These two little cars have just two things in common with their ancestors, the Fiat 500 of the '50s and the Renault Twingo that swarmed European streets in the '90s: there’s the obvious visual links the fact that both sets of cars were designed around the needs of the urban dweller.

But whereas the old cars were cheap little runabouts aimed at the entry-level market, the modern-age 500 and Twingo are far more premium offerings. They’re sophisticated, specced to the hilt and pitched squarely at trendy city slickers.

While these two were seemingly designed for a similar target market, it would be a stretch to call them direct competitors as the 500 does command a R25K price premium over the Twingo, but it may well be worth that extra money.

Let’s face it — these are not exactly rational purchase decisions. They’re both small cars with big price tags and aim to lure you in with trendy looks and lots of sophistication for the money.

Funky looks

The Fiat is a clear winner in the funky stakes. Its bodywork oozes cute and cheeky character, while fully honouring its heritage.

By contrast, the Twingo hardly warms our hearts. It’s almost as if its designers couldn’t decide whether to design something cute for the feminine market or opt for a more aggressive design with more masculine appeal, like the little Citroen C2.

So they seem to have opted for a far blander middle ground that isn’t likely to appeal much to either side of the camp. And then why did they have to steal the Scenic MPV’s rear end for this car?

Not that it looks too bad. With a nice set of wheels and the burnt orange hue of our test car, it could pass for semi-cool, but this segment demands more than semi-cool.

As a redeeming factor, the Twingo can be customised with racing stripes and tribal-design stickers, although the 500 still whacks it in this arena too, with 500 000 different combinations available.

Step inside

The Fiat’s more premium positioning becomes increasingly evident when you step inside. Though some of the surfaces still look a little cheap, most of the textures, details and the overall design befit a more premium expensive. It looks both modern and funky while still respecting its heritage.

Surprisingly, the Twingo’s interior has quite a daring design, complete with a central instrument binnacle and rev counter pod above the steering column. Though the plastics are of the hard and cost-cutting type, Renault has disguised this quite cleverly with a grained pattern. For the price there’s not much to complain about, and same goes for the specification.

In fact, both cars are very well equipped. Aircon, power windows and mirrors, remote central locking, basic trip computer and a decent MP3-compatible sound system with four speakers and two tweeters are standard fare on these cars. That’s an important feature for the target market as is the optional USB port for connecting MP3 players and Bluetooth phone kit that both cars offer.

Safety wise, the Fiat wins the airbag count with seven of them, including curtain airbags and a kneebag for the driver, while the Renault only has front and side airbags.

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