Compare the2024 Audi A3VS 2024 Toyota Corolla

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

Safety

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The A3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Corolla doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Corolla have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A3 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 Corolla’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 A3 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 Corolla doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The A3 offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Corolla doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the A3 and Corolla offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A3 with Rear Cross-Traffic Assist also has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Corolla’s Rear Cross-Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A3 and the Corolla have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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 parking sensors.

Warranty

The A3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Corolla’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Corolla’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

The Audi A3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Corolla’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the A3 first among small premium cars in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Corolla isn’t in the top three in its category.

Engine

The A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 32 more horsepower (201 vs. 169) and 70 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 151) than the Corolla’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi A3 is faster than the Toyota Corolla:

	A3	Corolla
Zero to 60 MPH	6 sec	8.2 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	16.1 sec	22.8 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	6.8 sec	8.8 sec
Quarter Mile	14.6 sec	16.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	95 MPH	87 MPH
Top Speed	127 MPH	118 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

Regenerative brakes improve the A3’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Corolla doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the A3’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 Corolla doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The A3 Quattro’s standard fuel tank has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla (14.5 vs. 13.2 gallons).

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla:

	A3	Corolla
Front Rotors	12 inches	10.8 inches
Rear Rotors	10.7 inches	10.2 inches

The A3 stops much shorter than the Corolla:

	A3	Corolla
60 to 0 MPH	120 feet	134 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	129 feet	143 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A3 has larger tires than the Corolla (225/45R17 vs. 205/55R16).

The A3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Corolla LE’s standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A3 has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Corolla LE.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Audi A3 has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Corolla LE has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The A3 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the A3 flat and controlled during cornering. The Corolla’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The A3 offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The Corolla’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The A3 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Corolla doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The A3 Premium Plus Quattro handles at .89 G’s, while the Corolla XSE pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A3 Premium Plus Quattro executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the Corolla XSE (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .58 average G’s).

Chassis

The A3 is 5.6 inches shorter than the Corolla, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Audi A3 amounts to more than styling. The A3 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is lower than the Corolla (.31) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A3 get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

The A3 has .8 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear legroom and 1.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla.

Cargo Capacity

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the A3’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Corolla’s useful trunk space.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the A3. The Corolla doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the A3 has a standard power trunk, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The Corolla doesn’t offer a power trunk.

Towing

The A3 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The Corolla has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The A3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Corolla 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 Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 20th.

Ergonomics

When different drivers share the A3, the optional memory seats and mirrors make it convenient. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Corolla doesn’t offer a memory system.

The A3 has standard Keyless Engine Start/Stop that allows you to start the engine without removing the key from the pocket or purse. The Smart Key System costs extra on the Corolla.

The A3’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 Corolla’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent. The Corolla SE/Nightshade/XSE’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A3 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Corolla doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Corolla.

When the A3 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 Corolla’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The A3’s optional rear and 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 Corolla doesn’t offer the luxury of automatic dimming mirrors.

The A3’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 Corolla doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the A3 and the Corolla offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A3 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Corolla doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The A3’s optional Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Corolla doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A3 and the Toyota Corolla, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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