We are here considering two somewhat similar cars, but we can't deny some of the obvious differences. For a start, they are not even classified under the same segment, with the FIAT being a micro car and the Lancia representing city car vehicle class. Both the engines are FIAT-engineered . The first one has a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 75hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 90hp one.

The fact that the FIAT got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. The second vehicle is a city car and that gives it a marginal advantage over the micro car competitor, at least that's what statistics show. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Ypsilon offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that FIAT does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of FIAT, as well as Lancia, with the same average rating of 4.3 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed 500 as average reliability-wise, and Ypsilon is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as 500 rank it on average as 4.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.1 out of 5.

Lancia is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.5 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 175 kilometers per hour, 10km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 4.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (66 mpg), in combined cycle.

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, 500 beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Lancia 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... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the 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 more than 12.000 different ones in our database.