Compare the2024 Audi A5VS 2024 Ford Mustang

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 Ford Mustang 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 Mustang 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 Mustang doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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

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 Mustang only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the A5 and the Mustang have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 rear cross-path warning.

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 Mustang has not been tested, yet.

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 Mustang’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 Mustang’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi A5’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Mustang’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 Ford vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 12 places higher in reliability than Ford.

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

			MPG
A5 Coupe
	Auto	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
Mustang Fastback
	Manual	GT 5.0 V8	14 city/23 hwy
		Dark Horse 5.0 V8	14 city/22 hwy
	Auto	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/33 hwy
		Performance 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		5.0 V8	15 city/24 hwy
		Dark Horse 5.0 V8	14 city/22 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Cabriolet gets better mileage than the Mustang Convertible:

			MPG
A5 Cabriolet
	Auto	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/33 hwy
Mustang Convertible
	Manual	GT 5.0 V8	14 city/23 hwy
		Dark Horse 5.0 V8	14 city/22 hwy
	Auto	2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/33 hwy
		Performance 2.3 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		5.0 V8	15 city/24 hwy
		Dark Horse 5.0 V8	14 city/22 hwy

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

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 Mustang 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 Ford Mustang is not available with all wheel drive.

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

	A5	Mustang
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	12.6 inches

For better traction, the A5 has larger standard tires than the Mustang (245/40R18 vs. 235/55R17).

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 Mustang EcoBoost’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A5 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Mustang EcoBoost.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A5’s wheelbase is 1.8 inches longer than on the Mustang (108.8 inches vs. 107 inches).

The A5 is 4.5 inches shorter than the Mustang, making the A5 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces. The A5 is 4.8 inches shorter than the Mustang Dark Horse.

The A5 Coupe has 1.2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Mustang Fastback (84 vs. 82.8). The A5 Cabriolet has 3.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Mustang Convertible (83 vs. 79.2).

The A5 Coupe has 1.3 inches more rear headroom and 3.7 inches more rear legroom than the Mustang Fastback.

The A5 Convertible has .7 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more rear headroom, 3.9 inches more rear legroom and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Mustang Convertible.

The A5’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The Mustang doesn’t offer folding rear seats.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the A5’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Mustang 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 Mustang doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Ford. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 27% lower rating, Ford is ranked 22nd.

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 Mustang doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The A5’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 Mustang’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

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 Mustang 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 Mustang’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

The A5’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Ford only offers heated mirrors on the Mustang Premium.

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

The A5 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Mustang. 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 Mustang.

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 is only available on the Mustang Premium/Dark Horse.

The A5 Coupe has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Mustang doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The A5 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 costs extra on the Mustang.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the A5 has standard rear a/c vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The Mustang doesn’t offer rear vents.

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 Mustang doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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