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

compare selected cars
2012. - 2016.
C - Small family car
wagon, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2012. - 2016.
C - Small family car
wagon, 5 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4657 mm
1799 mm
1451 mm
605 liters
1620 liters
50 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4310 mm
1785 mm
1425 mm
380 liters
1220 liters
50 liters
2012 Volkswagen Golf Variant
2012 Audi A3 Sportback

Engine

Volkswagen
1.4 TFSI CDGA
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1390 cc
150 hp
240 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
1.4 TFSI BMY
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1390 cc
140 hp
250 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1278 kg
8.6 s
218 km/h
6.8 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
5.4 l/100km
123 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1200 kg
8.4 s
213 km/h
5.9 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
4.8 l/100km
112 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

dual clutch - 7 gears
1293 kg
8.6 s
218 km/h
6.3 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
118 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 7 gears
1210 kg
8.4 s
213 km/h
5.9 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.7 l/100km
110 g/km

Expenses

7300 EUR
Price from
6500 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

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 small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door wagon body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. Both the engines are Volkswagen-engineered . The first one has a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 140hp one.

Safety

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 small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Golf offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen, as well as Audi, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Golf as average reliability-wise, and A3 is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Golf rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.8 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 213 kilometers per hour, 5km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Audi A3, averaging around 4.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (59 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 13% difference compared to Golf.


Verdict

Volkswagen 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, Golf offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be 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. 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.

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