Compare the2024 Audi A4VS 2023 Hyundai Sonata

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Hyundai Sonata 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 Sonata doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A4 and Sonata 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 Sonata’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 Sonata 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 Sonata 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 Sonata 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.

The A4 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Sonata doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Sonata doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the A4 and the Sonata have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A4 is safer than the Hyundai Sonata:

	A4	Sonata
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	219 lbs.	305 lbs.
Hip Force	308 lbs.	498 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	277	301
Spine Acceleration	56 G’s	72 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	20 inches

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

Warranty

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

Reliability

The Audi A4’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Sonata’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 Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 7 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

Engine

The A4 has more powerful engines than the Sonata:

	Horsepower	Torque
A4 40 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	201 HP	236 lbs.-ft.
A4 45 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	261 HP	273 lbs.-ft.
Sonata SEL Plus/Limited 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder	180 HP	195 lbs.-ft.
Sonata 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	191 HP	181 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Car and Driver the A4 45 TFSI is faster than the Sonata N Line 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder:

	A4	Sonata
Zero to 60 MPH	4.8 sec	5 sec
Quarter Mile	13.5 sec	13.6 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A4 40 TFSI gets better fuel mileage than the Sonata N Line 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder (26 city/35 hwy vs. 23 city/33 hwy).

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. Hyundai only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the Sonata SE.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A4’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Sonata:

	A4	Sonata
Front Rotors	12.4 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	11.8 inches	11.2 inches

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

The A4 stops much shorter than the Sonata:

	A4	Sonata
70 to 0 MPH	149 feet	152 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	105 feet	126 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4 has larger standard tires than the Sonata (225/50R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The A4’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sonata SE’s standard 65 series tires. The A4’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Sonata SEL Plus/N Line’s 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Sonata SE.

Suspension and Handling

The A4’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Sonata’s (60% to 40%). This gives the A4 more stable handling and braking.

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .97 G’s, while the Sonata Limited pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Sonata SEL Plus (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 27 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

Chassis

The A4 is 5.4 inches shorter than the Sonata, making the A4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

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

Towing

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

Servicing Ease

The engine in the A4 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Sonata. 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 Hyundai. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 34% lower rating, Hyundai is ranked 29th.

Ergonomics

The A4’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 Sonata’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the Sonata SEL/SEL Plus/Limited/N Line’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

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 Sonata 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 Sonata’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 A4 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Sonata 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 Sonata doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the A4 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Sonata doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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

The A4’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 Sonata offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The A4 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats are only available on the Sonata SEL/SEL Plus/Limited/N Line. The A4 Prestige also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Sonata.

The A4 has a 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. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sonata SEL/SEL Plus/Limited/N Line.

Both the A4 and the Sonata offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A4 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Sonata doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the A4 is less expensive to operate than the Sonata because typical repairs cost much less on the A4 than the Sonata, including $224 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

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