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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
2010. - 2014.
A - Micro car
hatchback, 3 door
front
Badges
Production
Vehicle class
Body style
Wheel drive
Safety
2012. - 2014.
A - Micro car
hatchback, 3 door
rear

Marketing

Dimensons & Outlines

3723 mm
1683 mm
1407 mm
160 liters
680 liters
40 liters
Length
Width
Height
Boot (min)
Boot (max)
Fuel tank
2695 mm
1559 mm
1565 mm
220 liters
340 liters
33 liters
2010 Mini Mini
2012 Smart ForTwo

Engine

Peugeot / BMW
1.4 Prince EP3
Petrol
4 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Nat. Asp.
1397 cc
95 hp
136 Nm
Engine
Fuel
Configuration
Aspiration
Displacement
Power
Torque
Petrol
3 - Inline, 4 valves per cylinder
Turbo
999 cc
102 hp
147 Nm

Performance (manual gearbox)

manual gearbox - 6 gears
1045 kg
10.5 s
186 km/h
6.8 l/100km
4.4 l/100km
5.3 l/100km
121 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

Performance (automatic gearbox)

automatic - 6 gears
1085 kg
12.3 s
181 km/h
8.7 l/100km
5.1 l/100km
6.4 l/100km
150 g/km
Gearbox type
Vehicle weight
Acc. 0-100
Top speed
Cons. (urban)
Cons. (highway)
Cons. (average)
CO2 emissions
automatic - 5 gears
780 kg
8.9 s
155 km/h
6.4 l/100km
4.4 l/100km
5.2 l/100km
119 g/km

Expenses

5700 EUR
Price from
3300 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 3-door hatchback body style within the same 'Micro car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Mini and rear in the case of the Smart). The first one has a Peugeot-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 95hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 3-cylinder, 12-valves 102hp engine designed by Mitsubishi.

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 Mini being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune 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 British car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 34% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Smart does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Mini with an average rating of 4.1, and models under the Smart badge with 3.9 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the British car rank it on average as 4.6, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Smart is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.6 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 155 kilometers per hour, 31km/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 (54 mpg), in combined cycle.


Verdict

Mini 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 British car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Smart being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Mini. 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, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.

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