We are here considering two somewhat similar cars, but we can't deny some of the obvious differences. For a start, they are not even classified under the same segment, with the Volvo being a large family car and the Audi representing luxury car vehicle class. The first one has a Peugeot-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 114hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 136hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. The second vehicle is a luxury car and that gives it a marginal advantage over the large family car competitor, at least that's what statistics show. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a considerable difference of 12% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Volvo 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 Volvo with an average rating of 3.2, and models under the Audi badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank S60 as average reliability-wise, and A6 is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the Swedish car rank it on average as 4.4, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.5 out of 5.

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.6 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 208 kilometers per hour, 13km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Swedish car, averaging around 4.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (66 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 23% difference compared to the German car.

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, the German car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Audi outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - 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 more than 12.000 different ones in our database.