Where each one leads
Fiat 500
- Fewer Fiat 500 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.6% against 4.7%).
Smart Fortwo
- Against cars of the same age, the Smart Fortwo comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 8% more often than average) than the Fiat 500 (passes 5% less often than average).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2009 Smart Fortwo uses 6.5 l/100 km, the 2019 Fiat 500 7.9.
- New Smart Fortwo cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 20 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 64 for the Fiat 500 in 2022.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Fiat 500 | Smart Fortwo | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2011–2020 | 2005–2019 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 2,025,450 (2010–2022) | 131,161 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 405,026 | 53,479 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 125,733 | 6,965 |
| In traffic in Finland | 3,184 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Fiat 500 | Smart Fortwo | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 69% | 69% |
| … against cars of the same age | −5% | +8% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.9% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | −15% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 2.6% | 4.7% |
| US owner complaints | 811 | 346 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2012 (396) | 2008 (140) |
| US recall campaigns | 6 | 5 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,071 | 478 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 10 | 12 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Fiat 500 | Smart Fortwo | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 4★ (2017) | 4★ (2017) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Fiat 500 | Smart Fortwo | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 7.9 l/100 km (2019) | 6.5 l/100 km (2009) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 6.1 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 64 g/km | 20 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 59 kW (78 hp) | 44 kW (59 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,182 kg | 1,004 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €20,073 | €14,168 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 96,000 km | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).