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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
2008. - 2012.
J - SUV
suv, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2006. - 2010.
J - SUV
suv, 5 door
4 x 4

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4629 mm
1898 mm
1653 mm
540 liters
1560 liters
75 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4569 mm
1853 mm
1674 mm
480 liters
1560 liters
67 liters
2008 Audi Q5
2006 BMW X3

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TDI CAGA
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
143 hp
320 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
143 hp
320 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1655 kg
11.0 s
192 km/h
6.2 l/100km
5.4 l/100km
5.7 l/100km
149 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1715 kg
10.3 s
195 km/h
7.9 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
6.2 l/100km
165 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Expenses

10000 EUR
Price from
3300 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel engines and utilizing the 5-door suv body style within the same 'SUV' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Audi and 4 x 4 in the case of the BMW). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 143hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 143hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the Audi being a slightly better choice apparently. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, BMW X3 offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as BMW, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Q5 as average reliability-wise, and X3 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Audi Q5 rank it on average as 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.1 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 195 kilometers per hour, 3km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (47 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Audi 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, Audi Q5 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for 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. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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