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Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion

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

compare selected cars
2005. - 2009.
F - Executive car
sedan, 4 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2007. - 2010.
F - Executive car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

5076 mm
1871 mm
1473 mm
560 liters
560 liters
90 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
5062 mm
1897 mm
1424 mm
500 liters
500 liters
90 liters
2005 Mercedes Benz S
2007 Audi A8 S8

Engine

Mercedes Benz
5.5 M273 E55
Petrol
8 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
5461 cc
388 hp
530 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
5.2 FSI BSM
Petrol
10 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
5204 cc
450 hp
540 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
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 7 gears
1840 kg
5.4 s
250 km/h
17.4 l/100km
8.5 l/100km
11.7 l/100km
279 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 6 gears
1940 kg
5.1 s
250 km/h
19.7 l/100km
9.7 l/100km
13.4 l/100km
319 g/km

Expenses

8400 EUR
Price from
10000 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 petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Executive car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Mercedes Benz and 4 x 4 in the case of the Audi). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 8-cylinder, 32-valves 388hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 10-cylinder, 40-valves 450hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

Unfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the executive car segment, which is generally a fortune 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 A8 offers a marginal difference of 5% 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, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Mercedes Benz with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Audi badge with 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place S as average reliability-wise, and A8 is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Mercedes Benz S rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Audi is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, exactly the same as the other car does. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Mercedes Benz S, averaging around 11.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (24 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 15% difference compared to Audi A8.


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, Audi A8 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Audi offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. 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 Mercedes Benz. 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 thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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