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
2013. - 2016.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2011. - 2015.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4460 mm
1795 mm
1450 mm
364 liters
1263 liters
51 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4324 mm
1765 mm
1421 mm
360 liters
1200 liters
52 liters
2013 Mazda 3
2011 BMW 1 Series

Engine

Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1496 cc
100 hp
150 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Peugeot / BMW
1.6 Prince N13B16
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1598 cc
102 hp
180 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1176 kg
10.8 s
182 km/h
6.5 l/100km
4.3 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
119 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1265 kg
11.2 s
195 km/h
7.1 l/100km
4.6 l/100km
5.5 l/100km
129 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

9700 EUR
Price from
7000 EUR

Virtual Adviser's™ opinion

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 5-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Mazda and rear in the case of the BMW). The first one has a Mazda-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 102hp engine designed by Peugeot.

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 small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. 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 8% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Mazda as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Mazda with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the BMW badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank 3 as average reliability-wise, and 1 Series is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as the Japanese car rank it on average as 4.8, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Mazda is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.4 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 182 kilometers per hour, 13km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 5.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (53 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Mazda 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. From there things take a different direction, with Mazda offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be 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. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked 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