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

compare selected cars
2011. - 2015.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
4 x 4
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2012. - 2015.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4721 mm
1841 mm
1495 mm
490 liters
1430 liters
63 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4624 mm
1811 mm
1429 mm
495 liters
1500 liters
57 liters
2011 Audi A4 Allroad
2012 BMW 3 Series Touring

Engine

Volkswagen
2.0 TDI CRBC
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
150 hp
320 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
1605 kg
9.7 s
200 km/h
6.9 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
5.8 l/100km
152 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1450 kg
9.2 s
210 km/h
5.6 l/100km
3.9 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
119 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 8 gears
1470 kg
9.2 s
210 km/h
5.5 l/100km
4.0 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
119 g/km

Expenses

8300 EUR
Price from
7000 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 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 rear in the case of the BMW). The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 143hp 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 same number of safety stars gained in the process. 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, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Audi A4 offers a considerable difference of 11% 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.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Audi A4 rank it on average as 4.6, 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 0.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 210 kilometers per hour, 10km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 3 Series, averaging around 4.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (63 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 29% 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, Audi A4 offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the BMW. 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. 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, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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