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

compare selected cars
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2005. - 2008.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4586 mm
1772 mm
1427 mm
460 liters
720 liters
70 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4520 mm
1817 mm
1421 mm
460 liters
460 liters
61 liters
2004 Audi A4
2005 BMW 3 Series

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TDI BKD
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
140 hp
310 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
143 hp
320 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1430 kg
9.7 s
212 km/h
7.8 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
5.7 l/100km
153 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1405 kg
9.3 s
210 km/h
5.7 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.7 l/100km
123 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

cvt - gears
1470 kg
9.8 s
206 km/h
7.6 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.1 l/100km
165 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Expenses

2500 EUR
Price from
6500 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, 16-valves 140hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 143hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

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 BMW being a slightly better choice apparently. 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, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Audi A4 offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, 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 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.1 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 210 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 3 Series, averaging around 4.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (60 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 21% difference compared to Audi A4.


Verdict

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, 3 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. 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, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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