Compare two cars

Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion

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

compare selected cars
2005. - 2008.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4520 mm
1817 mm
1442 mm
460 liters
1385 liters
61 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4586 mm
1772 mm
1427 mm
442 liters
1184 liters
70 liters
2005 BMW 3 Series Touring
2004 Audi A4 Avant

Engine

Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
177 hp
350 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
2.0 TDI BMN
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
170 hp
350 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1480 kg
8.1 s
228 km/h
6.1 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
131 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1510 kg
8.8 s
222 km/h
7.9 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.8 l/100km
154 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1495 kg
8.3 s
226 km/h
7.3 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.6 l/100km
146 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

6500 EUR
Price from
2500 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 wagon body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the BMW and front in the case of the Audi). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 177hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the BMW 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 large family car segment, which is generally a 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, Audi A4 offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW, as well as Audi, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place 3 Series as average reliability-wise, and A4 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as 3 Series rank it on average as 3.7, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.2 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 228 kilometers per hour, 6km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 3 Series, averaging around 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (58 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 18% difference compared to Audi A4.


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, 3 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but BMW. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. 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.

Check a car by its VIN number

Follow us

AutoManiac Instagram

AutoManiac Facebook

AutoManiac database currently covers:

47worldwide automotive brands
1.531different vehicle models
2.233engines
13.778specific cars