Compare the2022 Audi A4VS 2022 Volkswagen GTI

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 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 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, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

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 137 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GTI has not been tested, yet.

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

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 A4 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 20 more horsepower (261 vs. 241) 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):

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

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

The A4 has a tether attaching its gas cap to prevent its loss. The GTI’s gas cap isn’t tethered, so it can be left at a gas station if the driver forgets to screw the cap back in.

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

The A4 stops much shorter than the GTI:

For better traction, the A4’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the GTI (245/40R18 vs. 235/35R19).

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 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.6 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 (60.9% to 39.1%). This gives the A4 more stable handling and braking.

The design of the Audi A4 amounts to more than styling. The A4 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .28 Cd. That is lower than the GTI (.31) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A4 get better fuel mileage.

The A4 has .1 inches more front legroom, .7 inches more rear legroom and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the GTI.

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.

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

The A4 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The GTI uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

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.

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.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A4 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The GTI doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

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 has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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.

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

The Audi A4/S4 outsold the Volkswagen Golf/GTI by 40% during the 2021 model year.