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

compare selected cars
2015. - 2019.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2014. - 2019.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4633 mm
1811 mm
1429 mm
480 liters
480 liters
57 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4767 mm
1832 mm
1461 mm
586 liters
1152 liters
66 liters
2015 BMW 3 Series
2014 Volkswagen Passat

Engine

Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
150 hp
320 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
2.0 TDI CRBC
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1968 cc
150 hp
320 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1500 kg
8.8 s
212 km/h
5.9 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
4.8 l/100km
127 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1598 kg
8.7 s
215 km/h
5.6 l/100km
4.0 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
120 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km

Expenses

7900 EUR
Price from
11300 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the large family car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan body style and the 4 x 4 wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 150hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Passat offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Volkswagen does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW, as well as Volkswagen, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed 3 Series as average reliability-wise, and Passat is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as 3 Series rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.6 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 215 kilometers per hour, 3km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (60 mpg), in combined cycle.


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, Passat offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Volkswagen. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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