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 Mazda). The first one has a Opel-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 325hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 170hp engine designed by Mazda.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), 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, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the German car offers a potentially life-saving difference of 33% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Mazda 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 Mazda badge with 4.4 out of 5. The same official information place Insignia 16% below average, and 6 40% above the first one. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the German car rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Opel is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 2.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 250 kilometers per hour, 32km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Japanese car, averaging around 8.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (35 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 35% difference compared to the German car!

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 much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. It all continues in the same direction, with Opel outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... At the end, as much as I'd like to give you a winner here, it's simply a pure tie if you ask me. 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.