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 city car segment and utilize the same 5-door hatchback body style and the rear wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific electric engine choice they offer. The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 184hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 82hp engine designed by Renault.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, BMW i3 offers a considerable difference of 22% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Smart as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Smart badge with 4.3 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed i3 25% above average, and EQ ForFour those same 25% below the first one. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as BMW i3 rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

BMW is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 5.8 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 160 kilometers per hour, 30km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, giving a significant advantage to BMW i3 with its additional 125 kilometers on a single charge.

Smart 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, BMW i3 offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. BMW i3 provides significantly better range, something that shouldn't be overlooked. 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.