Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door hatchback body style within the same 'Small family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Ford and front in the case of the FIAT). The first one has a Ford-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 350hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 110hp engine designed by FIAT.

Safety

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the Ford displaying significantly better structural stability. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, the American car offers a considerable difference of 10% more metal.

Reliability

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that both brands display similar results in faults and breakdowns, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Ford with an average rating of 4.4, and models under the FIAT badge with 4.3 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Focus as average reliability-wise, and Tipo is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the American car rank it on average as 3.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.3 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Ford is way more agile, reaching 100km/h in 6.8 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 266 kilometers per hour, 74km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be the Italian car, averaging around 6.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (45 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 22% difference compared to the American car.

Verdict

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 American car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Ford outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Ford. 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. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.