Where each one leads
BMW Z3
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2002 BMW Z3 uses 11.0 l/100 km, the 2005 Ford Thunderbird 13.0.
Ford Thunderbird
- Against cars of the same year, the Ford Thunderbird comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 66% less often than average) than the BMW Z3 (fails 43% less often than average).
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 Z3 | Ford Thunderbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1996–2004 | 1981–2005 |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 6,697 | 251 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 2,422 | 415 |
| In traffic in Finland | 417 | 167 |
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 Z3 | Ford Thunderbird | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 68% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +10% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| … against cars of the same year | −43% | −66% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 13.9% | — |
| US owner complaints | 207 | 2,357 |
| Most complaints about | Air bags | Engine and engine cooling |
| Model year with most complaints | 1997 (47) | 1993 (423) |
| US recall campaigns | 3 | 21 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 90 | 890 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 40 |
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).
Fuel, emissions and price
| BMW Z3 | Ford Thunderbird | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 11.0 l/100 km (2002) | 13.0 l/100 km (2005) |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €41,176 | — |
| Average odometer in Finland | 164,000 km | 93,000 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).