Compare two cars

Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion

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

compare selected cars
2001. - 2005.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2003. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4478 mm
1739 mm
1409 mm
435 liters
1345 liters
63 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4441 mm
1743 mm
1430 mm
360 liters
1180 liters
63 liters
2001 BMW 3 Series Touring
2003 Alfa Romeo 156 Sport Wagon

Engine

Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
116 hp
280 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1910 cc
115 hp
275 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1455 kg
11.1 s
200 km/h
7.5 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
5.9 l/100km
155 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1330 kg
10.7 s
191 km/h
7.9 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
6.0 l/100km
160 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 5 gears
1485 kg
11.7 s
195 km/h
9.3 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
6.9 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

1700 EUR
Price from
800 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 diesel engines and utilizing the 5-door wagon body style within the same 'Large 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 Alfa Romeo). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 116hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 115hp engine designed by FIAT.

Safety

The fact that the BMW got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a marginal difference of 9% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that BMW 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 Alfa Romeo, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 3 Series as average reliability-wise, and 156 is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Alfa Romeo is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 191 kilometers per hour, 9km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (47 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, the German car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Alfa Romeo 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. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. 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, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

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