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 5-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the BMW and front in the case of the Opel). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 326hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 200hp engine designed by Opel.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, 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 considerable difference of 15% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Opel does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW, as well as Opel, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed 1 Series as average reliability-wise, and Astra is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as 1 Series rank it on average as 3.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

BMW is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 15km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Astra, averaging around 6.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 28% difference compared to 1 Series.

Opel 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 significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Opel. 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. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.