Compare the2024 Audi A4VS 2023 Genesis G70

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 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 Genesis G70 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The A4’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The G70 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A4 and G70 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 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 G70’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 A4 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 G70 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The A4 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. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The G70 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The A4 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 G70 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 A4. But it costs extra on the G70.

Both the A4 and the G70 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 blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The A4’s corrosion warranty is 5 years longer than the G70’s (12 vs. 7 years).

The Audi A4’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the G70’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Genesis vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 6 places higher in reliability than Genesis.

The A4 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 9 more horsepower (261 vs. 252) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (273 vs. 260) than the G70 2.0T’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the A4 45 TFSI is faster than the G70 2.0T 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the A4 gets better mileage than the G70:

Regardless of its engine, the A4’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Genesis only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the G70 2.0T.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A4 higher (5 out of 10) than the Genesis G70 (3). This means the A4 produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the G70 every 15,000 miles.

The A4 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 G70 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A4’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs standard on the G70 2.0T are solid, not vented.

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The A4 has a standard brake assist system to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The G70 doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

The A4 stops much shorter than the G70:

For better traction, the A4’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the G70 (245/40R18 vs. 225/40R19).

The A4’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the G70’s 40 series front tires.

The A4 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The G70’s suspension doesn’t offer rear gas-charged shocks.

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .97 G’s, while the G70 pulls only .94 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the G70 Sport Advanced (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 26 seconds @ .68 average G’s).

The A4 has .5 inches more rear headroom and .9 inches more rear legroom than the G70.

The A4 has a much larger trunk than the G70 (12 vs. 10.5 cubic feet).

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A4 offers cargo security. The G70’s non-lockable folding seat and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

The A4 has a 3968 lbs. towing capacity. The G70 has no towing capacity.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Genesis. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 29% lower rating, Genesis is ranked 23rd.

If the windows are left open on the A4 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 G70 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A4’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 G70’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A4 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The G70 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 A4 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The G70 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A4 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The G70 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The A4 Prestige’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The G70 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A4 and the Genesis G70, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Audi A4/S4 outsold the Genesis G70 by 20% during 2022.