2008 Best Car Series Final: FIAT 500 vs Audi R8

[Joey D]

A MINI Cooper base model is 24750 or so USD (converted from pounds) from the UK market...

A base Cooper is 18k when purchased stateside. (18,550)

So about 75% less.

Using the same converter I did with the MINI, the base 500 is 20221 USD. 75% of that and it's a perfectly reasonable $15,165. For a decent small car, I would say that it's very far from bad. The Honda Fit starts at 14,550.

MINI's start at $19,200 according to the www.miniusa.com. The destination fee is part of the MSRP since there is no way around that.

 

[homeforsummer]

A MINI Cooper base model is 24750 or so USD (converted from pounds) from the UK market...

A base Cooper is 18k when purchased stateside. (18,550)

So about 75% less.

Using the same converter I did with the MINI, the base 500 is 20221 USD. 75% of that and it's a perfectly reasonable $15,165. For a decent small car, I would say that it's very far from bad. The Honda Fit starts at 14,550.

^ What he said. However much a 500 is, it's nearest competitor, the MINI, is more for the equivalent model. If we're talking models in the same class, the Jazz/Fit or Mazda 2 are cheaper and objectively better in many ways than either the 500 or MINI, but it's entirely reasonable for BMW or Fiat to charge more for a product that's in demand - it's the way business has worked since the dawn of time.

The Jazz may be cheaper, but in terms of image or style it's not a patch on the 500, and despite what some people here think, image and style are important for a lot of buyers.

 

[gator of kana]

Well the R8 is now GT Planet's 2008 Car of the Year. I was against the R8 at first but I see myself growing attached to the thing now. For a car that has been a defending champion at the Le Mans to now a baby born production supercar I actually underestimated how this car will turn many heads compared to the GT-R.

 

[Joey D]

Meh I'm not surprised or impressed to be honest. Ya the R8 is a decent car and all but the big, powerful supercar just doesn't wow me like it probably should.

 

[bergauk]

I actually underestimated how this car will turn many heads compared to the GT-R.

It certainly would turn my head quicker than a GT-R. The other day I saw my first GT-R and when I rode by it, I had to double back to make sure I actually saw what I had. It just looked too normal.

Also. Press photos dont do the GT-R justice. It looks much bigger and less hideous in person.

And hooray! The R8 won!

 

[Philly]

Go to Fiat's site. Select a nation you'd be willing to build under (in my case I used the United Kingdom).
The price of the Fiat 500 I'd buy was 10,900 (a zero option model of the 1.4L sport model). When I did a google search for "pounds to dollars" I got 1 to 1.8508 (google ). That meant a Fiat 500, still not as fast 0-60 as my '06 Corolla S, would cost over 20,000 dollars (before any taxes or anything). Now I recognize how much more fun the 500 would be to drive but for the 4,000 extra (the cost of my corolla compared to the cost of the 500) I'm sure I could get new struts, a brace, and new springs (but I'd still be faster on my base engine and an automatic).

Did you consider comparing the 500 to a Corolla using UK prices for the Corolla?

As has been said, cars cost more in other parts of the world. You can't compare US car prices with their USD equivalents from other countries.

 

[Muzaffar]

Meh I'm not surprised or impressed to be honest. Ya the R8 is a decent car and all but the big, powerful supercar just doesn't wow me like it probably should.

Same here as well. Its probably because the R8 is lacking that big V10 engine in there. But anyways, I think no matter how much we all disagree, the R8 is GTP's 2008 Best Car of The Year. 👍

Also, I think what Kent and ///M-Spec was true. You can't stop those rich bastards buy cars that are "flavour of the month". If they have the money they couldn't care less what happens to the economy or why is it a bad idea to buy that certain car......

 

[niky]

For some reason I got hung up on the "mid-engined" part of the equation. As it has always been, the 911 is the biggest threat to the R8... Or, well, the R8 being the biggest threat to the 911. Traditional or not, you end up getting nearly identical performance figures out of a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S for about 9/10ths of the price. Odd when the Porsche is the "value" alternative, isn't it?

Even odder is that the same arguments made on behalf of the R8 defends the Porsche from "lesser" sportscars.

But the thing is... the regular 911 is a sportscar. The "base" R8 (assuming a V10, V12 or shtongking TDI is on the way) isn't. It's an exotic. It looks like an exotic. It smells like an exotic. It handles like an exotic. It looks like the kind of car you expect to see in a rapper's driveway beside his Bentley, yet your average moderately wealthy dentist could buy one. It's Lamborghini for the masses.

