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 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Opel and rear in the case of the BMW). The first one has a FIAT-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 195hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 190hp engine designed by BMW.

The fact that the Opel got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. 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, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Insignia offers a marginal difference of 5% more metal.

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Opel does have a slight advantage, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Opel with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the BMW badge with 4.1 out of 5. The same official information place Insignia as average reliability-wise, and 4 Series Gran Coupe is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Insignia rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.7 out of 5.

BMW is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 240 kilometers per hour, 10km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (63 mpg), in combined cycle.

Opel 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, Insignia beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with BMW outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the 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™, among more than 12.000 different ones in our database.