Where each one leads
Acura RLX
- Against cars of the same year, the Acura RLX comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 46% less often than average) than the Audi A3 (fails 21% less often than average).
Audi A3
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Audi A3 uses 8.5 l/100 km, the 2016 Acura RLX 10.0.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Acura RLX | Audi A3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2013–2020 | 1997–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 1,602,788 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 452,615 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 86,151 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 22,290 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Acura RLX | Audi A3 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 75% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +6% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| … against cars of the same year | −46% | −21% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 3.2% |
| US owner complaints | 113 | 734 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 2014 (84) | 2006 (123) |
| US recall campaigns | 7 | 20 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 545 | 10,205 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 10 | 16 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Acura RLX | Audi A3 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2020) | 5★ (2020) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Acura RLX | Audi A3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 10.0 l/100 km (2016) | 8.5 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 5.6 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 6.6 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 6.7 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 105 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 102 kW (137 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,464 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €38,051 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 186,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).