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 small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door wagon body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a Isuzu-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 65hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 90hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

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 small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Audi A3 offers a marginal difference of 3% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Opel does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Opel, as well as Audi, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Astra as average reliability-wise, and A3 is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as Astra rank it on average as 3.8, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.3 out of 5.

Audi is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 5.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 181 kilometers per hour, 23km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Audi A3, averaging around 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (58 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 24% difference compared to Astra.

Opel 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 A3 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same 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! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but 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. 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 thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.