Where each one leads
Nissan Altima
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2025 Nissan Altima uses 8.2 l/100 km, the 2026 Volkswagen Golf R 9.3.
Volkswagen Golf R
- Against cars of the same year, the Volkswagen Golf R comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 44% less often than average) than the Nissan Altima (fails 19% more often than average).
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
| Nissan Altima | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1992–2026 | 2012–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 55,992 (2010–2020) |
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
| Nissan Altima | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 90% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +3% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.1% | 0.8% |
| … against cars of the same year | +19% | −44% |
| US owner complaints | 15,482 | 80 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Service brakes |
| Model year with most complaints | 2013 (2,313) | 2017 (15) |
| US recall campaigns | 54 | 16 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 3,959 | 4,810 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 41 | 6 |
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
| Nissan Altima | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2027) | 5★ (2019) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Nissan Altima | Volkswagen Golf R | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.2 l/100 km (2025) | 9.3 l/100 km (2026) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 147 g/km |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,406 kg |
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).