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 5-door wagon 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

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 Alfa Romeo 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, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a considerable difference of 10% 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, all the models observed together. 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. Independent research findings rank 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, 2km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Italian car, averaging around 11.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (25 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 21% 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 this case though, it seems that both cars show similar levels of passenger protection all together, so that won't break a tie. But one thing that actually could is the performance, 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... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Alfa Romeo. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. 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.