| Avenger | Cooper 5 door | Shadow | Neon |
| Wheelbase | 2,560 mm (100.8 in) | 2,567 mm (101.1 in) (5-door) | 97.2 in (2,469 mm) (1993-1994) | 105.0 in (2,667 mm) |
|---|
| Length | 4,084 mm (160.8 in) | 3,982 mm (156.8 in) (5-door) | 171.9 in (4,366 mm) (1993-1994) | 174.4 in (4,430 mm) |
|---|
| Width | 1,776 mm (69.9 in) | 1,727 mm (68.0 in) | 67.3 in (1,709 mm) | 67.4 in (1,712 mm) |
|---|
| Height | 1,528 mm (60.2 in) | 1,425 mm (56.1 in) (5-door) | 53.1 in (1,349 mm) (1994) | 56.0 in (1,422 mm) |
|---|
| Curb weight | 1,182–1,536 kg (2,606–3,386 lb) | | 2,643 lb (1,199 kg) (5-door) | |
|---|
| Cargo | 12.5 cu ft | 9 | 13 | 13 |
Actually you could think of it as a vertical Neon. Neon is 14" longer, but 4" lower and 2.5" narrower. Shadow was 7" lower. Clearly the Mini isn't in the same category as it is the same height as the Neon but 17.6" shorter with a very small cargo area.
It may be called a Fiat, but the 600 is a PSA design, essentially a Citroen C3 Aircross in a different skin, and will be manufactured in Poland along with the Avenger and B-Alfa. It most closely matches up with the PT Cruiser, which, with its front bumper straightened instead of in a "v," would be about the same length. Weight is close, but the PT is taller, which is why, along with its huge tailgate and solid rear axle, it was such a fantastic "truck" for hauling stuff. Biggest mistake Daimler made was ignoring the PT. It wouldn't take much to add 6 inches to the tail, but lengthening the front would require a complete redesign of crash absorption structure.
The plan is to use LFP (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate) batteries, which are heavier but safer and cheaper. No nickel, no cobalt. There's a plan to manufacture a version with a slightly smaller battery pack and lower motor power to bring the price down. We can't transition to carbon free transportation with $50,000 cars. The price must come down. And how much vehicle does one really need? Three-fourths of the time we drive alone. A 45 pound electric bike can haul a 200 pound payload and so can a 7,000 pound electric pickup. In between those extremes will be vehicles like the Fiat 600, or better yet, a derivative of the Citroen OLI concept car, which only weighs 2,300 pounds and can go 50% farther on the same battery power than the most efficient electric car on the road today.
We have to realize that vehicle morphology must change with the switch to electrification. What manufacturers are doing today is the same thing coach builders did in the 1830s. They adapted a wooden stagecoach to run on rails and be pulled by a steam engine instead of horses. Over time, a better morphology appropriate to the means of travel was developed. That means vehicles that won't be designed to be able to be powered by either electricity or IC engines. Today's electric vehicles are essentially IC engine bodies converted to electric propulsion, resulting in excess weight and cost.
I'm 74, and I grew up with land yachts, with huge front and rear overhangs, that handled atrociously and had abysmal fuel economy. I had access to a car pool and always chose a Suburban over a Chevy sedan because I could see out and down the road, a major reason people prefer crossovers. When the oil crisis hit, we all switched over to small cars quite readily. The first time I drove a Simca 1204 at 70 mph on a gravel road and experienced how it tracked straight as an arrow, I said I would never go back to rear wheel drive again. A co-worker, who owned a Camaro, rode with me once and marveled at how much more interior room the Simca had than his car. Americans will drive smaller cars, but manufacturers don't like to produce them because the profit margin is too small. If Western manufacturers don't produce less expensive cars, China will jump into that hole and eat their lunch.
Bring the 600 across the pond, call it the Dodge Neon, and keep its happy face.
