Compare the2023 Audi A5 SportbackVS 2023 Tesla Model 3

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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The A5 Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Model 3 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

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 Model 3 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 Model 3.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A5 Sportback’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model 3 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

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 Model 3 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.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the A5 Sportback’s optional Rear Cross-Traffic Assist uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The A5 Sportback has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the A5 Sportback and the Model 3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A5 Sportback is safer than the Tesla Model 3:

	A5 Sportback	Model 3
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	333	384

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

There are almost 2 times as many Audi dealers as there are Tesla dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the A5 Sportback’s warranty.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Tesla vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 13 places higher in reliability than Tesla.

Transmission

The A5 Sportback’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 Model 3 doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

The A5 Sportback stops much shorter than the Model 3:

	A5 Sportback	Model 3
70 to 0 MPH	159 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A5 Sportback has larger standard tires than the Model 3 (245/40R18 vs. 235/45R18). The A5 Sportback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Model 3 (255/35R19 vs. 235/45R18).

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 Model 3’s standard 45 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 Model 3; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The A5 Sportback has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the A5 Sportback flat and controlled during cornering. The Model 3’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The A5 Sportback offers an available 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 Model 3’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The A5 Sportback Prestige handles at .94 G’s, while the Model 3 pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A5 Sportback’s available liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Model 3 doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

A Service Interval Display is standard on the A5 Sportback to save the owner time and money by calculating maintenance intervals for oil changes and vehicle inspections based on odometer mileage. This takes the guesswork out of keeping your vehicle in top condition and helps it last longer. Tesla doesn’t offer a maintenance reminder on the Model 3.

Ergonomics

The A5 Sportback Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning 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 Model 3 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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 Model 3 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 Model 3 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A5 Sportback’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model 3 doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A5 Sportback has standard extendable sun visors. The Model 3 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the A5 Sportback Premium Plus/Prestige keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Model 3 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Model Availability

The Audi A5 comes in coupe, convertible and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Tesla Model 3 isn’t available as a coupe or convertible.