BMW i3 vs Smart fortwo
The i3 costs less to run, by the official figures: about $90 a year less in New Zealand, $70 in Australia, £60 in the UK and $80 in the US.
Side by side
Specs are for each car's newest version. The better figure is in green.
A typical year's fuel
- New Zealand
- $794 (better)
- $880
- Australia
- $678 (better)
- $751
- United Kingdom
- £515 (better)
- £571
- United States
- $724 (better)
- $802
Official figures
- Uses
- 18.5 kWh/100km (better)
- 20.5 kWh/100km
- UK
- 3.4 mi/kWh (better)
- 3.0 mi/kWh
- US
- 113 MPGe (better)
- 102 MPGe
- Range
- 246 km (better)
- 93 km
Space
- Seats
- 5
- 2
- Boot
- 260 L
- –
- Length
- 3,999 mm
- 2,695 mm
- Weight
- 1,245 kg
- –
Engine
- Engine
- Single electric motor
- 1.0 L 3-cylinder petrol
- Power
- 135 kW (better)
- 52 kW
- Torque
- 270 Nm (better)
- 91 Nm
- Gearbox
- Single-speed automatic
- 5-speed manual
- Drive
- RWD
- RWD
Safety
- ANCAP
- ★★★★★
- –
- Airbags
- 6
- –
A typical year: New Zealand 11,000 km (Ministry of Transport's average for a light vehicle); Australia 11,100 km (ABS Survey of Motor Vehicle Use average); United Kingdom 11,265 km (DfT National Travel Survey average of about 7,000 miles); United States 21,726 km (FHWA average of about 13,500 miles). Real costs depend on how and where you drive. Work out a particular trip.
i3 or fortwo?
Which is cheaper to run, the BMW i3 or the Smart fortwo?
The BMW i3: about $90 a year less in New Zealand, $70 in Australia, £60 in the UK and $80 in the US than the Smart fortwo at today's average prices and a typical year's driving.
Each on its own
Other comparisons
What will the drive cost?
Roadtrip works out the fuel or charging cost of any drive for your exact car, finds the cheapest stations on the way, and splits it between everyone in the car.
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