I've argued in favor of the GT-R against the R8 because the GT-R possesses superior performance and is a groundbreaking sports car. But the GT-R, while arguably a budget supercar, isn't an exotic... just a really exceptional performance GT. I voted for it, though, because that's my preference. But given the current situation, the argument for the R8 over the Fiat 500 is stronger. I've voted the 500 over its competitors simply for having better style and appeal... but in this contest, both cars have style and customer appeal... but the R8 is the more unique proposition... which is why it has to get my vote. all things considered... whatever my personal preference and whatever anti-VAG bias I may have.

And... it wins. Whew. That was the weirdest best car votation ever. I think, YSSMAN, next time there should be category weighting based on relative number of votes within each category... for example, landslide winners get paired with winners which only won by a small margin... sort of like an NBA sem-finals tree.

 

[///M-Spec]

Also, I think what Kent and ///M-Spec was true. You can't stop those rich bastards buy cars that are "flavour of the month". If they have the money they couldn't care less what happens to the economy or why is it a bad idea to buy that certain car......

Whoa there sparky. It sounds like you're taking away something from my post that I had no intention of putting there.

My friends are not 'rich bastards'. If you met them, they would come across like perfectly nice guys. In fact, one is slim, very soft spoken and quite unassuming. The other is friendly, outgoing and very gregarious. Good guys.

I think you've made a leap of logic that says just because they have a lot of money, they must be pricks or something. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There's nothing wrong with buying "flavor of the month". It's their money, they've earned it and they should do whatever pleases them. Because you may disagree with their car purchases doesn't make it a character flaw on their behalf. I said they don't think through or analyze a car purchase as carefully as some of us here at GTPlanet might --but that doesn't make them bad people. Fact is that MOST people, even people who like cars aren't enthusiasts. And that's okay.

And finally, if you think the wealthy don't care about what happens to the economy, you should think again. Most wealthy people (if they're smart) are heavily invested in equities, bonds, commodities, real-estate, etc, all of which are directly influenced by the state of the economy. I know another older, 'well-off' gentleman who had to postpone his retirement when the market tanked a few years ago.


M

 

[Muzaffar]

Whoa there sparky. It sounds like you're taking away something from my post that I had no intention of putting there.

My friends are not 'rich bastards'. If you met them, they would come across like perfectly nice guys. In fact, one is slim, very soft spoken and quite unassuming. The other is friendly, outgoing and very gregarious. Good guys.

I think you've made a leap of logic that says just because they have a lot of money, they must be pricks or something. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There's nothing wrong with buying "flavor of the month". It's their money, they've earned it and they should do whatever pleases them. Because you may disagree with their car purchases doesn't make it a character flaw on their behalf. I said they don't think through or analyze a car purchase as carefully as some of us here at GTPlanet might --but that doesn't make them bad people. Fact is that MOST people, even people who like cars aren't enthusiasts. And that's okay.

And finally, if you think the wealthy don't care about what happens to the economy, you should think again. Most wealthy people (if they're smart) are heavily invested in equities, bonds, commodities, real-estate, etc, all of which are directly influenced by the state of the economy. I know another older, 'well-off' gentleman who had to postpone his retirement when the market tanked a few years ago.


M

Hahahahaha, oh I'm so sorry for that harsh respond. Should have posted something else instead of that..... Well I didn't really meant your friends as one of them, was just talking about your usual "rich people" out there. You know, like the celebrities and the like..... but yeah, can agree that they can buy what they like, even if most of us would disagree with what they do to their cars. After all, it is their hard earned money.....

Maybe its just that since most of us don't really have money to buy exotics or sports car and have to resort to buy economical cars, does makes us jealous of the richer people driving nice cars out there. I mean, for them driving those kind of cars are a pleasure and the fuel economy doesn't seem to bother them that much even with the rising fuel prices...... Well not to say all of them are like that, there are a few rich people out there who are down to earth and share as much interest in cars as us but that kind of person is kind of hard to find.......

Yeah, again sorry if I jumped into conclusions too early. Couldn't help but to start a conversation on these topics.....

 

[///M-Spec]

Yeah, again sorry if I jumped into conclusions too early. Couldn't help but to start a conversation on these topics.....

Fair enough 👍 To be perfectly honest, sometimes I'm jealous of those rich bastards too


M