Compare the2023 Audi A6 AllroadVS 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A6 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 Jeep Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The A6 Allroad’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A6 Allroad and Grand Cherokee have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A6 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 Grand Cherokee’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 A6 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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The A6 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 Grand Cherokee 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 A6 Allroad. But it costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

Both the A6 Allroad and Grand Cherokee offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A6 Allroad has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Grand Cherokee’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A6 Allroad and the Grand Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 night vision systems and 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 standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A6 Allroad its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Grand Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

The A6 Allroad comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Grand Cherokee’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A6 Allroad’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Grand Cherokee’s (12 vs. 5 years).

For smoother operation, better efficiency and fewer moving parts, the A6 Allroad has an overhead cam design, rather than the old pushrod design of the 5.7 V8 in the Grand Cherokee.

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 A6 Allroad’s reliability 23 points higher than the Grand Cherokee.

The A6 Allroad’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 42 more horsepower (335 vs. 293) and 109 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 260) than the Grand Cherokee’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi A6 Allroad is faster than the Jeep Grand Cherokee V6:

On the EPA test cycle the A6 Allroad gets better mileage than the Grand Cherokee running its gasoline engine:

Both the A6 Allroad and the Grand Cherokee V6/4xe have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All A6 Allroads have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. A disable switch for start/stop is only offered on the Grand Cherokee V6.

The A6 Allroad has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Grand Cherokee. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

The A6 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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A6 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 Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the A6 Allroad’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Grand Cherokee:

The A6 Allroad stops much shorter than the Grand Cherokee:

The A6 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 Grand Cherokee Laredo’s standard 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A6 Allroad has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Grand Cherokee Laredo.

The front and rear suspension of the A6 Allroad uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Grand Cherokee, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The A6 Allroad Prestige handles at .83 G’s, while the Grand Cherokee 4x4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A6 Allroad Prestige executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 (26.5 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

The A6 Allroad is 11.9 inches shorter in height than the Grand Cherokee, making the A6 Allroad much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The design of the Audi A6 Allroad amounts to more than styling. The A6 Allroad has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Grand Cherokee (.357) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A6 Allroad get better fuel mileage.

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A6 Allroad easier. The A6 Allroad’s trunk lift-over height is 27 inches, while the Grand Cherokee’s liftover is 33 inches.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the A6 Allroad’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Jeep. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 31% lower rating, Jeep is ranked 26th.

The A6 Allroad’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Grand Cherokee’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the A6 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 Grand Cherokee can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A6 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 Grand Cherokee’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A6 Allroad has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Grand Cherokee doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A6 Allroad has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi A6 Allroad has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Grand Cherokee.

The A6 Allroad Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Grand Cherokee Summit’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A6 Allroad, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Jeep Grand Cherokee isn't recommended.