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 large family car segment and utilize the same 4-door sedan 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 6-cylinder, 24-valves 170hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 155hp engine designed by Opel.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), 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 large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the American car offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Ford does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Ford with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Opel badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Mondeo as average reliability-wise, and Vectra 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 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Ford is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 225 kilometers per hour, 7km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the German car, averaging around 7.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (37 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 29% difference compared to the American car!

Ford 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 American car offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Ford being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Opel. 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.