We are here considering two somewhat similar cars, but we can't deny some of the obvious differences. For a start, they are not even classified under the same segment, with the Renault being a luxury car and the Opel representing large family car vehicle class. The first one has a Nissan-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 245hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 250hp engine designed by Opel.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the Renault being a slightly better choice apparently. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. The first vehicle is a luxury car and that gives it a marginal advantage over the large family car competitor, at least that's what statistics show. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the French car offers a considerable difference of 10% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Renault does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Renault, as well as Opel, with the same average rating of 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place Vel Satis as average reliability-wise, and Signum 50% below the first one. We should definitely mention that owners of cars with the same powertrain as the French car rank it on average as 4.3, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 5.0 out of 5.

Opel is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.7 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 243 kilometers per hour, 8km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the German car, averaging around 10.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (27 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 8% difference compared to the French car.

Opel 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 French 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 Opel 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 Opel. 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. 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.