Where each one leads
BMW M3
- Against cars of the same year, the BMW M3 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 64% less often than average) than the Nissan Maxima (fails 7% less often than average).
Nissan Maxima
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2023 Nissan Maxima uses 9.9 l/100 km, the 2026 BMW M3 12.6.
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 M3 | Nissan Maxima | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1988–2025 | 1981–2023 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 23,515 (2010–2022) | — |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 27,874 | — |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 2,842 | — |
| In traffic in Finland | 347 | 843 |
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 M3 | Nissan Maxima | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 85% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +34% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| … against cars of the same year | −64% | −7% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 7.3% | — |
| US owner complaints | 444 | 6,958 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2008 (82) | 2004 (1,426) |
| US recall campaigns | 26 | 27 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,633 | 3,082 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 25 | 30 |
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 M3 | Nissan Maxima | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2023) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW M3 | Nissan Maxima | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 12.6 l/100 km (2026) | 9.9 l/100 km (2023) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 13.1 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 10.0 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 211 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 337 kW (452 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,850 kg | — |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €124,668 | — |
| Average odometer in Finland | 151,000 km | 266,000 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).