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Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion

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

compare selected cars
2001. - 2004.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2001. - 2005.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4547 mm
1766 mm
1428 mm
445 liters
720 liters
70 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4471 mm
1739 mm
1415 mm
440 liters
440 liters
63 liters
2001 Audi A4
2001 BMW 3 Series

Engine

Volkswagen
1.9 TDI AWX
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1896 cc
130 hp
285 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
116 hp
280 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1405 kg
9.9 s
210 km/h
7.5 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.6 l/100km
151 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1370 kg
10.7 s
204 km/h
7.4 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
5.6 l/100km
149 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

cvt - gears
1430 kg
10.1 s
205 km/h
7.4 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
149 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 5 gears
1400 kg
11.3 s
199 km/h
9.1 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
6.8 l/100km
g/km

Expenses

1600 EUR
Price from
1700 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

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 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Audi and rear in the case of the BMW). 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 116hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

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. 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 it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Audi A4 offers a marginal difference of 3% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as BMW, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed A4 as average reliability-wise, and 3 Series is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Audi A4 rank it on average as 3.9, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.8 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 210 kilometers per hour, 6km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 5.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (50 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

BMW 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, Audi A4 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. Fuel consumption is more or less the same. No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for 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. 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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