I'm amused that 5th Gear commented that the 500 has more room in the rear of the car. Not true. I (at 6' 2") can easily fit in any Mini. I do not fit at all in the 500, not even close, there is no rear headroom, I'd estimate anyone over 5'8" won't fit in the back.
Different class of car at the end of the day, not really in competition.
When the Arbarth comes out, I'm betting they'll pitch-it against the current Cooper, in which case the 500 will win again. Guess they won't want to lose all of that lovely advertising money from the Fiat group.
*** What would be interesting to see would be the lap times for the old MINI One, Cooper, Cooper S and JCW on similar spec tyres, etc.
Paul, when you say that both cars 'fail' as modern equivalents - I think the word fail can be held to the VW Beetle Besides, has there ever been a successful resurrection that was exactly the same as its predecessor? Once again, I like, and respect both cars greatly, I just prefer the Mini. Why? Because I can/do
Wonder if they are ever going to point out that many great road cars dont do well on racetracks and Vice Versa. Its totally unsubjective they dont even give a record of lap times to compare.
On the originality according to The Mail on Sunday the front engined fiat is a truer recreation of the original than the Mini.
I saw one of those Campers yesterday too I saw the 07 plate and did a double take.
I said it could be argued they both fail, not they both do. I think they both work really well, in different ways, as modern interpretations of an old classic.
Now, if they made a modern/retro camper van that looks anything like some of the concepts they've come up with, powered in carrot juice or some such eco-fuel, then sign me up too!
Ncap won't keep it on the road if you take a corner a little too hard. But the new Bosch 8.1 abs system will! 500 really is a fantastically safe, agile car.
Still find it pointless putting the 2 1.4s against each other. Cooper S Vs Abarth now thats the interesting one. Fiat need to pull their finger out and hurry up release it.
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Besides, has there ever been a successful resurrection that was exactly the same as its predecessor? Once again, I like, and respect both cars greatly, I just prefer the Mini. Why? Because I can/do 
500 really is a fantastically safe, agile car.
