Compare the2022 Audi A3VS 2021 Volkswagen Jetta

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 Jetta doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Jetta 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 Jetta’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 A3 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Jetta doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

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

The A3’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Jetta’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

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

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the A3’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the Jetta’s camshafts. If the Jetta’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

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.

The A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 54 more horsepower (201 vs. 147) and 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 184) than the Jetta’s 1.4 turbo 4-cylinder.

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

The A3 Quattro’s standard fuel tank has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Jetta (14.5 vs. 13.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A3 higher (7 out of 10) than the Volkswagen Jetta (5 to 7). This means the A3 produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Jetta every 15,000 miles.

The Audi A3 comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Jetta.

The A3 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Jetta doesn’t offer an SMG.

For better traction, the A3 has larger tires than the Jetta (225/45R17 vs. 205/60R16).

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 Jetta’s standard 60 series tires. The A3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Jetta R-Line/SEL Premium’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A3 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Jetta. The A3’s optional 18-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels on the Jetta R-Line/SEL Premium.

For superior ride and handling, the Audi A3 has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Volkswagen Jetta has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The A3 is 8.1 inches shorter than the Jetta, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A3. The Jetta doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

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 Jetta doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Jetta’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The A3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Volkswagen charges extra for heated mirrors on the Jetta.

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 Jetta 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 Jetta SE/R-Line/SEL/SEL Premium.

Both the A3 and the Jetta 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 Jetta doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

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 Jetta doesn’t offer an automated parking system.