Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door wagon body style within the same 'Large 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 Mazda). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 8-cylinder, 40-valves 344hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 166hp engine designed by Mazda.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. 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, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a considerable difference of 21% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Mazda as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Mazda badge with 4.4 out of 5. The same official information place A4 as average reliability-wise, and 6 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Audi is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 3.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 41km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Japanese car, averaging around 9.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (31 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 47% difference compared to the German car!

Audi 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 significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. 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 Mazda. 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.