The Last Of The Two-Door Hatchbacks: 2007 Mini Cooper vs 2012 Fiat 500

Welcome back! Today we’re taking a look at two examples of a nearly extinct breed of automobile, at least here in the US: the two-door (or three-door, if you prefer) hatchback. But did this body style go out with a bang or a whimper? We’ll take a close look at these two and decide.

But first, let’s check out the results from yesterday’s open-air classics. The Scout garnered a lot of attention and ultimately won the vote. More than one of you expressed an interest in actually buying it, and to them I say: Do it. Then, write about it. I have zero say on what gets published here, but I bet the story of a car found on Shitbox Showdown would make the cut.

And I have to agree with the vote, for what it’s worth. I’m a diehard little British car lover, but I already have one. And I’ve always liked the style of the early Scout 80 and 800. Plus, it’s yellow! And the top comes off! How can you resist?

There was a time when the default small-car body style was a hatchback, and if you didn’t specify, it came with two passenger doors. From the Ford Fiesta and VW Rabbit all the way up through the Metro and Accent days, two-door hatchbacks ruled the small car market. And things were good: the cars were economical, easy to park, and carried a shocking amount of cargo. But something happened to small cars in America about twenty years ago: They grew rear doors. And, worse, trunk lids. Suddenly they were harder to get in and out of because the doors were shorter, and harder to park because they were needlessly a foot longer. And that used recliner off Craigslist? Forget it; call your buddy with the Explorer, because it’s not going to fit in your Aveo sedan.

The exception seemed to be in the “premium” small car market, where the revived Mini and Fiat 500 lived. Here, two doors meant sporty, and hatchback body styles meant European sophistication. I mean, they were still just little economy cars, but with bigger price tags. Now, however, the depreciation monster has brought them down to our level, so let’s take a look and see which one carries on the proud little hatchback tradition better.

2007 Mini Cooper – $3,700

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Odometer reading: 195,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

I have to hand it to BMW. When it revived the Mini marque, I never expected the ride to last this long. Right now, today, you can still walk into a Mini dealership and drive out in a brand new two-door Mini – with a manual transmission. That makes more than twenty years of retro-styled hatchbacks zooming around, a remarkable feat in this era of dull crossovers. It’s the last of its kind, as far as I know.

This is the second generation R56-platform Mini, though you’d be forgiven if you couldn’t tell. It’s the same dilemma faced by Volkswagen with the New Beetle: How do you update a retro design? Subtly, it turns out. The R56 Mini has a 1.6-liter engine like its predecessor, but it’s a totally different engine altogether. (“It’s a totally different engine.“) The base Cooper model also gained a forward gear; this car has a six-speed gearbox.

It has a pile of miles on it, but the seller says it runs well and has been reliable. It has had a lot of recent work, and the seller has records for it all. It sure looks like they’ve taken care of it; this does not look like a seventeen-year-old car with almost two hundred thousand miles.

It’s nice and clean inside, too. A lot of these Minis seem to have led hard lives, so finding one this clean is a treat. I like the dual sunroofs in these, too; it brings a lot of light into the interior.

2012 Fiat 500 Pop – $3,900

Engine/drivetrain: 1.4-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Palmdale, CA

Odometer reading: 118,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

After the successes of Volkswagen and Mini’s retro models, Fiat entered the fray with a new version of its fabled 500 model. This car also marked Fiat’s return to the US market in 2010. Like the Mini and the New Beetle, it’s significantly bigger than the car that inspired it – but “significantly bigger” than the old 500 is still a pretty tiny car. The original 500 was rear-engined and rear-wheel-drive; the new one moved the drivetrain to the front, using the same basic platform as Fiat’s celebrated Panda.

In the US, the 500 came with only two engine choices: a 1.4 liter twin-cam four, or a turbocharged version of the same. This basic Pop model makes do without the turbocharger, but it does boast a five-speed manual gearbox, as befitting a small Fiat. Fiat engines love to rev, and saddling them with an automatic transmission is cruel and unusual punishment. Oh sure, you could order a slushbox, because this is America, but no one who understood these cars did so.

Normally, I’d complain about the appliance-white paint, but one look at this interior and the lack of hue outside is forgiven. Small cars should have fun interiors, and this little Fiat doesn’t disappoint. It’s in nice condition, too. We don’t get much detail in this ad, but the seller does say it runs and drives well. Terse ads like this make me wonder if the seller is old enough to have paid by the word for classified ads, and is still in that mindset.

It’s a well-traveled little thing, though; it has Kansas plates on it. And even if it’s plain white, it sure is shiny. It occurs to me, however, that white is the base color for Alitalia livery – nah.

I get why two-door cars fell out of favor, I guess; they’re fine if you never need to use the back seat, but crawling over a flipped-forward seat back is a pain in the ass. But a lot of us almost never have more than two people in the car. The only time we open the rear doors is to put groceries in the back seat. And two doors just look better than four, especially on a small car. For less than four grand, one of these two can be yours. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)