Compare the2024 Audi A7VS 2024 BMW 5 Series

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A7 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 5 Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi A7 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 5 Series doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the A7 and 5 Series have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A7 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 5 Series’ 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A7. But it costs extra on the 5 Series.

Both the A7 and the 5 Series 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, around view monitors 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 “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the A7 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The 5 Series has not been tested, yet.

The A7’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 80 more horsepower (335 vs. 255) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 295) than the 530i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

The A7 has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the 5 Series (19.3 vs. 15.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The A7 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The 5 Series doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The A7 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 5 Series doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the A7 has larger tires than the 5 Series (255/40R20 vs. 245/45R19). The A7’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 5 Series (255/40R20 vs. 245/40R20).

The A7’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 5 Series’ standard 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A7 has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the 5 Series.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the A7 is 1.1 inches wider in the front than on the 5 Series.

The A7 is 3.6 inches shorter than the 5 Series, making the A7 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the A7’s rear seats recline. The 5 Series’ rear seats don’t recline.

The A7 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The 5 Series has no towing capacity.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A7 Premium Plus/Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The 5 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 A7 has standard extendable sun visors. The 5 Series doesn’t offer extendable visors.