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- Jun 20, 2010
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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?
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?