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
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2005. - 2008.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4586 mm
1772 mm
1427 mm
442 liters
1184 liters
70 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4520 mm
1817 mm
1442 mm
460 liters
1385 liters
61 liters
2004 Audi A4 Avant
2005 BMW 3 Series Touring

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TFSI AXX
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1984 cc
200 hp
280 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1995 cc
170 hp
210 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1485 kg
7.6 s
235 km/h
11.0 l/100km
5.9 l/100km
7.8 l/100km
178 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
8.4 s
226 km/h
8.5 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
6.2 l/100km
148 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

cvt - gears
1510 kg
7.6 s
230 km/h
11.2 l/100km
6.3 l/100km
8.1 l/100km
194 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 6 gears
1435 kg
9.2 s
224 km/h
9.1 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.7 l/100km
160 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 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 (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 200hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by BMW.

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 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, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Audi A4 offers a marginal difference of 6% 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, all the models observed together. 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. Independent research findings rank 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 4.4, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.3 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.8 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 235 kilometers per hour, 9km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 3 Series, averaging around 6.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 26% 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. From there things take a different direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the BMW. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. 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.

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