Where each one leads
BMW i3
- Against cars of the same age, the BMW i3 comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 6% more often than average) than the Ford Fiesta (passes 5% less often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the BMW i3 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 17% less often than average) than the Ford Fiesta (fails 31% more often than average).
- Fewer BMW i3 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.4% against 2.3%).
- New BMW i3 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 0 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 120 for the Ford Fiesta in 2022.
Ford Fiesta
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| BMW i3 | Ford Fiesta | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2014–2022 | 1988–2019 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 106,473 (2013–2022) | 3,231,019 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 25,251 | 1,296,479 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 7,145 | 168,800 |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,113 | 31,947 |
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 i3 | Ford Fiesta | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 88% | 66% |
| … against cars of the same age | +6% | −5% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.5% | 2.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −17% | +31% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 1.4% | 2.3% |
| US owner complaints | 215 | 3,176 |
| Most complaints about | Steering | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2014 (54) | 2011 (730) |
| US recall campaigns | 8 | 12 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,307 | 744 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 9 | 19 |
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 i3 | Ford Fiesta | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 4★ (2019) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW i3 | Ford Fiesta | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 7.6 l/100 km (2019) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 6.7 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 6.3 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 0 g/km | 120 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 113 kW (151 hp) | 80 kW (108 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,345 kg | 1,204 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €45,572 | €17,945 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 97,000 km | 124,000 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).