Compare the2024 Audi A4VS 2024 Volkswagen Arteon

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi A4 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 A4’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 A4 and Arteon have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 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 A4 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 Arteon doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Arteon doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the A4 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, all wheel drive, 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 A4’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Arteon’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

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 2024 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 8 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

On the EPA test cycle the A4 gets better mileage than the Arteon:

Regenerative brakes improve the A4’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Arteon doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The A4’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 A4 stops much shorter than the Arteon:

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .97 G’s, while the Arteon SE R-Line pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Arteon SEL Premium R-Line (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the A4’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (38.1 feet vs. 39 feet).

The Audi A4 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 300 to 500 pounds less than the Volkswagen Arteon.

The A4 is 4 inches shorter than the Arteon, making the A4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A4 has .1 inches more front legroom and .3 inches more rear headroom than the Arteon.

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A4 offers cargo security. The Arteon’s hatchback body style and non-lockable folding seat defeat cargo security.

The A4’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Arteon’s (3968 vs. 2000 pounds).

The engine in the A4 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 A4 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.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Arteon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The A4 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the A4 will retain 48.96% to 51.87% of its original price after five years, while the Arteon only retains 35.76% to 36.38%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Audi A4 will be $3894 to $6804 less than for the Volkswagen Arteon.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A4 and the Volkswagen Arteon, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Audi A4/S4 outsold the Volkswagen Arteon by almost six to one during 2023.