Right, buckle up and get ready for this week’s edition of Car Wars Wednesdays! It’s the battle of the small cars this week, as we let the 2015 MINI Cooper fight it out with the 2015 Fiat 500! With the assumption that the MINI Cooper is THE supermini, you may think the battle is already won – but let’s see what the feisty little Italian car has in its armoury!
Design
The MINI Cooper design is a classic. Who doesn’t love its solid frame and high tech interiors? But even with the addition of 5 doors and additional interior space, the 2015 MINI Cooper Hatchback model hasn’t added anything particularly new or exciting to the design that we haven’t seen before. On the other hand, the 2015 Fiat 500’s design offers oodles of style and elegance inside and out, as well as bags of contemporary quirk. With large windows and a Skydome glass roof, you definitely won’t feel cramped in this little number – which gives the Fiat 500 that extra edge over the MINI Cooper.
Performance
The Fiat 500 has been designed to deliver fuel efficiency and low CO² emissions while still packing some punch – and for a supermini, it definitely achieves this feat. The TwinAir engine delivers 85bhp and can even be upgraded to 105bhp for some added oomph! However, the handling is average and the car is actually quite shaky at high speeds. The MINI Cooper suffers the same problem, with a lot of the inevitable road noise you’ll get with a car of this size – but thankfully, the 134bhp 1.5 litre BMW designed engine does go some way to make up for these shortcomings. With both cars offering similar fuel efficiency and CO² emission levels, it’s a close call – but the MINI’s engine helps it to scrape a win in the performance stakes.
Features
Both cars have an abundance of features for a more enjoyable drive and ultimate safety – from the MINI Cooper’s driver assistance technologies such as head-up display, road sign detection and auto-braking system, to the Fiat 500’s 7 airbags, optional Blue&Me TomTom satellite navigation and a Start&Stop feature for more greater efficiency in traffic jams. For us, safety has to come first. Tipped as the safest supermini on the market right now, the 2015 Fiat 500 wins hands down.
Pricing
Both cars offer great value for money. The Fiat 500 starts at £10,420, making it the cheaper choice over the MINI Cooper’s starting price of £14,350 for a 5-door. However, the MINI’s resale value is much higher – making it a stronger investment proposition in the long run.
The verdict: the battle of MINI Cooper vs Fiat 500 has come to an end. It’s been a close race, but for us the winner has to be the Fiat 500. With exceptional design inside and out, on top of affordability, fuel efficiency and fantastic safety features, this is the superior supermini for us.
If you fancy getting your hands on either one of these cars, find out how the our quick application car loans can help. Get an instant quote with our online car loan calculator or head to our dedicated Fiat finance and MINI finance pages for more details.
