Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by electric 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 (rear for the Tesla and 4 x 4 in the case of the Audi). The first one has a Tesla-engineered powertrain under the hood, a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 204hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a IM Electric unit in formation 1 / 1 with 313hp engine designed by Audi.

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. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 38% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Tesla is significantly less fault-prone, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Tesla with an average rating of 1.3, and models under the Audi badge with 4.2 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the American car rank it on average as 1.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Tesla is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 193 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, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, giving a significant advantage to the American car with its additional 87 kilometers on a single charge.

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. From there things take a different direction, with Tesla being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. The American car provides significantly better range, something that shouldn't be overlooked. No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Tesla. 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.