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 wagon body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Opel and front in the case of the FIAT). The first one has a Opel-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 250hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 147hp engine designed by General Motors.

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. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the German car offers a considerable difference of 16% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that FIAT does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Opel with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the FIAT badge with 4.3 out of 5. The same official information place Insignia as average reliability-wise, and Croma is more or less at the same level.We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 1.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Opel is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.9 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 242 kilometers per hour, 37km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the German car, averaging around 8.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (33 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 9% difference compared to the Italian car.

FIAT 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 significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. It all continues in the same direction, with Opel outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. 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 Opel. 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™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.