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

compare selected cars
2003. - 2005.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2003. - 2008.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4203 mm
1765 mm
1421 mm
350 liters
1100 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4204 mm
1759 mm
1485 mm
350 liters
1305 liters
55 liters
2003 Audi A3
2003 Volkswagen Golf

Engine

Volkswagen
1.9 TDI BJB
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1896 cc
105 hp
250 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
1.9 TDI BJB
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1896 cc
105 hp
250 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1295 kg
11.4 s
187 km/h
6.3 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
132 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1226 kg
11.3 s
190 km/h
5.8 l/100km
3.8 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
119 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 7 gears
1276 kg
11.3 s
185 km/h
6.4 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
137 g/km

Expenses

2400 EUR
Price from
2400 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. Not only that they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 3-door hatchback body style, they are even powered by the same Volkswagen-developed diesel engine! There is not much there to point us towards one vehicle or the other. Or is it?

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 Volkswagen being a slightly better choice apparently. 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 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, Audi A3 offers a marginal difference of 6% 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, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as Volkswagen, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank A3 as average reliability-wise, and Golf is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as these two vehicles rank it on average as 4.4 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 190 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, averaging around 4.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (60 mpg), in combined cycle.


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. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen 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 Volkswagen. 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, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

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