Compare the2024 Audi A5 SportbackVS 2023 Volkswagen Arteon

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A5 Sportback 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 Volkswagen Arteon doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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

Both the A5 Sportback and Arteon have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A5 Sportback 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 Arteon’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 A5 Sportback 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. The Arteon doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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

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

Both the A5 Sportback and the Arteon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The A5 Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Arteon’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

The battery on the A5 Sportback is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the A5 Sportback’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Arteon’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Volkswagen vehicles. With 28 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 17 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Sportback gets better mileage than the Arteon:

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

The A5 Sportback’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Arteon doesn’t offer launch control.

The A5 Sportback stops much shorter than the Arteon:

For better traction, the A5 Sportback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Arteon (255/35R19 vs. 245/45R18).

The A5 Sportback’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 Arteon’s standard 45 series tires.

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

The A5 Sportback Prestige handles at .94 G’s, while the Arteon SE R-Line 4Motion pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the A5 Sportback’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (38.4 feet vs. 39 feet).

The A5 Sportback is 4.3 inches shorter than the Arteon, making the A5 Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The engine in the A5 Sportback is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Arteon. 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 Volkswagen. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 32% lower rating, Volkswagen is ranked 28th.

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

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A5 Sportback to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Arteon doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, standard on the A5 Sportback Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Arteon’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 Sportback has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Arteon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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

The Audi A5/S5 outsold the Volkswagen Arteon by almost 11 to one during 2022.