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

compare selected cars
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
4 x 4
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
4 x 4

Dimensons & Outlines

4541 mm
1728 mm
1465 mm
470 liters
1384 liters
62 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4586 mm
1772 mm
1427 mm
442 liters
1184 liters
70 liters
2004 Mercedes Benz C Combi
2004 Audi A4 Avant

Engine

Mercedes Benz
3.2 V6 M112 E32
Petrol
6 - Inline, 3 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
3199 cc
218 hp
310 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
3.2 FSI
Petrol
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
3123 cc
256 hp
330 Nm

Performance (manual 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
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1590 kg
6.6 s
250 km/h
15.5 l/100km
7.9 l/100km
10.7 l/100km
257 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 5 gears
1720 kg
8.3 s
235 km/h
16.4 l/100km
8.5 l/100km
10.9 l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 6 gears
1585 kg
7.1 s
247 km/h
15.4 l/100km
7.9 l/100km
10.7 l/100km
257 g/km

Expenses

2800 EUR
Price from
2800 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

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 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.

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 Mercedes Benz being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. 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, Mercedes Benz C offers a marginal difference of 8% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, 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. Some independent research have also placed 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.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 15km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 10.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (26 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

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 much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. From there things take a different direction, with Audi outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. 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 Audi. 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, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

Related articles

author: AutoManiac date: 2016-06-03

I'm unsure whether it's the same taxi driver that hunts me all the time, or there are so many of them operating the C class 200/220 CDI variants. Either way, every time the story goes in the same direction. Usually, it's me thrilled by the comfort of a Mercedes more than 10 years old...

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