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 (front for the Peugeot and rear in the case of the BMW). The first one has a Peugeot-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 143hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 150hp engine designed by BMW.

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 BMW being a slightly better choice apparently. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. 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, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a marginal difference of 4% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Peugeot as a brand displays somewhat better results, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Peugeot with an average rating of 4.3, and models under the BMW badge with 4.1 out of 5. The same official information place 406 as average reliability-wise, and 3 Series 11% below the first one. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the French car rank it on average as 3.9, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Both of the cars accelerate exactly the same, so we couldn't put one above the other. Car No. 2 is faster though, reaching top speed of 219 kilometers per hour, 9km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the French car, averaging around 7.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (38 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 19% difference compared to the German car.

Verdict

Peugeot 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 German car offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say Peugeot. 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 thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.