Best Value Cars
Gallery 1
Fiat’s 500 proves fashion can be somewhat frugal
1. Fiat 500 C Pop BEING the smallest, cheapest ragtop on the market helped the Fiat 500 C’s chances, and made the frugal (5.1L/100km) $20K fashion accessory a Gold Star certainty. At this price, it hardly matters that the service interval is a too-frequent six months. Neither does it matter that the atmo 1.2-litre four offers a paltry 51kW, nor that you pay $4K for the privilege of no roof, only to introduce body flex.
2. Renault Megane CC THE departure of the Holden Astra and Ford Focus CC, and the impending demise of Volkswagen’s Eos, has handed this small slice of the convertible segment to Renault’s much-improved Megane CC.
3. Volkswagen Golf cabriolet THE drop-top Golf, although double the price of the winning Fiat, is easily twice the car. A 65 percent retained value is class-best, and it works out better in dollars per year.
| Convertib. <$60k | Purchase Price | Comb. Fuel (L/100km) | Fuel RON (min. rec.) | 3-year fuel cost | Redbook resale (%) | 3-year deprec. | AAMI insurance prem. | Service interval (months) | Warranty (years) |
| Fiat 500C Pop MTA | $20,000 | 5.1 | 95 | $3099 | 57 | $8600 | $920.76 | 6 | 3 |
| Renault Megane CC | $38,490 | 8.1 | 95 | $4923 | 60 | $15,396 | $1102.63 | 12 | 5 |
| Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet | $40,390 | 6.5 | 98 | $4174 | 65 | $14,137 | $1134.23 | 12 | 3 |
Notable classmates: Audi A3 Cabriolet 1.4 TFSI, Peugeot 308CC / Number of cars crunched: 6
