Compare the2023 Audi A5 SportbackVS 2023 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A5 Sportback 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 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

Both the A5 Sportback and 4 Series Gran Coupe have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A5 Sportback 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 4 Series Gran Coupe’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 A5 Sportback 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. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A5 Sportback. But it costs extra on the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

The A5 Sportback 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 4 Series Gran Coupe 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 A5 Sportback and 4 Series Gran Coupe offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A5 Sportback has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A5 Sportback and the 4 Series Gran Coupe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and available blind spot warning systems.

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 A5 Sportback the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The 4 Series Gran Coupe has not been tested, yet.

The Audi A5 Sportback’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the 4 Series Gran Coupe’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 6 more horsepower (261 vs. 255) than the 430i Gran Coupe’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Sportback gets better mileage than the 4 Series Gran Coupe:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Audi A5 Sportback uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The 4 Series Gran Coupe requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The A5 Sportback 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 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the A5 Sportback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 4 Series Gran Coupe (255/35R19 vs. 245/40R19).

The A5 Sportback’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 4 Series Gran Coupe’s 45 series tires. The A5 Sportback’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the 4 Series Gran Coupe’s optional 40 series tires.

The A5 Sportback has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the 4 Series Gran Coupe; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the 4 Series Gran Coupe don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For better maneuverability, the A5 Sportback’s turning circle is 1 foot tighter than the 4 Series Gran Coupe’s (38.4 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the A5 Sportback a Mid-size car, while the 4 Series Gran Coupe is rated a Compact.

The A5 Sportback has .5 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, .2 inches more rear legroom and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

The A5 Sportback has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the 4 Series Gran Coupe (21.8 vs. 12 cubic feet).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A5 Sportback to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A5 Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A5 Sportback has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the 4 Series Gran Coupe. The A5 Sportback Prestige also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

Insurance will cost less for the A5 Sportback owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the A5 Sportback will cost $1960 less than the 4 Series Gran Coupe over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Audi A5 Sportback will be $1733 to $2548 less than for the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe.