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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
2.5 TDI BCZ
Diesel
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
2496 cc
163 hp
310 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
6 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
2926 cc
184 hp
390 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1480 kg
8.9 s
227 km/h
9.7 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.8 l/100km
184 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1495 kg
7.8 s
227 km/h
9.2 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.7 l/100km
178 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

cvt - gears
1510 kg
8.9 s
219 km/h
9.0 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
6.8 l/100km
184 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 5 gears
1510 kg
8.2 s
227 km/h
11.1 l/100km
6.2 l/100km
8.0 l/100km
213 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 6-cylinder, 24-valves 163hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 184hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), 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 that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, 3 Series offers a marginal difference of 1% 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, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, 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.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Audi A4 rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 227 kilometers per hour, exactly the same as the other car does. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (42 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, 3 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but BMW. 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, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

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