Mercedes-Benz C-Class Vs. Audi A4: Compact Luxury Head-to-Head

CARS.COM — The last time we drove the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4 for a comparison, the C-Class ended up last place in a multicar challenge with five other luxury sedans and scored way behind even the fifth-place A4. A lot has changed with the C-Class since Cars.com’s $46,000 Sport Sedan Challenge in 2013. The 2015 C300 sedan is all-new, and we gave the car our most prestigious annual award: Best of 2015. We want to take a look back and see what these sedans have to say about their automakers and whether you should become an Audi driver or a Mercedes-Benz driver.

Related: We Bought a 2015 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

We even bought a 2015 C300 to evaluate long-term, adding it to our fleet. We pitted our modestly equipped long-termer against the 2016 Audi A4, specifically the A4 Premium Plus Quattro with Technology Package that compares exceptionally well to our C300 4Matic with Premium and Multimedia packages.

Both cars tested have turbocharged four-cylinder engines, all-wheel drive, automatic transmissions and ride on the base suspension — not the optional sport suspensions offered on both. They even wear the same all-season Pirelli Cinturato P7 tires, though in different sizes and the C300’s are run-flats. Compare specifications of the two cars here.

Add it all up and the Audi A4 sedan costs $43,675, with a destination charge, while the Mercedes-Benz comes in at $47,265. Cars.com editors Joe Bruzek and Kelsey Mays spent a day driving our C-Class and our A4 head-to-head.

Interior Quality

Winner: C300

The A4’s leather seats look and feel richer than the C300’s MB-Tex vinyl, but Mercedes wins in overall interior quality. The A4’s cabin materials are handsome, but they’re downright opulent in the C-Class, which has a level of consistency and quality usually reserved for larger, pricier cars; its aluminum trim, piano-black highlights, and contrast stitching set it apart and make for a truly luscious drive.

Passenger Comfort

Winner: C300

The Audi’s chairs are flat and unsupportive, and the low backseat leaves adults’ legs uncomfortably elevated. Comfier seats and a higher-positioned backseat give the C-Class a win here, but it’s not a perfect vehicle: The center stack waterfalls toward the console in a way that pins in the driver’s right knee.

Luxury Features

Winner: A4

Equipment differences are minor. Both cars have the usual luxury-car feature list: navigation, blind spot monitoring, dual climate control, proximity keyless access, upgraded stereo, heated seats and more. The A4 has a standard sunroof that’s optional on the C-Class, and our C300 lacked it and rear vents with temperature controls. The Audi gets the nod in this category by a slight margin.

Multimedia and Entertainment

Winner: A4

Once you learn them, both cars’ knob-based multimedia controllers are easy enough. The C300’s presentation is a huge step up with high-quality multimedia screen and graphics, though the A4 wins in a big way because of its optional — and astounding — Bang & Olufsen stereo system. With its rich, powerful sound, the B&O spanks the C-Class’ optional Burmester audio system that’s muddy-in-comparison. Epic win, Audi.

Handling

Winner: C300

Even on our test route’s damp roads, the C300 stood out as more sport-oriented with slightly better steering feedback and tighter suspension tuning keeping body roll better in check. The C300 4Matic darts where the A4 Quattro wallows during quick steering maneuvers. Audi has improved its steering through the years, but short of highway speeds, the A4 still suffers awkward feedback and too much power assist. Any differences between the 4Matic system and the Quattro system went unnoticed.

Cargo

Winner: C300

Trunk volume is essentially a dead heat, though Audi squared off the space a little better than Mercedes. Still, the C300 has a 40/20/40-split folding seatback with a large center pass-through that fits long, narrow items and still accommodates a passenger on each side of it. You can’t do that with the A4’s 60/40-split folding backseat. Plus the C300’s backseat releases from the trunk while the A4’s only releases from inside the cabin. If versatility is a top priority in a vehicle, the C300 has it.

Ride

Winner: A4

Both cars have controlled, generous ride quality and good high-speed isolation for a pleasant highway drive. The A4 wins over major bumps, which it absorbs with less disruption. The C300’s sporty tuning has a slightly busier ride, noticeable over choppy roads; hit a pothole and the Benz can lose its cool.

Acceleration

Winner: C300

Neither car lacks for torque — Mercedes brings 273 pounds-feet of torque while the Audi has 258 pounds-feet — but the C300 makes more of it. The Benz has the gutsy acceleration you’d expect from a luxury car and seat-of-the-pants quickness you wouldn’t expect from a base model’s engine. Its seven-speed automatic transmission seems more willing to shift, too. The A4 introduces hints of accelerator lag, and its eight-speed automatic transmission is a bit stingier on downshifts.

Noise

Winner: A4

For a luxury vehicle, neither the C300 nor A4 are particularly quiet sedans. Road and wind noise are always there, though the A4 edges out the C300 slightly with fewer thwacks and thuds from the C300’s busier suspension. The C300 did have 13,000 miles on its tires, however; the A4 wheels were wrapped in minty-fresh rubber with only 600 miles.

Worth the Money?

Winner: C300

In terms of getting that luxury experience for the money, the C300 is hard to beat even with a higher price tag. The C300 engine is roughly 8 percent better in EPA combined mileage with its 24/31/27 mpg city/highway/combined ratings compared with the A4’s 21/30/25 mpg. Warranties are the same, and neither car has complimentary maintenance. In the end, the A4 is docked for the Audi’s poor rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s small overlap front crash test, which the C300 avoids by technicality because it hasn’t been tested.

Results

Winner: C300

Out of 200 possible points from the 10 judging categories, the C300 edged out the A4 142 to 132 points, a respectably close finish for the A4, especially since it hasn’t had a major redesign since 2009. The entire segment is extremely competitive, however, but the C300 provides a heightened luxury experience admirable for a “base” model.

Cars.com’s Editorial department is your source for automotive news and reviews. In line with Cars.com’s long-standing ethics policy, editors and reviewers don’t accept gifts or free trips from automakers. The Editorial department is independent of Cars.com’s advertising, sales and sponsored content departments.