3 is what you want, ask us and we will find out properly.
The GLA Situation, Which Is the Real Story
Two things are true at the same time, and you need both.
The GLA you can order today is the outgoing car
Mercedes is still selling it, and its own plug-in hybrid page lists a GLA hybrid from 45,805 pounds, so it is a live choice rather than a dead one.
An all-new GLA was premiered on 29 July 2026 and is electric first
It reaches UK showrooms before the end of 2026 as the GLA 250 Plus and the GLA 350 4MATIC, on an 85kWh battery, with around 408 miles of range, an 800 volt architecture and up to 320kW charging, from about 45,400 pounds. A petrol mild hybrid follows in 2027.
So if you lease a GLA 250 e now, you are taking a car with no direct successor, in a nameplate that is about to mean something completely different. That is not automatically a bad idea. Run-out cars are often where the sharpest lease rates sit, because the manufacturer wants them gone, and we will tell you honestly when that is the case. It does mean it is a different decision from leasing a Q3 or an X1, and anybody comparing the three without mentioning it is giving you half the picture.
Mercedes-Benz UK's own site now carries both a GLA entry and separate listings for the new car, which is how you can tell the changeover is happening rather than coming.
The Plug-in Hybrids, Where the Three Diverge Most
| Audi Q3 e-hybrid | BMW X1 xDrive25e | Mercedes GLA 250 e | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 272PS | 245hp | 218hp |
| Usable battery | 19.7kWh | 14.2kWh | About 11kWh |
| Electric range | Up to 73 miles | 47 to 52 miles | About 45 miles |
| Rapid charging | Yes, 40kW, 10 to 80% in 26 minutes | None | None |
| Boot, seats up | 375 litres | 490 litres | About 385 litres |
| Braked towing | 2,000kg | 1,700kg | 1,800kg |
The Audi wins the electric range argument comfortably, and it is the only one of the three whose plug-in hybrid can use a DC rapid charger. On the other two, if you are away from a home or workplace socket you simply cannot top the battery up, which changes how useful the electric range actually is on a long day.
375 litres in the plug-in hybrid against 488 in the petrol, which is the biggest penalty of the three by a wide margin. The BMW's plug-in hybrid, by contrast, has exactly the same 490 litres as its petrol version, so it gives up nothing. If you want long electric range and a big boot in the same car, none of these three gives you both, and the Audi and the BMW sit at opposite ends of that trade.
Worth noting the BMW's sliding rear bench, which takes its boot from 490 to 540 litres, is an option rather than standard equipment. All three have a sliding rear bench available, so that is not a differentiator, but on the BMW it is the one you pay for.
Why We Are Not Giving You a CO2 Table
On a comparison like this you would expect a row of plug-in hybrid CO2 figures. We cannot give you one honestly, and the reason is worth understanding because it affects any quote you are given elsewhere.
BMW UK published the X1 xDrive25e at 15 to 19 g/km when it launched in June 2022. BMW UK's current technical data page gives the same car 53 to 62 g/km. Nothing about the car changed. The official test was revised to assume far less electric running, which moved the figure by roughly three and a half times. That revision has hit every plug-in hybrid on sale.
Now apply that across the three. The Audi's 39 to 49 g/km is a newly homologated figure so it is already on the new basis, except that Audi UK publishes no CO2 for the car at all and Audi's own global page contradicts itself within a single page. BMW publishes no current data whatsoever for the xDrive30e, its quicker plug-in hybrid, so the only BMW figures for it are the 2022 ones, which are now wrong. And Mercedes-Benz UK's plug-in hybrid page displays its emissions fields as literal placeholder text reading XX to XX grams per kilometre.
So of three cars, exactly one has a current CO2 figure published by its own manufacturer on a UK page. Meanwhile third-party sites are still serving the old numbers: we found a GLA 250 e listed at 31 g/km on a page last updated in July 2026. If you are quoted company car tax on any of these three from a figure in the twenties or thirties, it is wrong, and the gap is worth several tax bands. Rates change each tax year, so ask us to confirm the current position for the exact car and we will get it in writing.
