The New Mini and The Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 and new BMW Mini had a long history to share. The former was re-launched in 2007 (and that was an augmented recreation of the old model 1957 Fiat 500). Back then, the company was facing stiff rivalry from Volkswagen beetle, the Citroen and the Morris Mini from England. Keeping up with the traditions, BMW re-launched Mini, which was originally brought out back in 1959. The company continued manufacturing the same car until late 1990’s. The BMW’s revised version was released in the year 2001, and the name was restyled to MINI to differentiate from its predecessor.
Both are classic examples of the latest trend in the car making industry. In addition, both the auto manufacturers are trying to build more retro styled renovated models in a hope to provoke the nostalgia in the human minds. The Fiat 500 and the Mini were tagged as city cars. The re-launched versions have been classified as hatchbacks. The wheelbase length of both the cars is almost the same. The Mini was a bit heavier in comparison to the Fiat 500. This difference in the weight gives an advantage to Fiat 500, as cars with lower kerb weight are always fuel economic and have additional on road stability.
However, one must understand the MINI is unquestionably more powerful than the Fiat 500. The 1.2 and 1.6 liter double overhead camshaft engine of the Fiat 500 and the MINI produced varying levels of power bands. The maximum power and torque for the Fiat 500 are 68.8ps and 102.2Nm for the 2007 initial model while the base model of the MINI can give 122.2ps and 160.0Nm. The capacity of a single cylinder in the mini is around 399 cc while the fiat’s is 310.5. At the same time, we are looking at two hatchbacks, which is definitely not a competition place for the power.
The fuel consumption is also the same in both the cars. The Fiat 500 features a five speed manual transmission while the MINI has a six-speed manual transmission system. The MINI has a bad reputation behaving badly in unpaved roads. Blame it on the suspension system; some of the reviews also point out that it is very tough to accommodate an average family within the vehicle. The renowned engineers in Fiat ensured that the 500 has incredible control and braking power; this can help you even when you decide to burn some rubber on the tarmac.
The outstanding interior of the fiat 500 definitely is an advantage for the car as the company has tried to maintain its integrity of older version. Both the cars fall in same price range hence making it a very tough competition but the critical acclaim has been won by the Fiat 500 (in comparison to the Mini Cooper). The Fiat 500 has been getting to rave about in the auto reviews ever since 2007 and the MINI has just been a bit off colored with their 2010 edition!