Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the large family car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a FIAT-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 5-cylinder, 20-valves 200hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 163hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

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 Alfa Romeo being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. 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, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the Italian car offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Audi does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Alfa Romeo, as well as Audi, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 159 as average reliability-wise, and A4 is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Italian car rank it on average as 4.7, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.5 out of 5.

Alfa Romeo is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 228 kilometers per hour, 1km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (42 mpg), in combined cycle.

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 Italian car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Alfa Romeo offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. Fuel consumption is more or less the same. It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Alfa Romeo. 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. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.