Compare the2022 Audi A4VS 2021 Volkswagen GTI

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Volkswagen GTI doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The A4’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The GTI doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A4 and GTI 4dr have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The GTI’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi A4 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GTI doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The A4 has a standard Audi Backguard System, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Audi Backguard System moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The GTI doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The A4 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The GTI doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The GTI doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The A4 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The GTI only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the A4 and the GTI have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi A4 is safer than the Volkswagen GTI:

	A4	GTI
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	25%	37%
Neck Stress	119 lbs.	174 lbs.
Neck Compression	47 lbs.	62 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A4 is safer than the Volkswagen GTI:

	A4	GTI
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
Hip Force	666 lbs.	834 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A4 the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GTI last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2019.

Warranty

The A4’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the GTI’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the A4’s reliability 57 points higher than the GTI.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Audi 20th in reliability. With 36 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 10 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

Engine

The A4 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 33 more horsepower (261 vs. 228) and 15 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 258) than the GTI’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the A4 45 TFSI is faster than the Volkswagen GTI (automatics tested):

	A4	GTI
Zero to 60 MPH	4.8 sec	5.6 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	12.9 sec	14.3 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	5.6 sec	6.5 sec
Quarter Mile	13.5 sec	14.3 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	102 MPH	100 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A4 gets better mileage than the GTI:

			MPG
A4
	AWD	40 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	26 city/34 hwy
GTI
	Manual	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
	Auto	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/32 hwy

Both the A4 and the GTI Automatic have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All A4s have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The A4 has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the GTI (15.3 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

The Audi A4 comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the GTI.

Brakes and Stopping

The A4 stops much shorter than the GTI:

	A4	GTI
70 to 0 MPH	149 feet	163 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	105 feet	129 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GTI (245/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The A4’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the GTI’s 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 offers optional 19-inch wheels. The GTI’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The A4 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The GTI’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A4’s wheelbase is 7.4 inches longer than on the GTI (111 inches vs. 103.6 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the A4 is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than on the GTI.

The A4’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the GTI’s (60.4% to 39.6%). This gives the A4 more stable handling and braking.

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .97 G’s, while the GTI SE pulls only .91 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GTI (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 26.1 seconds @ .69 average G’s).

Chassis

The design of the Audi A4 amounts to more than styling. The A4 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .28 Cd. That is significantly lower than the GTI (.33) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A4 get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

The A4 has .1 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the GTI.

Cargo Capacity

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A4 offers cargo security. The GTI’s hatchback body style, non-lockable folding seat and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A4. The GTI doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A4’s available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The GTI doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

The A4 has a 3968 lbs. towing capacity. The GTI has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the A4 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the GTI. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the A4, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The GTI doesn’t offer a memory system.

The A4 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The GTI doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A4’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The GTI has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

If the windows are left open on the A4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the GTI can’t use the remote to operate the windows.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The A4’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the GTI’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The GTI doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A4 has standard extendable sun visors. The GTI doesn’t offer extendable visors.

When the A4 with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The GTI’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The A4’s standard rear view mirror and optional side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The GTI offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the A4 and the GTI have standard heated front seats. The A4 Prestige also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the GTI.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the A4 (except Premium) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The GTI doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the A4’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The GTI doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The A4 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the GTI Autobahn.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi A4 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The GTI doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A4, based on reliability, safety and performance.