Where each one leads
Mercedes-Benz 190
- Against cars of the same year, the Mercedes-Benz 190 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 47% less often than average) than the Toyota Corolla (fails 6% less often than average).
Toyota Corolla
- Fewer Toyota Corolla cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.6% against 21.1%).
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
| Mercedes-Benz 190 | Toyota Corolla | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1984–1999 | 1981–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 604,655 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 2,020 | 154,285 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 2,827 | 78,090 |
| In traffic in Finland | 219 | 107,955 |
| Generations on record | — | 5 |
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
| Mercedes-Benz 190 | Toyota Corolla | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | — | 71% |
| … against cars of the same age | — | +4% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.5% | 1.7% |
| … against cars of the same year | −47% | −6% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 21.1% | 2.6% |
| US owner complaints | 81 | 11,746 |
| Most complaints about | Engine and engine cooling | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 1987 (14) | 2009 (1,459) |
| US recall campaigns | 3 | 53 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 12 | 5,686 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 16 | 58 |
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
| Mercedes-Benz 190 | Toyota Corolla | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2025) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Mercedes-Benz 190 | Toyota Corolla | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | — | 6.7 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | — | 5.2 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | — | 6.8 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 112 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 83 kW (111 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,436 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €24,003 | €27,800 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 254,000 km | 212,000 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).