General What would you have bought if there were no 500

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General What would you have bought if there were no 500

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All this talk of MINIs etc got me thinking - what would people have bought if the 500 did not exist.

Superficially, the obvious answer might be a Panda, but frankly I do not see it as a competitor.

For me, the 500 was a way to save money and avoid using the fuel-mad 4x4 we had at the time. But as well as needing to be frugal and reasonably cheap to buy, it also had to be available as an auto (wife only has auto licence), fit two small-to-medium kids plus small dog, and be sufficiently fashionable that my wife would deem it suitable for her to be seen in.

I do not think that any other car would have worked. Not the Panda (too "low rent" - sorry Panda drivers), not the MINI (terrible mpg with the auto), not the Citroen C3 Picasso (no auto available), not the Suzuki Swift (too ordinary), not the Smart (too small).

So my answer to the question is in fact "nothing".

Yours?
 
I was looking at a used Range Rover Sport when I got my 500.
If I were to buy now it would be an Audi A1 or the Land Rover Evoque.
 
Porsche 917

 

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All this talk of MINIs etc got me thinking - what would people have bought if the 500 did not exist.

Superficially, the obvious answer might be a Panda, but frankly I do not see it as a competitor.

For me, the 500 was a way to save money and avoid using the fuel-mad 4x4 we had at the time. But as well as needing to be frugal and reasonably cheap to buy, it also had to be available as an auto (wife only has auto licence), fit two small-to-medium kids plus small dog, and be sufficiently fashionable that my wife would deem it suitable for her to be seen in.

I do not think that any other car would have worked. Not the Panda (too "low rent" - sorry Panda drivers), not the MINI (terrible mpg with the auto), not the Citroen C3 Picasso (no auto available), not the Suzuki Swift (too ordinary), not the Smart (too small).

So my answer to the question is in fact "nothing".

Yours?

When I bought mine, I specifically wanted a sub-120g/km CO2 petrol car, which at the time severely limited my choices.

Agree with your comment re the Panda; despite being almost identical to the 1.2 500 mechanically, the two cars are styled, priced & configured for completely different markets.

From what you've posted about your purchasing criteria, I'm thinking Honda Jazz / Citroen DS3.
 
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For me, because I don’t actually give a rats chuff about the environment, (I don’t own any children), if I hadn’t bought the wife her 500 to replace her Mazda MX5, I would have bought a Ford Crown Victoria, otherwise instantly recognisable to those who don’t know what these are, an American Police Car.



Having sat in the passenger seat during a high speed pursuit in downtown Baltimore, I know exactly what superb fun these cars are. What’s more, you can genuinely watch the fuel gauge drop before your very eyes and you get to choke as many people as you like on dirty old petrol fumes whilst watching mothers with small children stick two fingers up at you!:devil:


Sadly, American and General Motors themed cars are very much my thing, owning both a Cadillac and a Chrysler/Dodge Neon, so a 1.0 litre Chevrolet/Daewoo Matiz would probably have been on the list if the 500 wasn’t around – but only as long as I didn’t have to drive it!!;)
 
I'm actually the same as RobinPJ here, I'm not sure what we would have gone for if the 500 hadn't been about.

My wife and I had both agreed that the Micra looked OK (feel free to abuse me for that!:D), but after having the misfortune to drive one as a hire car one weekend, that was never going to be an option as it drove like a complete turd. The only car I have driven which was worse was a Chevrolet Matiz (although to be fair to the Matiz you DO get what you pay for, i.e. not a great deal!).

We also quite liked the new shape Fiesta, but when we were looking for cars there weren't really any appropriate deals on at the time.

So....I'm not sure we would actually have bought one at all!:)
 
Having sat in the passenger seat during a high speed pursuit in downtown Baltimore, I know exactly what superb fun these cars are. What’s more, you can genuinely watch the fuel gauge drop before your very eyes and you get to choke as many people as you like on dirty old petrol fumes whilst watching mothers with small children stick two fingers up at you!:devil:

Get a turbocharged Subaru. You can watch the fuel gauge go down on that too :)
 
Was also looking at the Subaru but the wife did not like it... but this round I am going green. High mpg, no road tax and lower insurance, no MOT for 3 year.
 
On our list was the Citroen DS3 and the Kia Sportage. Both a bit more expensive but we liked the looks of them and they have a feeling of quality inside. The 500c was quite an impulse buy and not at all something we'd considered. Before choosing the 500 we tried an Audi A1 but it did nothing to excite us.

We haven't regretted our decision once. :)
 
Good question and I'm trying to think back as to when we got the TA.

Mrs TA got rid of an ageing convertible Saab and wanted something cheap to run and fun, hence the TA. She'd possibly have gone for an Alfa- a Mito or Giulietta if the 500 didn't exist. Even if it did but there was no TA it might have been different.

We looked at the Mini when it first came out- no, not the original one! My wife really didn't like it and ended up getting a Ford Puma Thunder.
 
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