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Dimensons & Outlines
Engine
2.0 M111 E20 ML EVO
Performance (manual gearbox)
Performance (automatic gearbox)
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Virtual Adviser's™ opinion
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 2-door coupe body style within the same 'Sports car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Alfa Romeo and rear in the case of the Mercedes Benz). The first one has a Alfa Romeo-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 155hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 163hp engine designed by Mercedes Benz.
SafetyUnfortunatelly, 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, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the Italian car offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.
ReliabilityI don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Mercedes Benz does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Alfa Romeo with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Mercedes Benz badge with 4.4 out of 5. Independent research findings rank GTV as average reliability-wise, and CLK is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Italian car rank it on average as 4.5, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.
Performance & Fuel economyAlfa Romeo is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.7 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 216 kilometers per hour, 7km/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 (30 mpg), in combined cycle.
Verdict
Mercedes Benz 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 Italian car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Alfa Romeo offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Alfa Romeo. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.