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

compare selected cars
2002. - 2005.
B - City car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2001. - 2005.
B - City car
hatchback, 3 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

3917 mm
1683 mm
1463 mm
284 liters
947 liters
45 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
3897 mm
1650 mm
1465 mm
250 liters
1030 liters
45 liters
2002 Ford Fiesta
2001 Volkswagen Polo

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1596 cc
100 hp
145 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Volkswagen
1.4 16V
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1390 cc
100 hp
126 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 5 gears
1010 kg
11.0 s
184 km/h
9.1 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
6.6 l/100km
156 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1035 kg
10.9 s
188 km/h
9.4 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
6.9 l/100km
166 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 4 gears
1031 kg
11.9 s
179 km/h
10.4 l/100km
5.9 l/100km
7.5 l/100km
179 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

1000 EUR
Price from
900 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 petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Ford-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 100hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 100hp engine designed by Volkswagen.

Safety

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. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the city car segment, which is generally not a very 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 German car offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Ford does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Ford with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Volkswagen badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Fiesta as average reliability-wise, and Polo is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the American car rank it on average as 4.8, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 2.7 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Volkswagen is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 188 kilometers per hour, 4km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 6.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (42 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Ford 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 slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Volkswagen 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 Ford. 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. 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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