Compare the2023 Audi A5 SportbackVS 2023 Toyota Crown

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 Crown doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A5 Sportback and Crown 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 Crown’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.

Both the A5 Sportback and the Crown 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, all wheel drive, 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, around view monitors 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 A5 Sportback the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 175 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Crown has not been tested, yet.

The A5 Sportback comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Crown’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A5 Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Crown’s (12 vs. 5 years).

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

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

A seven-speed automatic (SMG) is standard on the Audi A5 Sportback, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Crown.

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 Crown doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual 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 Crown doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Crown:

The A5 Sportback’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Crown are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the A5 Sportback has larger standard tires than the Crown (245/40R18 vs. 225/55R19). The A5 Sportback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Crown (255/35R19 vs. 225/55R19).

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 Crown’s standard 55 series tires. The A5 Sportback’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Crown’s optional 45 series tires.

The Audi A5 Sportback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 550 pounds less than the Toyota Crown.

The A5 Sportback is 8.9 inches shorter than the Crown, making the A5 Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the A5 Sportback has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Crown doesn’t offer a power trunk.

The A5 Sportback uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Crown 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 A5 Sportback is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Crown. 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 Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 20th.

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 Crown doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A5 Sportback’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 Crown’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Crown 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 Crown doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A5 Sportback’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 Crown has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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