Where each one leads
Mercedes-Benz 190E
- Against cars of the same age, the Mercedes-Benz 190E comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 5% more often than average) than the Nissan Pulsar (passes 3% less often than average).
Nissan Pulsar
- Fewer Nissan Pulsar cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.6% against 17.9%).
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 190E | Nissan Pulsar | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1984–1993 | 1982–1990 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 123,665 (2014–2019) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 20,534 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 3,001 | 3,714 |
| In traffic in Finland | 426 | 1,962 |
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 190E | Nissan Pulsar | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 73% | 76% |
| … against cars of the same age | +5% | −3% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 17.9% | 1.6% |
| US owner complaints | 20 | 19 |
| Most complaints about | Air bags | Fuel system, gasoline |
| Model year with most complaints | 1991 (10) | 1988 (6) |
| US recall campaigns | — | 3 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 17 | 40 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 8 |
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
| Mercedes-Benz 190E | Nissan Pulsar | |
|---|---|---|
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 84 kW (113 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 1,292 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €25,906 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 286,000 km | 121,000 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).