Where each one leads
Audi R8
- Against cars of the same age, the Audi R8 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 30% more often than average) than the BMW M4 (passes 7% more often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi R8 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 78% less often than average) than the BMW M4 (fails 58% less often than average).
BMW M4
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 BMW M4 uses 12.6 l/100 km, the 2023 Audi R8 13.7.
- New BMW M4 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 229 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 296 for the Audi R8 in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol BMW M4 uses 13.2 l/100 km on the road, the Audi R8 17.5.
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 R8 | BMW M4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2006–2025 | 2014–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 6,301 (2010–2022) | 37,298 (2014–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 3,126 | 20,019 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 1,090 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 138 |
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 R8 | BMW M4 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 90% | 87% |
| … against cars of the same age | +30% | +7% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| … against cars of the same year | −78% | −58% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 3.1% |
| US owner complaints | 14 | 47 |
| Most complaints about | Suspension | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2009 (6) | 2016 (22) |
| US recall campaigns | 2 | 13 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 5,671 | 1,022 |
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).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi R8 | BMW M4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 13.7 l/100 km (2023) | 12.6 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 17.5 l/100 km | 13.2 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 296 g/km | 229 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 436 kW (585 hp) | 376 kW (504 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,670 kg | 1,875 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €150,898 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 94,000 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).