Compare the2026 Audi S3VS 2026 Volkswagen GTI

The S3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The GTI doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the S3 and GTI have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S3 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 GTI’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 Audi S3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The GTI doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The S3 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The GTI doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The S3 offers an optional Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The GTI only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the S3 and the GTI have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The S3’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the GTI’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

Audi pays for scheduled maintenance on the S3 for 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volkswagen pays for maintenance for the GTI (3/30,000 vs. 2/20,000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Audi higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 11 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The S3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 87 more horsepower (328 vs. 241) and 22 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 273) than the GTI’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi S3 is faster than the Volkswagen GTI:

The S3 has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the GTI (14.5 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The S3 has a tether attaching its gas cap to prevent its loss. The GTI’s gas cap isn’t tethered, so it can be left at a gas station if the driver forgets to screw the cap back in.

For better stopping power the S3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the GTI:

The S3 stops much shorter than the GTI:

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the S3 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The GTI doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

The S3 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The GTI’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The S3’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (58% to 42%) than the GTI’s (60.9% to 39.1%). This gives the S3 more stable handling and braking.

The S3 handles at .95 G’s, while the GTI Autobahn pulls only .91 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The S3 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the GTI Autobahn (24.6 seconds @ .79 average G’s vs. 25.5 seconds @ .72 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the S3’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the GTI’s (36.5 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the S3. The GTI doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the S3 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 GTI doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

The S3 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The GTI has no towing capacity.

The S3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The GTI 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 S3 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The GTI doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the S3 the driver can close all of them at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the GTI can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 S3’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the GTI’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S3 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The GTI doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The S3’s standard rear view mirror and optional 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 GTI has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The S3 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the GTI Autobahn.

The Audi S3 has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Volkswagen charges extra for Homelink® on the GTI.

The S3’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 GTI Autobahn’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.