Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the micro car segment and utilize the same 2-door cabriolet body style and the front wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific petrol engine choice they offer. The first one has a FIAT-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 2-cylinder, 8-valves 85hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 90hp engine designed by Tritec.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the micro car segment, which is generally a misfortune safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the British car offers a considerable difference of 23% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that FIAT does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of FIAT with an average rating of 4.3, and models under the Mini badge with 4.1 out of 5. The same official information place 500 as average reliability-wise, and Mini is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the Italian car rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.0 out of 5.

FIAT is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.8 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 173 kilometers per hour, 2km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Italian car, averaging around 4.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (69 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 71% difference compared to the British car!

FIAT appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the British car offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with FIAT offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. To make things even better, it consumps less fuel! All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but FIAT. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.