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Car #1
Make
Model
Variant
Engine
Car #2
Make
Model
Variant
Engine

compare selected cars
2007. - 2011.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2008. - 2012.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4239 mm
1748 mm
1421 mm
330 liters
1150 liters
51 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
3883 mm
1764 mm
1593 mm
435 liters
1370 liters
54 liters
2007 BMW 1 Series
2008 Mercedes Benz A Coupe

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1995 cc
170 hp
210 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Mercedes Benz
2.0 M266 E20 AL
Petrol
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
2034 cc
193 hp
280 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1265 kg
7.7 s
224 km/h
8.7 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.4 l/100km
153 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1175 kg
7.5 s
228 km/h
10.1 l/100km
6.0 l/100km
7.5 l/100km
178 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1285 kg
8.3 s
222 km/h
8.4 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.3 l/100km
155 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
cvt - gears
1220 kg
7.3 s
220 km/h
10.2 l/100km
6.5 l/100km
7.9 l/100km
187 g/km

Expenses

2500 EUR
Price from
3400 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the BMW and front in the case of the Mercedes Benz). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 193hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, 1 Series offers a marginal difference of 8% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Mercedes Benz badge with 4.4 out of 5. The same official information place 1 Series as average reliability-wise, and A is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as 1 Series rank it on average as 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mercedes Benz is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 228 kilometers per hour, 4km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be 1 Series, averaging around 6.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (44 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 17% difference compared to Mercedes Benz A.


Verdict

BMW appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, 1 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with Mercedes Benz offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but BMW. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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