Compare two cars

Compare any two cars and get our Virtual Adviser™ opinion

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

compare selected cars
1997. - 2006.
B - City car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2003. - 2005.
B - City car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4081 mm
1724 mm
1498 mm
209 liters
769 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
3715 mm
1660 mm
1540 mm
251 liters
584 liters
46 liters
1997 Volkswagen Beetle
2003 Nissan Micra

Engine

Volkswagen
1.9 TDI AGR
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1896 cc
90 hp
210 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Renault / Nissan
1.5 dCi K9K 260
Diesel
4 - Inline, 2 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1461 cc
82 hp
185 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1223 kg
13.1 s
171 km/h
6.8 l/100km
4.3 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
140 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1010 kg
12.9 s
170 km/h
5.4 l/100km
4.0 l/100km
4.5 l/100km
g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 4 gears
1245 kg
14.4 s
168 km/h
9.1 l/100km
5.0 l/100km
6.5 l/100km
176 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

1400 EUR
Price from
1500 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 city car segment and utilize the same 3-door hatchback body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volkswagen-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 90hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 82hp engine designed by Renault.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the German car offers a considerable difference of 21% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Nissan does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Volkswagen with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Nissan badge with 4.3 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Beetle as average reliability-wise, and Micra is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Nissan is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 170 kilometers per hour, 1km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Japanese car, averaging around 4.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (63 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 16% difference compared to the German car.


Verdict

Nissan 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 significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with Nissan offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Nissan. 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. 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, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.

Check a car by its VIN number

Follow us

AutoManiac Instagram

AutoManiac Facebook

AutoManiac database currently covers:

47worldwide automotive brands
1.531different vehicle models
2.233engines
13.778specific cars