Compare two cars

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
1998. - 2001.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
1998. - 2003.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4152 mm
1702 mm
1430 mm
350 liters
1205 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4149 mm
1735 mm
1444 mm
330 liters
1184 liters
55 liters
1998 Ford Focus
1998 Volkswagen Golf

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1796 cc
115 hp
158 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Audi / Volkswagen
1.8 5V
Petrol
4 - Inline, 5 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1781 cc
125 hp
173 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1125 kg
10.2 s
198 km/h
10.6 l/100km
6.3 l/100km
7.9 l/100km
181 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1123 kg
9.9 s
201 km/h
11.7 l/100km
6.3 l/100km
8.3 l/100km
199 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 - 4 gears
1147 kg
11.9 s
198 km/h
13.3 l/100km
6.8 l/100km
9.2 l/100km
221 g/km

Expenses

800 EUR
Price from
800 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 3-door hatchback body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Ford-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 115hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 20-valves 125hp engine designed by Audi.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), 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 American car offers a marginal difference of 1% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Ford does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Ford with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Volkswagen badge with 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Focus as average reliability-wise, and Golf is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the American car rank it on average as 4.6, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.8 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 201 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 8.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Ford 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 American car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Volkswagen offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Ford. 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. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

Check a car by its VIN number

Follow us

AutoManiac Instagram

AutoManiac Facebook

AutoManiac database currently covers:

47worldwide automotive brands
1.531different vehicle models
2.233engines
13.778specific cars