Where each one leads
Audi A4 allroad
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi A4 allroad comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 47% less often than average) than the BMW X1 (fails 34% less often than average).
BMW X1
- Fewer BMW X1 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.5% against 5.1%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW X1 uses 8.3 l/100 km, the 2025 Audi A4 allroad 9.2.
- New BMW X1 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 117 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 192 for the Audi A4 allroad in 2021.
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
| Audi A4 allroad | BMW X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2013–2025 | 2012–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 9,926 (2010–2021) | 875,480 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 129,723 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 1,047 | 37,338 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 8,089 |
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
| Audi A4 allroad | BMW X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 83% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +7% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| … against cars of the same year | −47% | −34% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 5.1% | 1.5% |
| US owner complaints | 254 | 674 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Unknown or other |
| Model year with most complaints | 2013 (87) | 2016 (159) |
| US recall campaigns | 12 | 20 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 5,939 | 911 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 4 |
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
| Audi A4 allroad | BMW X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 4★ (2026) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi A4 allroad | BMW X1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 9.2 l/100 km (2025) | 8.3 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | — | 6.1 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 7.6 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | — | 6.0 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 7.4 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 192 g/km | 117 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 170 kW (228 hp) | 108 kW (144 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,830 kg | 1,665 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €66,964 | €53,202 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 150,000 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).