Compare the2023 Audi A3VS 2023 Toyota Corolla

The A3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Corolla doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Corolla have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A3 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 Corolla’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 A3 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 Corolla doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The A3 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Corolla doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the A3 and Corolla offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A3 has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Corolla’s Rear Cross-Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A3 and the Corolla have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, 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, available blind spot warning systems and rear parking sensors.

The A3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Corolla’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Corolla’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi A3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Corolla’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 32 more horsepower (201 vs. 169) and 70 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 151) than the Corolla’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi A3 is faster than the Toyota Corolla:

Regenerative brakes improve the A3’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Corolla doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the A3’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Corolla doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The A3 Quattro’s standard fuel tank has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla (14.5 vs. 13.2 gallons).

For better stopping power the A3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla:

The A3 stops much shorter than the Corolla:

For better traction, the A3 has larger tires than the Corolla (225/45R17 vs. 205/55R16).

The A3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Corolla’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A3 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Corolla.

The A3 offers an optional 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 Corolla’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The A3 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Corolla doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The A3 Premium Plus Quattro handles at .89 G’s, while the Corolla XSE pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A3 Premium Plus Quattro executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Corolla XSE (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The A3 is 5.6 inches shorter than the Corolla, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A3 has .8 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear legroom and 1.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the A3’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Corolla’s useful trunk space.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A3. The Corolla doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the A3 has a standard power trunk, 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 Corolla doesn’t offer a power trunk.

The A3 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The Corolla has no towing capacity.

The A3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Corolla 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.

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.

When different drivers share the A3, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Corolla doesn’t offer a memory system.

The A3’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 Corolla’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A3 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Corolla doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Corolla.

When the A3 with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Corolla’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The A3’s optional rear and 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 Corolla doesn’t offer the luxury of automatic dimming mirrors.

The A3’s 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. The Corolla doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the A3 and the Corolla offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A3 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Corolla doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The A3’s optional Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Corolla doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A3 and the Toyota Corolla, based on reliability, safety and performance.