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 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Mercedes Benz and front in the case of the Audi). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 18-valves 218hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 256hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

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 Mercedes Benz 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, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Audi A4 offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Mercedes Benz with an average rating of 4.3, and models under the Audi badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank C as average reliability-wise, and A4 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Mercedes Benz C rank it on average as 4.6, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.2 out of 5.

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.9 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 the winner has to be Audi A4, averaging around 9.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (30 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 17% difference compared to Mercedes Benz C.

Mercedes Benz 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, Mercedes Benz C offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Audi being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. 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 Audi. 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.