Compare the2022 Audi A3VS 2021 Nissan Altima

The A3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Altima doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Altima have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A3 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 Altima’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.

Both the A3 and the Altima have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front-wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all-wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The A3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Altima’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Altima’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi A3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Altima’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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 Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Audi 20th in reliability. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 21st.

The A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 19 more horsepower (201 vs. 182) and 43 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 178) than the Altima’s optional 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder. The A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 13 more horsepower (201 vs. 188) and 41 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 180) than the Altima’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the A3 gets better mileage than the Altima:

Regenerative brakes improve the A3’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Altima doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

For better traction, the A3 has larger tires than the Altima (225/45R17 vs. 215/60R16).

The A3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Altima S’ standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A3 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Altima S.

The A3 is 1 foot, 3.9 inches shorter than the Altima, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A3 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed 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 Altima doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A3’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Altima’s parking brake has to released manually.

The A3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Altima’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

The A3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Altima and aren’t offered on the Altima S.

The A3’s optional rear and 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 Altima offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The A3 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 Altima SL/Platinum.

Both the A3 and the Altima offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A3 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Altima doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi A3 offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Altima doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The A3’s optional Park Steering Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Altima doesn’t offer an automated parking system.