Tbh I disagree about buying an A500. I think the MiTo is probably the better car to drive. It's got better brakes, a more sophisticated chassis and enough go.
I can't help but feel that a lot of people allow the fact that they've owned a 500 to cloud their judgement a little when it comes to the A500. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible car or anything, but whilst the 500 comes in for a lot of praise from the media, the A500 is outclassed by a good deal of the cars in its class.
A standard 500 does a great job of being a cheapish little car which is fairly cheap to run and which is nice to look at and nice to be inside. For me personally the A500 doesn't carry this off nearly as well as the 500.
I think the MiTo 155 strikes the perfect balance between performance and looking nice. To me it's the logical move from a 1.2 500 to a nice looking car with performance and a nice interior.
Good unbiased comments... agree A500 is not the end all. I was saying as Michael was very keen on the A500 and if that is what he wanted, to hang on. I like the A500 and its rawness (minus all stickers) as it takes me back to 205gti days, but you know what we will sell the Rav4 in future and end up with a 320dTourer.
Hope were are not loosing you both from the forum.