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

compare selected cars
2008. - 2012.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2007. - 2011.
C - Small family car
hatchback, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

3883 mm
1764 mm
1593 mm
435 liters
1370 liters
54 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4239 mm
1748 mm
1421 mm
330 liters
1150 liters
51 liters
2008 Mercedes Benz A
2007 BMW 1 Series

Engine

Mercedes Benz
2.0 OM640 DE20 LA
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1991 cc
109 hp
250 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Diesel
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
1995 cc
116 hp
260 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1245 kg
10.8 s
186 km/h
6.4 l/100km
4.2 l/100km
5.0 l/100km
134 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1280 kg
10.2 s
200 km/h
5.3 l/100km
3.9 l/100km
4.4 l/100km
118 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

cvt - gears
1280 kg
11.1 s
181 km/h
7.0 l/100km
4.4 l/100km
5.4 l/100km
142 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

3400 EUR
Price from
2500 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 diesel 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 Mercedes Benz and rear in the case of the BMW). The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 109hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 116hp engine designed by BMW.

Safety

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, 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, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? On the other hand, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, 1 Series offers a marginal difference of 3% 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. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Mercedes Benz with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the BMW badge with 4.2 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed A 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 Mercedes Benz A rank it on average as 4.7, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.5 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.6 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 200 kilometers per hour, 14km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.7 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (60 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

BMW 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, 1 Series offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. It all continues in the same direction, with BMW 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 BMW. 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, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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