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

compare selected cars
2004. - 2007.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2005. - 2008.
D - Large family car
wagon, 5 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

4541 mm
1728 mm
1465 mm
470 liters
1384 liters
62 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
4520 mm
1817 mm
1442 mm
460 liters
1385 liters
61 liters
2004 Mercedes Benz C Combi
2005 BMW 3 Series Touring

Engine

Mercedes Benz
2.0 M111 E20 ML EVO
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Compress.
1998 cc
163 hp
230 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1995 cc
170 hp
210 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1435 kg
9.4 s
228 km/h
12.0 l/100km
6.7 l/100km
8.7 l/100km
207 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
manual gearbox - 6 gears
1405 kg
8.4 s
226 km/h
8.5 l/100km
4.9 l/100km
6.2 l/100km
148 g/km

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 5 gears
1455 kg
9.7 s
225 km/h
12.4 l/100km
6.6 l/100km
8.7 l/100km
206 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 6 gears
1435 kg
9.2 s
224 km/h
9.1 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
6.7 l/100km
160 g/km

Expenses

2800 EUR
Price from
6500 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 large family car segment and utilize the same 5-door wagon body style and the rear wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a Mercedes Benz-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 163hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by BMW.

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 large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Mercedes Benz C offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears 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 C as average reliability-wise, and 3 Series is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Mercedes Benz C rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.3 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

BMW is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 226 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be 3 Series, averaging around 6.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (46 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 40% difference compared to Mercedes Benz C!


Verdict

Mercedes Benz 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, Mercedes Benz C offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with BMW being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but BMW. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. 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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