Compare the2023 Audi A4 AllroadVS 2022 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
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 Allroad 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 Allroad are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable front seat belts.

Both the A4 Allroad and Terrain have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 Allroad 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 Terrain’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 Allroad 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 Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The A4 Allroad 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 Terrain doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The A4 Allroad has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Terrain doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A4 Allroad. But it costs extra on the Terrain.

Both the A4 Allroad and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A4 Allroad is safer than the GMC Terrain:

	A4 Allroad	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	1.1 inches	1.1 inches
Hip Force	308 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	277	288
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	13 inches
HIC	333	377
Hip Force	666 lbs.	730 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 Allroad the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 155 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Terrain last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The A4 Allroad comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Terrain’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A4 Allroad’s corrosion warranty is 6 years and unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (12/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Reliability

The Audi A4 Allroad’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Terrain’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

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 Allroad’s reliability 19 points higher than the Terrain.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 2 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The A4 Allroad’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 91 more horsepower (261 vs. 170) and 70 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Transmission

The A4 Allroad 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 Terrain doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A4 Allroad’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Terrain doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A4 Allroad’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Terrain:

	A4 Allroad	Terrain
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	11.3 inches

The A4 Allroad’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Terrain are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4 Allroad has larger tires than the Terrain (245/45R18 vs. 225/65R17). The A4 Allroad’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (245/45R18 vs. 235/50R19).

The A4 Allroad’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Terrain SLE/AT4’s standard 65 series tires. The A4 Allroad’s tires are lower profile than the Terrain’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 Allroad has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4.

Suspension and Handling

The A4 Allroad has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the A4 Allroad flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The A4 Allroad has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A4 Allroad’s wheelbase is 3.6 inches longer than on the Terrain (110.9 inches vs. 107.3 inches).

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus handles at .81 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A4 Allroad Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Terrain Denali AWD (26.3 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

Cargo Capacity

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

Towing

The A4 Allroad’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Terrain’s (3968 vs. 1500 pounds).

Servicing Ease

The A4 Allroad uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain 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 Allroad is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Terrain. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than GMC. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 12% lower rating, GMC is ranked 15th.

Ergonomics

The A4 Allroad’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Terrain’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the A4 Allroad 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 Terrain can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A4 Allroad has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The Terrain doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The A4 Allroad’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 Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A4 Allroad to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Terrain doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

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 Allroad’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Terrain’s headlights are rated “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 Allroad Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Terrain doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the A4 Allroad has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Terrain doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The A4 Allroad 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 costs extra on the Terrain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A4 Allroad, based on reliability, safety and performance. The GMC Terrain isn't recommended.