Compare the2024 Audi A5VS 2023 BMW 2 Series

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A5 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 BMW 2 Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 2 Series doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

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 2 Series doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A5. But it costs extra on the 2 Series.

Both the A5 and 2 Series 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 2 Series’ Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A5 and the 2 Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, plastic fuel tanks, 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 around view monitors.

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 2 Series has not been tested, yet.

The Audi A5’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the 2 Series’ 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 2 Series.

The A5’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 6 more horsepower (261 vs. 255) than the 230i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Coupe gets better mileage than the 2 Series:

Regenerative brakes improve the A5’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The 2 Series doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Audi A5 uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The 2 Series requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The A5 has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the 2 Series (15.3 vs. 13.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A5 higher (5 out of 10) than the BMW 2 Series (3 to 5). This means the A5 produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the 2 Series every 15,000 miles.

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 2 Series doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the A5’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the 2 Series:

For better traction, the A5 has larger standard tires than the 2 Series (245/40R18 vs. 225/45R18). The A5 Premium Plus/Prestige’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 2 Series (255/35R19 vs. 245/35R19).

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 230i’s standard 45 series 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 2 Series; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the 2 Series don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

The A5 Coupe has 1.4 inches more rear headroom and .5 inches more rear legroom than the 2 Series Coupe.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the A5’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The 2 Series doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

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 2 Series doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The A5’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. BMW does not offer a locking feature on the 2 Series’ standard power windows.

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 2 Series 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 2 Series’ 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 2 Series doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A5 Coupe has standard extendable sun visors. The 2 Series doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The A5 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the 2 Series. The A5 Premium Plus/Prestige also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the 2 Series.

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 2 Series doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The A5 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 2 Series.

The Audi A5 comes in coupe, convertible and four door hatchback bodystyles; the BMW 2 Series isn’t available as a convertible or four door.

The Audi A5/S5 outsold the BMW 2 Series by 59% during 2022.