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 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 Infiniti). The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 258hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.

The first thing to look into here would be the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests performed on the two cars. Good thing is that both vehicles got tested, 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, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the Japanese car offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Infiniti does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of BMW with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Infiniti badge with 4.6 out of 5. The same official information place 3 Series as average reliability-wise, and Q50 is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the German car rank it on average as 4.8, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.6 out of 5.

BMW is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 3.4 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 19km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Japanese car, averaging around 4.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (64 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 18% difference compared to the German car.

Infiniti 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 Japanese car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with BMW outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... At the end, as much as I'd like to give you a winner here, it's simply a pure tie if you ask me. 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. 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 more than 12.000 different ones in our database.