Compare the2025 Audi A5VS 2025 BMW 3 Series Sedan

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi A5 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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the A5 and 3 Series Sedan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A5 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 3 Series Sedan’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 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A5. But it costs extra on the 3 Series Sedan.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The A5 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

The A5’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the 3 Series Sedan.

The A5 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the 3 Series Sedan’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the A5 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. BMW charges extra for Cross Traffic Warning on the 3 Series Sedan and the 3 Series Sedan’s Cross Traffic Warning does not include automatic braking.

Both the A5 and the 3 Series Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 1 place higher in reliability than BMW.

The A5’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 13 more horsepower (268 vs. 255) than the 330i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

The A5 has 3.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the 3 Series Sedan 330e’s standard fuel tank (14.5 vs. 10.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The A5 offers an available 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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the A5’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the 3 Series Sedan:

For better traction, the A5 has larger standard tires than the 3 Series Sedan (235/45R18 vs. 225/45R18). The A5’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 3 Series Sedan (245/40R19 vs. 225/40R19).

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the A5 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. Run-flat tires aren’t available on some tire packages on the 3 Series Sedan.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A5’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the 3 Series Sedan (113.8 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

The A5 has 1.3 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear legroom and .5 inches more rear shoulder room than the 3 Series Sedan.

The A5’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The A5’s standard Audi Advanced Key allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Comfort Go standard on the 3 Series Sedan only offers hands-free access for the ignition, none to unlock the car.

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 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A5 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the A5 (except Premium) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.