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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
2005. - 2008.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
4 x 4
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
sedan, 4 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4520 mm
1817 mm
1421 mm
460 liters
460 liters
61 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4526 mm
1728 mm
1426 mm
455 liters
455 liters
62 liters
2005 BMW 3 Series
2004 Mercedes Benz C

Engine

Petrol
6 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
2497 cc
218 hp
250 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Mercedes Benz
2.5 M272 KE25
Petrol
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
2496 cc
204 hp
245 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1515 kg
7.5 s
242 km/h
13.0 l/100km
7.0 l/100km
9.2 l/100km
221 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1430 kg
8.4 s
245 km/h
13.5 l/100km
6.8 l/100km
9.3 l/100km
222 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1535 kg
8.1 s
236 km/h
14.4 l/100km
7.3 l/100km
9.9 l/100km
238 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 7 gears
1450 kg
8.9 s
238 km/h
13.2 l/100km
7.1 l/100km
9.3 l/100km
222 g/km

Expenses

6500 EUR
Price from
2800 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 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the BMW and rear in the case of the Mercedes Benz). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 218hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 204hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

Safety

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. 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 that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, 3 Series offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, 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 3 Series as average reliability-wise, and C is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as 3 Series rank it on average as 3.8, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.9 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 242 kilometers per hour, 3km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 9.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (31 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, 3 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! 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. 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 more than 12.000 different ones in our database.

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