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

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2003. - 2009.
C - Small family car
sedan, 4 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2002. - 2007.
C - Small family car
sedan, 4 door
front

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4490 mm
1755 mm
1465 mm
413 liters
413 liters
55 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4436 mm
1695 mm
1445 mm
460 liters
1062 liters
60 liters
2003 Mazda 3 Sedan
2002 Nissan Almera

Engine

Peugeot / Ford
1.6 DV6 TED4
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1560 cc
110 hp
240 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
1235 kg
11.3 s
185 km/h
6.2 l/100km
4.3 l/100km
5.0 l/100km
138 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 5 gears
1163 kg
14.5 s
170 km/h
6.0 l/100km
4.1 l/100km
4.8 l/100km
127 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

 
kg
s
km/h
l/100km
l/100km
l/100km
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

1700 EUR
Price from
1300 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 small 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 diesel engine choice they offer. The first one has a Peugeot-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 110hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 8-valves 82hp engine designed by Renault.

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 small family 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, Mazda 3 offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Mazda with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the Nissan badge with 4.3 out of 5. The same official information place 3 as average reliability-wise, and Almera is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Mazda 3 rank it on average as 4.4, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mazda is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 3.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 185 kilometers per hour, 15km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (58 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Mazda 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, Mazda 3 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with Mazda outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. 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 Mazda. 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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