Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by diesel engines and utilizing the 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Audi and front in the case of the Honda). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 130hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 100hp engine designed by Isuzu.

The first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. 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, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Honda is significantly less fault-prone, at least on all of the models level. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Honda badge with 4.7 out of 5. Independent research findings rank A3 as average reliability-wise, and Civic is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 4.6, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.8 out of 5.

Audi is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 203 kilometers per hour, 21km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Japanese car, averaging around 5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (57 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 20% difference compared to the German car.

Honda 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 slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Audi outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.