The brand battle between Audi and Lexus is a tough one. These luxury vehicle brands have a lot to offer in terms of luxury, performance, and security. There is a thin line between what these two brands feature. Even closer is the similarity between the various models from these vehicle manufacturers. This makes it very hard to strike a clear line or decide which brand outperforms the other.
There are several historical and philosophical differences between these two brands that differentiate their levels of success. The differences will be spread across all their models and trim levels.
Brand Historical Background
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury lineup of vehicles. It was initially launched in the US in 1989 and is currently available in over 70 countries all over the world. Lexus prides itself as the fourth-largest luxury brand in the world, with over 1 million cars sold. This comes behind the third-place Audi. Mercedes and BMW also come close to these two in the ranking of vehicles sold.
Despite the reduction of the global sales volumes for most brands due to the pandemic, Lexus still managed to sell over 718,715 units in 2020, out of which 297,000 units were sold in North America. This is a 6% drop from the previous year, but the brand still maintained its position among the top luxury vehicles. The Lexus lineup of vehicles has been ranked as the most dependable vehicle in various studies.
On the other hand, the Audi brand has been around for over 40 years. Volkswagen has held a majority stake in Audi for all these years. In 2020, Audi delivered 1,692,773 models across the world. This was a significant drop from the previous year, owing to the ongoing pandemic. The A3, A5, and Q5 models are among the most popular models sold by Audi.
Audi e-Tron is the first fully electric SUV designed and manufactured by Audi in 2019 with a range of approximately 200 miles. The Audi logo that features four interconnected rings traces its roots back to 1932 when four German vehicle manufacturers merged to make what was known as Auto Union. This was the predecessor of the Audi brand as it is today.
From the above statistics, it is clear that these two share a lot in common. The comparison also extends down to their various models and trim levels. Audi and Lexus have many vehicle models and body styles that closely resemble each other in terms of design, performance, reliability, and durability.
Model Lineup and Performance
Audi and Lexus have a long list of models that they have released since inception. But comparatively, Audi has a wider range of models and trim levels compared to Lexus. This translates to more global annual sales compared to Lexus.
Audi seems to come on top in terms of the variety that they offer on their lineup. Performance-wise, it is a close tie on some models with other body styles, such as compact and midsize SUVs, coming out on top.
Audi has a long list of models in its lineup of vehicles. They all come in varying body styles, which include:
Audi Luxury Sedans
Audi Luxury SUVs and Crossovers
On the other hand, Lexus also boasts of a comprehensive list of luxury models on its lineup of vehicles. These include:
Lexus Luxury Sedans
Lexus Luxury SUVs and Crossovers
Audi models outperform Lexus on average; this gives the German car manufacturer a slight edge in terms of performance across the models and trim levels. The most significant performance gap is found between small luxury models. For example, while the Audi A3 is more enjoyable to drive compared to its equivalent, Lexus IS, Audi A4 and Audi A5 beat the IS and Lexus RC in performance and handling.
Reliability
Both Audi and Lexus are popular for the manufacture of reliable vehicles. However, Lexus is known for its ironclad reliability, outstanding build quality, high resale value, and other many standard features. For example, the new Lexus ES stands out as an affordable, aggressive, and sturdy luxury sedan in the Lexus lineup. This sedan comes with premium features at a low starting price. Even with the ES 350’s powerful V6 engine, it is still an affordable sedan compared to an Audi sedan with the same features.
But then the Audi A6 luxury sedan, which compares closely to the Lexus ES, is sportier with the elegance of a Mercedes-Benz. This prestigious sedan is comfortable and fun to drive with dynamic handling on twisted and curved roads. But it will set you back a few more dollars compared to its counterpart.
Comfort and Luxury
While the two vehicle models are competing in the same class, the luxury class, the Audi appears to offer a more comfortable and prestigious driving and passenger experience compared to Lexus. This feeling may differ from one driver to the other, and even more from one model to the other. But overall, Audi has a bit of lux and prestige, both in the exterior styling and interior ambiance.
When you take a seat behind the wheel of an Audi, you will be hit instantly with a much more modern feeling compared to Lexus. This can be attributed to the cabin that is often packed with high-tech features. While Lexus merits all the praise in terms of build quality, the Audi is more up to date.
Cost and Warranty
Audi is known for emphasizing refinement of the high-quality features on its vehicles, right from the base level trim through to the high trim levels. This extra refinement increases the look, feel, and prestige of the Audi models, and it all comes at a cost. Because of this, Lexus models tend to offer a lower starting price compared to their Audi counterparts of the same class. They also offer a longer warranty period.
Final Thoughts
Audi and Lexus are among the leading vehicle luxury brands in the United States. They feature a close lineup of models and trim levels. But Audi provides more choices to buyers, particularly in terms of performance models.
However, Lexus is a safe and conservative vehicle brand to choose from. Its base trims are more affordable, reliable, safe, and maintain their value longer even though they both have different scoring in terms of price, fuel economy, reliability, and market segment.
On the other hand, the Audi models will have a higher starting price on their base trims with the prices widening as you move up the trim levels. But when the budget is not a factor, the Audi models offer more luxury, comfort, and prestigious ambiance inside, not forgetting the prestige of being a European luxury brand.
Therefore, when shopping for a luxury vehicle, both Lexus and Audi offer top-of-the-line comfort and prestige. Your driving needs, lifestyle, and specific features that you love will be the driving force for which side of the divide you will go.
