Compare the2024 Audi A5VS 2024 Nissan Z

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission and Drivetrain
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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The A5’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Z doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The Audi A5 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 Z doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The A5 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 Z doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The A5 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 Z 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 A5 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Z doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A5’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Z doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The A5 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Z only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the A5 and Z offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A5 with Rear Cross-Traffic Assist also has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Z’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A5 and the Z have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available 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 A5 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Z has not been tested, yet.

Warranty

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

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

Reliability

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

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 A5’s reliability 45 points higher than the Z.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 9 places higher in reliability than Nissan.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Coupe gets better mileage than the Z:

			MPG
A5 Coupe
	Auto	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
Z
	Manual	3.0 turbo V6	18 city/24 hwy
	Auto	3.0 turbo V6	19 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the A5’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Z doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the A5’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 Z doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

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

Transmission and Drivetrain

The A5 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 Z doesn’t offer an SMG.

All wheel drive, available in the A5, provides the best traction for acceleration in wet, dry, and icy conditions. In corners, all wheel drive allows both outside wheels to provide power, balancing the car. This allows for better handling. The Nissan Z is not available with all wheel drive.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A5’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Z:

	A5	Z
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	12.1 inches

Tires and Wheels

The A5’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 Z Sport’s standard 45 series tires. The A5 Premium Plus/Prestige’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Z Performance’s 40 series front tires.

The A5 has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Z; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The A5 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Z’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A5’s wheelbase is 8.4 inches longer than on the Z (108.8 inches vs. 100.4 inches).

Passenger Space

The A5 has standard seating for 4 passengers; the Z can only carry 2.

The A5 Coupe has 32.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Z (84 vs. 51.4).

Cargo Capacity

The A5 Coupe has a much larger trunk than the Z (10.9 vs. 6.9 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the A5 easier. The A5’s trunk lift-over height is 28.5 inches, while the Z’s liftover is 36.5 inches.

With its coupe body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A5 offers cargo security. The Z’s hatchback body style and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A5’s available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Z doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

The A5 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Z 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 Nissan. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 16% lower rating, Nissan is ranked 18th.

Ergonomics

The A5 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Z doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

When two different drivers share the A5, the optional memory system makes it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position, suspension setting and outside mirror angle. The Z doesn’t offer a memory system.

The A5 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 Z doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A5’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Z has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The power windows standard on both the A5 and the Z have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the A5 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Z prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

If the windows are left open on the A5 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. The driver of the Z can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A5’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 Z’s 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 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Z doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, standard on the A5 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Z’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

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 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Z doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the A5 Premium Plus/Prestige has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Z doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The A5’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Z Performance/NISMO.

When the A5 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 Z’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

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

Optional air-conditioned seats in the A5 Premium Plus/Prestige keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Z doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the A5’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Z doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The A5’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 Z doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi A5 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Z doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The A5 Prestige’s Park Steering Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Z doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

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

Recommendations

The Audi A5/S5 outsold the Nissan Z by almost 70 to one during 2022.