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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
9000 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

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 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, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Golf offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning 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. Some independent research have also placed 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. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. 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.

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