Compare the2026 Audi A3VS 2026 Toyota Camry

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 Camry doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A3 and Camry 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 Camry’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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A3. But it costs extra on the Camry.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the A3 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist with Automatic Brake Activation, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Rear Cross-Traffic Braking costs extra on the Camry XLE/XSE, and isn't offered on other Camry models.

Both the A3 and the Camry 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, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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 Camry’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 Camry’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Audi pays for scheduled maintenance on the A3 for 1 year and 5000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Camry (3/30,000 vs. 2/25000).

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

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi A3 is faster than the Toyota Camry:

The A3 has 1.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Camry (14.5 vs. 13 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The A3 stops much shorter than the Camry:

For better traction, the A3 has larger tires than the Camry (225/45R17 vs. 205/65R16).

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 Camry LE’s standard 65 series tires.

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

The A3 Premium Plus handles at .89 G’s, while the Camry XLE AWD pulls only .82 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 Camry XLE AWD (26.3 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.2 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the A3’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the Camry’s (36.5 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The A3 is 1 foot, 4.6 inches shorter than the Camry, making the A3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 Camry’s useful trunk space.

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 Camry doesn’t offer a power trunk.

The A3 has a 3461 lbs. towing capacity. The Camry has no towing capacity.

The A3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Camry 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.

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 Camry’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A3 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Camry doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The A3’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Camry’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

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 Camry offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Audi A3 and Toyota Camry offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The A3 offers optional power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Camry’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The A3’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling the transmission and speed with the brake pedal. With its available fully controlled system, the driver just activates it and it parks autonomously, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Camry doesn’t offer an automated parking system.