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

compare selected cars
2004. - 2007.
S - Sports car
cabriolet, 2 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2003. - 2006.
S - Sports car
cabriolet, 2 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4820 mm
1855 mm
1373 mm
300 liters
350 liters
70 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4310 mm
1815 mm
1328 mm
130 liters
130 liters
80 liters
2004 BMW 6 Series Cabrio
2003 Nissan 350Z Roadster

Engine

Petrol
10 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
4999 cc
507 hp
520 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Petrol
6 - V config, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
3498 cc
280 hp
350 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1610 kg
6.4 s
250 km/h
16.1 l/100km
8.7 l/100km
11.4 l/100km
273 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1905 kg
4.7 s
250 km/h
22.8 l/100km
10.7 l/100km
15.2 l/100km
366 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

6000 EUR
Price from
10000 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

Overview

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 sports car segment and utilize the same 2-door cabriolet body style and the rear wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a BMW-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 10-cylinder, 40-valves 507hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 280hp engine designed by Nissan.

Safety

Unfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the sports 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, the German car offers a considerable difference of 18% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Nissan as a brand displays somewhat better results, 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 Nissan badge with 4.3 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 1.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.7 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 250 kilometers per hour, exactly the same as the other car does. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Japanese car, averaging around 11.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (25 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 33% difference compared to the German car!


Verdict

Nissan is apparently more reliable, not too much, but just enough. 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 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 not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Nissan. 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. 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, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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