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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

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

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TDI CRBC
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
150 hp
320 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
2.0 TDI CRBC
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
150 hp
320 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1285 kg
8.7 s
216 km/h
5.0 l/100km
3.7 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
108 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1436 kg
8.9 s
218 km/h
5.1 l/100km
3.7 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
106 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1295 kg
8.4 s
213 km/h
5.4 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
119 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
dual clutch - 6 gears
1454 kg
8.9 s
216 km/h
5.4 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
110 g/km

Expenses

9000 EUR
Price from
7300 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 5-door wagon 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

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 it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Golf offers a considerable difference of 12% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as Volkswagen, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed A3 as average reliability-wise, and Golf is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as these two vehicles rank it on average as 4.6 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 216 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (67 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 significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. Fuel consumption is more or less the same. It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say 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, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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