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CarsLore / Compare / Mid-size cars / 1 Series vs Altima

BMW 1 Series vs Nissan Altima

Two mid-size cars, compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. Side by side from official registers: recalls, complaints and registrations.

At a glance

BMW 1 SeriesNissan Altima
Model years in the US safety record2000–20121992–2026
New cars registered in Europe1,543,810 (2010–2022)—
Licensed in the United Kingdom399,896—
On the road in the Netherlands70,649—
In traffic in Finland9,945—

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

BMW 1 SeriesNissan Altima
UK MOT first-time pass rate76%—
… against cars of the same age+6%—
New York safety inspections failed—2.1%
… against cars of the same year—+19%
Illogical odometer records (NL)3.1%—
US owner complaints9815,482
Most complaints aboutAir bagsPower train
Model year with most complaints2011 (33)2013 (2,313)
US recall campaigns354
Manufacturer service bulletins5443,959
NHTSA defect investigations—41

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Safety

BMW 1 SeriesNissan Altima
NHTSA overall rating—5★ (2027)

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).

Fuel, emissions and price

BMW 1 SeriesNissan Altima
Official combined fuel use, Canada—8.2 l/100 km (2025)
Real-world use in Europe, petrol7.5 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, diesel5.8 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid7.1 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid5.7 l/100 km—
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe133 g/km—
Average power of new cars in Europe106 kW (142 hp)—
Average mass in running order1,441 kg—
Dutch list price when new (median)€35,136—
Average odometer in Finland179,000 km—

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).