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 large family car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. 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 6-cylinder, 24-valves 260hp engine designed by Alfa Romeo.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Alfa Romeo being a slightly better choice apparently. 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, 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, the German car 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 Audi does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Audi, as well as Alfa Romeo, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place A4 30% below average, and 159 20% below the first one. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 10km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Italian car, averaging around 11.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (25 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 16% difference compared to the German car.

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, the Italian car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different 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 Alfa Romeo. 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. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.