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Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the executive car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. Both the engines are Audi-engineered . The first one has a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 250hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 245hp one.
SafetyUnfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the executive car segment, which is generally a fortune safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Phaeton offers a considerable difference of 21% more metal.
ReliabilityManufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as Volkswagen, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place A8 as average reliability-wise, and Phaeton is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Audi A8 rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.7 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economyAudi is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 12km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Audi A8, averaging around 6.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (43 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 29% difference compared to Phaeton.
Verdict
Volkswagen appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Phaeton offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with Audi being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Audi. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.