Inside: One of Them Kept the Buttons
| Audi Q3 | BMW X1 | Mercedes GLA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infotainment screen | 12.8 inch | 10.7 inch | 10.25 inch |
| Driver display | 11.9 inch | 10.25 inch | 10.25 inch |
| Physical climate controls | No | No | Yes |
Audi has the biggest screens, in one curved panel that runs from the instruments across to the centre. What it no longer has is a climate panel: on this generation of Q3 the heating and ventilation controls have moved into the touchscreen. BMW did the same thing on the current X1.
The GLA is the only one of the three that still gives you a row of physical buttons for the ventilation. If reaching for a dial without taking your eyes off the road matters to you, that is a real reason to look at the outgoing Mercedes, and it is worth saying that the all-new GLA has a completely new interior, so whatever you think of this one does not carry over.
Rear legroom is the question everybody asks and none of the three publishes it in millimetres for a UK page, so anything you read comparing them on that is somebody's opinion after sitting in all three. Useful opinion, but not a measurement.
Safety, and the Difference That Actually Matters
| Rating | Published | What was tested | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audi Q3 | 5 stars | October 2025 | Q3 1.5 TFSI petrol, the current generation |
| BMW X1 | 5 stars | October 2022 | X1 sDrive18d diesel |
| Mercedes GLA | 5 stars | July 2019 | A B-Class, not a GLA |
Its five star result expired on 1 January 2026, so it has lapsed. And it was never measured on a GLA in the first place: Euro NCAP tested a B-Class and carried the rating across because the two share much of their structure, with the variants list attaching it to the diesel GLAs. The all-new electric GLA has not been rated at all yet. The honest position is that the GLA is the only one of these three without a current assessment, and if anybody quotes you five stars for one, that is a rating that no longer applies.
The Audi's is the only rating measured on the generation you can buy, which is worth something. The BMW's was measured on the diesel rather than on anything electrified.
We have deliberately not put the percentage sub-scores side by side. They come from the 2019, 2022 and 2025 test protocols, and Euro NCAP percentages are only comparable within the same protocol year, because the test gets harder each time it is revised. The GLA scores the highest of the three for adult occupant protection purely because 2019 was an easier test than 2025. Lining those numbers up would make the oldest rating look like the best one.
Warranty, and the Grant
| Vehicle warranty | High voltage battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Audi | 3 years or 60,000 miles | Audi UK confirms a degradation warranty on the e-hybrid but publishes no years or mileage |
| BMW | 3 years, unlimited mileage | 8 years or 100,000 miles on the current X1 plug-in hybrid |
| Mercedes | 3 years, no mileage cap stated | A battery certificate exists but no duration or mileage is published |
Audi is the only one of the three that caps its warranty mileage, and 60,000 miles is easy to pass on a four year lease at 20,000 a year. BMW's unlimited mileage warranty is the clear winner if you cover big distances, and it is also the only one of the three that publishes a proper battery warranty for its plug-in hybrid.
The grant needs a car with no tailpipe emissions, at least 100 miles of electric range and a list price at or below 37,000 pounds, so no plug-in hybrid can qualify whatever its range. The new electric GLA does meet the technical tests but starts around 45,400, which is well over the cap. BMW is the only one of the three with a grant car in the family: the iX1 eDrive20 qualifies for the full 3,750 pounds on selected versions. It just is not an X1. If the grant is what you are after, that is where to look.
Which of these three actually works out cheapest for you?
We will price all three across funders on your mileage and term, confirm the real tax position rather than a figure from an old spec sheet, and tell you honestly whether the run-out GLA is the sharper deal.
Talk to LetsLeaseFrequently Asked Questions
The Audi Q3 e-hybrid on electric range, at up to 73 miles against 47 to 52 for the BMW X1 xDrive25e and around 45 for the Mercedes GLA 250 e. The Audi is also the only one of the three whose plug-in can take a DC rapid charger, at 40kW, so it is the only one you can usefully top up away from a home or workplace socket. The catch is boot space, where it is the worst of the three.
