The photo shoot first highlighted how the four stacked up. As I am a firm believer of simplicity of line and shape it was the Audi A3 Sportback that stood out. Squat, wide and low ? yet handsomely simple ? the uncluttered Bauhaus styling is evident. What achieves this is the use of some straight lines, circles and curves ? not as pronounced as the geometric TT, but still apparent. And the overall balance achieved with that oversized striking grille offers it a sense of positive intent too.

The Mazda3 is so easy on the eye with its combination of protruding curves, recesses and pointed lines fusing together in a fine form of retro styling, while hiding the fact that it's the tallest of the four on show.

The Focus seems less imposing than its predecessor that led the pack for some years. It's now rather bulbous, clearly indicating its height when compared to its three rivals here ? but still eye catching.

The BMW 120i instead is a hodgepodge of lines, shapes and bulges that do not really achieve a smooth homogeneous effect. And what was Bangle thinking when he curved the bottom sill line that offers that unsightly 'broken-back' effect to the car? And the frontal treatment, with its drooping, curved lights resembling eyes?

Inside the cars

Once seated in the cars it was a similar story. The Audi A3 scored well with its restrained black yet extremely handsome layout. No frills, no fuss, just simple ergonomics with exterior features such as the grille outline reappearing delicately on the console and dash. The Mazda had the most zest with its red-delineated knobs and buttons that offer some excitement when added to the electro-luminescent gauges. The dash on the 120i is truly smart and seems a BMW trademark with its soft sweeping curves, even the console curves softly.

The Ford Focus is the simplest and, although well crafted, seems rather 'everyday' in layout.

However, my scoring sheet was extremely close with the 120i, Mazda3 and Audi A3 ending with the same points with the Focus few points behind. However when it came to space above my head (I'm 1.8m tall) it was the 120i and Mazda3 that allowed the most clearance, at around 11cm, with A3 and Focus at 8. As for legroom between the knee and rear-back of the front seatback the 120i was the most cramped with around 15mm clearance, the Mazda3 and Audi A3 at around 30mm and Focus at a comfortable 50mm.

So it does not necessarily follow that the tallest car should be the one with the most headspace: although the Mazda does take the cake in this respect the 120i, being the second lowest, has a similar clearance. It's also interesting to note that the lowest profile goes to the Audi A3 Sportback at 1423mm, then the 120i at 1430, the Ford Focus at 1443 and the Mazda 1465. In overall length it's the Mazda again with 4490mm, and one of the reasons it does not seem that tall at all.

Keeping it safe

On the safety side the 120i is fitted with six airbags ? driver and front passenger, front-to-rear head 'bags, and integrated into the front seat backrests. The Audi A3 has front and side airbags as standard with optionals at the rear while the Ford Focus has dual front airbags and front seat 3D side airbags. The Mazda3 makes use of front airbags, curtain airbags to the front and rear and side airbags for the driver and passenger.

There's little to choose in road holding and ride terms although the 120i felt just that little more able and somehow more positive. I did find the steering feel of the Mazda3 rather heavy ? not that it would make that much difference once you're used to it.

As a matter of interest the 120i has an all-aluminium front suspension called a Twin Joint Tension Strut (something new to the suspension world) while the others used the well-tried MacPherson type strut layouts. The Ford Focus makes use of a new independent rear suspension system called the Control Blade while the other three utilise the sophisticated Multilink Independent systems.

Braking potential on all four was good and another area difficult to differentiate between these rivals. These four achieve well over 200km/h so require big stopping power such as the ABS system that has all but levelled the playing field.

In fact the 120i's unique Brake Force Display is a great step forward in the search for even more safety allowing drivers travelling behind you to more accurately evaluate your braking reactions. In the event of an emergency stop the illuminated area of the brake lights increases so those behind can tell in an instant the difference between a tap on the brake pedal or an emergency stop.

Checking the engines

In terms of engines there's nothing to choose between them with all four using variable cam timing, although the 120i uses the revolutionary Valvetronic system. They all push between 54 and 55kW per litre but when it comes to the all-important power-to-weight ratio it's the Mazda3 that's out in front with its 87kW per ton figure. This advantage is borne out on the road too, the car being the quickest to 100km/h by some margin and the best in the quarter mile sprint.

However between gears the Mazda3 doesn't repeat its dominance with the Audi 3 taking the fourth gear 80 to 120km/h sprint and the BMW120i the 120 to 160km/h.

And if you're deciding that fuel consumption is important to you it's the Ford Focus that will meet your requirements although it should be kept in mind that the A3 had not as yet completed 1000km.

The 120i has the smallest fuel tank at 50 litres while the others have 55 litre tanks.

And once again there's little to decide when it comes to price, an area that many use as their final decision ? after all, there's not much to differentiate between the four in most area. Can anyone argue the fact that the all-new Ford Focus Hatch 2.0Si is not a bargain at R184 900? It's R35 000 cheaper than the Audi and R31 000 less than the BMW 120i, which does have a higher spec content.

However, as an overall package, my choice has to be the new Audi all-new A3 Sportback 2.0 FSI.