Audi vs Mercedes – which should I buy?

If you want a premium car with posh materials and fancy features, both Audi and Mercedes have plenty of options across a wide price range.

We'll compare Audi and Mercedes here, looking at their lineups and unique selling points so you can pick the one that'll fit into your life best.

Audi vs Mercedes compared

Design

Audi's styling language has evolved over the past few decades. Broadly speaking, its cars are more angular than Mercedes models, with sharper styling lines and fewer flowing shapes. Audi headlights tend to be angular with a mean stare, with eye-catching LED details outlining their shape. Those lights usually frame a broad six or eight-sided front grille, typically with slim horizontal slats.

Inside, the angular theme continues with Audi dashboards usually consisting of intersecting flat surfaces, with sharper angles between features. Most current models have had their central infotainment screens incorporated into a wide glossy panel embedded in the dash, while the driver gets a separate binnacle with its own crystal-clear display screen. Being critical, we think Audi slightly overuses gloss black plastic in its cabins.

In contrast, Mercedes' current lineup is much curvier than Audi's, with most models having rounded styling with softer edges. This is most obvious on cars like the Mercedes CLA, which sits somewhere between a four-door saloon and a coupe. There's still a familiar Mercedes front-end look, however, with most cars having a wide, lozenge-shaped grille and beady headlights either side.

Mercedes interiors are more obviously luxurious than their Audi counterparts – at least visually. There's usually more contrasting aluminium detailing on the surfaces and switchgear. Most recent Mercedes models have moved both driver's screen and the central infotainment screen into one sweeping pod that sits on top of the dashboard. Functionally, the MBUX infotainment system is similar to Audi's setup, but we've found it a little harder to use as the graphics are fussier. Mercedes is also guilty of using plenty of easily scratched 'piano black' plastic in its interiors.

Engines and driving

Across the Audi and Mercedes lineups, most models are powered by turbo petrol and diesel engines. More recent models have incorporated mild-hybrid technology to reduce emissions and fuel consumption. There are also plenty of plug-in-hybrid models across both brand's ranges, which are a good choice if you have a regular commute or school run that can be done solely on electric power.

There tend to be more affordable options in Audi's lineup. This includes entry-level trim and engine options that don't have a direct Mercedes counterpart, along with full models like the A1 supermini, which Mercedes doesn't have a rival for. This is a double-edged sword because these models are more accessible to more buyers, but they can feel a little underpowered, while even the cheapest Mercedes models feel fairly nippy.

While there's a wide range of cars in both brands' lineups, each offering a very different experience, there are some trends typical to each maker's cars. Audi models tend to feel a little more direct on the road, with lots of resistance to body roll and snappy gearchanges from their S Tronic auto gearboxes. Mercedes cars tend to have a slightly softer edge, with a little more motion over bumps and through corners in exchange for a comfier ride and a more hushed powertrain.

Price

Among the German 'big three' Audi usually prices its cars very closely to their counterparts at BMW. Mercedes, on the other hand, is consistently a few thousand pounds pricier than equivalent models from Audi and BMW. This gap remains once these cars hit the used market but it does get smaller, which makes a nearly new Mercedes almost the same value for money as an equivalent Audi.

Expect fuel costs for both brands to be reasonable thanks to the dark arts their engineers have performed on their engines to make them fairly efficient. However, other running costs such as insurance and servicing will be towards the higher end of the market, again with Mercedes likely to be the slightly more expensive option.

Audi has more entry-level options than Mercedes. This includes cars like the Audi A1 hatch and Audi Q2 small SUV, plus entry-level engines like the Audi A4's 35 TFSI engine – none of which are mirrored in Mercedes' lineup.

Reliability

Reliability surveys don't always show brands like Audi and Mercedes in the best light, with more failures reported than many mainstream brands. This isn't always an indicator of poor quality, however, and often reflects the fact that premium cars like Audis and Mercedes usually come packed with extra features, which means more potential points of failure.

Warranty coverage for both brands is the industry-average three-year period. Learn more about Audi's three-year warranty or Mercedes's three-year warranty. Audi has a 60,000-mile mileage limit on its warranty that applies in the third year of coverage, while Mercedes has no mileage limit while the car is under warranty. You can always add an extended warranty to either brand's cars for extra coverage.

Which is best?

Both Audi and Mercedes make some of the most desirable and premium cars on the road, so there isn't really a 'best' option here. It's more a case of which brand and lineup you prefer, as you're unlikely to feel disappointed once you get behind the wheel.

We think Audi drivers will appreciate the easier-to-use infotainment system and the absolutely unshakeable sense of stability these cars offer at high speeds. Plus, if you have to tackle the occasional unpaved road, Audi's wide selection of quattro all-wheel-drive cars might be the way to go.

Mercedes cars will probably appeal more to buyers after a more conspicuously luxury-led experience. Its cabin designs are usually more intricate, with wider use of plush materials across surfaces you touch and look at.

Learn more about specific models by reading our Audi reviews or our Mercedes reviews. Then find out how much you could save by shopping nearly new and used Audi cars or used Mercedes cars at Motorpoint.