Yes, and soon. An all-new GLA was premiered on 29 July 2026 and reaches UK showrooms before the end of this year, as an electric-first car with an 85kWh battery, around 408 miles of range and an 800 volt architecture. A petrol mild hybrid follows in 2027. No plug-in hybrid and no diesel has been announced for the new range, so the GLA 250 e you can order today has no direct successor.
Not necessarily. Run-out cars are often where the sharpest lease rates sit, because the manufacturer wants the remaining stock moved, and it is still a good car. What you should do is go in knowing it is the outgoing model, that its Euro NCAP rating has expired, and that the nameplate is about to mean something quite different. Ask us and we will tell you honestly whether the run-out pricing makes it the better deal on your term and mileage.
Among the plug-in hybrids, the BMW X1 by a wide margin: 490 litres with the seats up against 375 for the Audi and about 385 for the Mercedes. The BMW is also the only one whose plug-in hybrid loses no boot space at all against its petrol version, where the Audi's battery costs it 113 litres. If you want long electric range and a big boot in one car, none of these three gives you both.
Only the Mercedes. Both the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1 have moved their heating and ventilation controls into the touchscreen on the current generation, and the GLA is the only one of the three that keeps a row of physical buttons. Worth knowing that the all-new GLA has a completely new interior, so that advantage may not survive the changeover.
The BMW X1, comfortably. It offers petrol, two diesels, two different plug-in hybrids and a fully electric version under the iX1 name, which is more permutations than either rival. Mercedes still sells three diesels, which is more than Audi. Whether the new Audi Q3 is offered as a diesel in the UK is genuinely unclear, because Audi's own pages list none while several motoring titles say there is one, so ask us and we will find out properly.
Because the official test was revised to assume much less electric running, which roughly tripled the figure for every plug-in hybrid on sale, and a lot of websites are still serving the old numbers. The clearest example is BMW's own: it published the X1 xDrive25e at 15 to 19 g/km in 2022 and its current page gives the same car 53 to 62. Nothing about the car changed. If you are quoted a figure in the twenties or thirties for any of these three, it is out of date.
It changes the starting point, because benefit in kind follows CO2 and the gap between the old and new figures is worth several bands. The difficulty is that only one of these three has a current CO2 figure published by its own manufacturer on a UK page, so we would not quote you a tax number from a spec sheet. Rates change each tax year. Tell us the exact car and we will get the current position confirmed in writing before anything is signed.
All three have five stars, but only two of those ratings are current. The Audi Q3 was tested in October 2025 and is the only one of the three measured on the generation you can buy. The BMW X1 was tested in October 2022, on the diesel. The Mercedes GLA's rating was published in July 2019, expired on 1 January 2026, and was never measured on a GLA at all: Euro NCAP tested a B-Class and carried the result across because the two share much of their structure.
Because they come from three different test protocols and the test gets harder each time it is revised, so the percentages are only comparable within the same year. The GLA actually has the highest adult occupant score of the three, at 96 percent, purely because 2019 was an easier test than 2025. Lining those numbers up would make the oldest and now expired rating look like the best one, which is why we have given you the dates instead.
None of the three. The grant needs no tailpipe emissions, at least 100 miles of electric range and a list price at or below 37,000 pounds, so no plug-in hybrid can qualify whatever its range. The new electric GLA does pass the technical tests but starts around 45,400, well over the cap. BMW is the only one of the three with a grant car in the family, because the iX1 eDrive20 qualifies for the full 3,750 pounds on selected versions. It just is not an X1.
LetsLease is a credit broker rather than the lender. We arrange the agreement and place it with a funder such as Lex Autolease, Novuna, Ayvens or Santander, and that funder owns the vehicle and holds the agreement with you. Because we work across several funders rather than one, we can compare how each prices the same car.