Compare the2025 Audi A3VS 2024 Volkswagen Arteon

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 Arteon doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Arteon 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 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.

Both the A3 and the Arteon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The A3’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Arteon’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

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 A3 gets better fuel mileage than the Arteon (24 city/34 hwy vs. 22 city/30 hwy).

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

The A3 stops shorter than the Arteon:

The A3 Premium Plus handles at .89 G’s, while the Arteon SEL Premium R-Line pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A3 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Arteon SEL Premium R-Line (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 26.9 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the A3’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Arteon’s (36.4 feet vs. 39 feet).

The Audi A3 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 600 pounds less than the Volkswagen Arteon.

The A3 is 1 foot, 2.6 inches shorter than the Arteon, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The A3’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Arteon’s (3461 vs. 2000 pounds).

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 Arteon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Compared to the Volkswagen Arteon, the Audi A3 eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries with its optional integrated Homelink® universal remote controlled from the rear view mirror.

Insurance will cost less for the A3 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the A3 will cost $595 to $4870 less than the Arteon over a five-year period.

The A3 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the A3 will retain 48.11% to 50.83% of its original price after five years, while the Arteon only retains 35.76% to 36.38%.

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

The Audi A3/S3/RS 3 outsold the Volkswagen Arteon by almost six to one during 2023.