Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Audi and front in the case of the Lancia). The first one has a Audi-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 20-valves 125hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 130hp engine designed by FIAT.

The fact that the Audi got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, isn't really an advantage, taken the poor 3-star rating it received. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Lancia does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Lancia badge with 4.1 out of 5. Independent research findings rank A4 as average reliability-wise, and Lybra is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 3.8 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Lancia is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 201 kilometers per hour, 1km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Italian car, averaging around 8.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (34 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 11% difference compared to the German car.

Lancia 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, the German car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. From there things take a different direction, with Lancia offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Lancia. 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 more than 12.000 different ones in our database.