Mercedes vs. BMW: Who Wins the Luxury Car Face-Off?

BMW might be famous for building the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” but Mercedes-Benz’s tech-forward, design-savvy engineering offers stiff competition.
Written by R.E. Fulton
BMW
and
Mercedes-Benz
are the proverbial cream that rises to the top of the luxury vehicle market. In this head-to-head comparison, we’ve determined BMW edges out Mercedes-Benz in the key areas of affordability, reliability, and performance.
  • Both Mercedes and BMW emphasize world-class engineering, but finding the best brand depends on defining what makes a good luxury car.
  • BMW beats Mercedes in terms of affordability, reliability, and performance
  • Mercedes’s greatest strengths lie in design and comfort 
  • Both automakers have plenty to offer luxury car enthusiasts 

BMW vs. Mercedes: what’s the difference?

Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are German luxury brands, so they’ll offer many of the same strengths. No matter which make you buy, expect high-quality European automotive engineering, high-end finishes, and, of course, the bragging rights of driving one of the world’s best cars. 
Broadly speaking, BMW emphasizes the driving experience, touting their cars as the “ultimate driving machines.” Technology, efficiency, and the sheer delight of driving are at the heart of the BMW brand. 
Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, puts sophistication and style at the top of their design agenda, crafting vehicles that look and feel like luxury. But that doesn’t mean that a Mercedes will deliver clunky driving—or that a BMW doesn’t meet a high design standard. 
To make our comparison, we’ll take into account broad trends and averages across each make for:
  • Affordability
  • Exterior design
  • Reliability and safety 
  • Performance and fuel economy
  • Comfort, technology, and interior design
We’ll also take a close look at each brand’s most popular sedan as a point of reference: For BMW, that’s the
BMW 3 Series
, and for Mercedes-Benz, it’s the
S-Class

Affordability: BMW is the accessible buy

BMW’s vehicles range in price from $36,395 for the
X1
SUV to a whopping $148,495 for the plug-in hybrid
i8
sports car. 
Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, offers a handful of cargo vans at starting prices as low as $28,375 and the
A-Class
compact car at just $35,000, beating BMW out for the lowest price. But their most expensive vehicle also blows BMW out of the water, at $185,590 for the Maybach sedan. 
But affordability is about more than starting price: There’s also the true cost of ownership. According to Kelley Blue Book, the true five-year cost to own a 2022 BMW 330i sedan is $55,620, compared to $127,140 for a 2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class S500. 
The bottom line: If you’re looking for the lowest possible sticker price for a luxury car, go with Mercedes-Benz. But if long-term costs are more important to you, BMW is the clear winner. 
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Exterior design: Mercedes excels at building beautiful cars

The iconic feature of BMW exterior styling: The kidney grille sported by each Bimmer snout.
The Hofmeister kink
—that notable little crook in the rear passenger window of every BMW—is another essential design element for the brand. 
At Mercedes-Benz, however, exterior design goes beyond kinks and grilles: Every Mercedes exterior, according to the brand’s
official website
, is “fashioned with Sensual Purity as the core philosophy.” And “sensual purity” isn’t just about stand-out style. Designers craft each model in clay so they can calculate aerodynamics, sculpt tiny details, and even account for how the light hits each element. 
Ultimately, the choice is down to your own taste. But if you’re looking for the make that takes exterior design more seriously than any other, Mercedes-Benz is the one. 

Reliability and safety: BMW’s cars are built to last, but Mercedes are safer

BMW comes out on top for its vehicles’ overall dependability, with 12 quality and dependability awards from
J.D. Power
between 2019 and 2021. By comparison, Mercedes-Benz nabbed just two dependability awards and one quality award in the same time span. 
On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz edges BMW out slightly when it comes to safety ratings. With tons of driver assistance technology standard on most models, Mercedes-Benz had four models selected in 2021 as Top Safety Picks from the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
, including three Top Safety Pick+ winners. In the same year, BMW had just three Top Safety Picks, none of which earned that golden “+” designation. 
If top-of-the-line safety features are your priority: You’re better off going with a Mercedes
E-Class
,
C-Class
, or
GLE
. All three models earned top marks from IIHS. 
If you’re looking for a car that will stand the test of time: BMW is your friend. 

Performance and fuel economy: BMW brings power and efficiency

Both brands emphasize high-powered German engineering and both offer sporty, high-performance versions of their cars (BMW M and Mercedes AMG). But the Mercedes-Benz bulb dims a bit when it comes to fuel efficiency. 
Let’s start with engines: Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz favor turbocharged inline-six engines, along with plenty of four-cylinder and V8 options. But you’ll also find plenty of hybrids and electric vehicles in both lineups, from the snub-nosed
BMW i3
to the Mercedes-Benz EQS (the S-Class’s fully-electrified sibling). 
Either brand will deliver on driving power, but transmissions are another matter: Mercedes-Benz has dropped manual transmissions on all its vehicles, but
BMW maintains a few stick-shift models
for driving enthusiasts not ready to give up that third pedal. 
In terms of fuel efficiency: BMW is the undeniable winner. A side-by-side comparison of the makes on the EPA’s official website shows that BMW models consistently offer better fuel economy than Mercedes-Benz vehicles, from the 113 combined city/highway mpg of the BMW
i3
to the respectable 30 combined mpg of the popular 3 Series. By contrast, no Mercedes-Benz vehicle breaks 30 mpg on gas power alone. 

Comfort, technology, and interior design: Mercedes is the last word in luxury

Like exterior styling, interior design and comfort are important yet somewhat subjective markers of luxury car brand quality. Both makes offer high-end finishes and cutting-edge technology, but the details are what determine the winner here. 
Let’s take a look at our two sedans: The 3 Series and the S-Class. 
The 2022 3 Series features a sleek, modern interior with a busy instrument panel, 17 cubic feet of cargo space, and standard Live Cockpit Plus navigation assistance. For an extra fee, you can get BMW’s Gesture Control tech, which allows you to interact with your Bimmer with the wave of a hand—no touchscreen required! 
The S-Class, on the other hand, boasts a cabin with the upscale feel of a limousine—complete with heated, ventilated, massaging seats. The roomy interior is big on screens—literally—with a 12.8-inch touchscreen accompanying the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. Users tend to find Mercedes’s MBUX (that’s Mercedes Benz User Experience) infotainment system more intuitive than BMW’s iDrive technology. 
Go with your gut when it comes to interiors and tech: If you’re looking for the most tech-forward ride, you’re more likely to find it with a Mercedes, but comfort and sophistication are on offer from both makes. 

The bottom line: BMW beats Mercedes in the areas drivers care most about

Although both brands perform well in each category, BMW edges out Mercedes-Benz in the key areas of affordability, reliability, and performance. 
But while Mercedes beats BMW for sheer sophistication with its “The Best Or Nothing” approach to design, BMW consistently makes the better car. 
To decide which one has the vehicle that’s the right fit for you, be sure to take each option for a test drive.
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