DS 3 Cabrio vs Fiat 500C vs Mini Convertible

What are they like inside?

The Mini Convertible is the roomiest up front, with plenty of leg and head room. Both the Mini and DS 3 Cabrio offer enough adjustment to suit most body shapes, too, although offset pedals and a shortage of lower back support hamper the Mini. The DS has more supportive seats and is comfortable even for the longest trips.

In contrast, the 500C has quite flat seats and, more critically, no reach adjustment on the steering wheel. The pedal area is also cramped with no rest for your clutch foot.

The 500C’s touchscreen is also small at 5.0in, and the Fiat feels cheaper inside than the others, even though the air-con switches are easy to use and the optional £250 digital speedo readout is clear.

The Mini’s interior feels classy with softer, more appealing materials. There are some scratchy plastics lower down, but generally the materials feel dense and solidly fitted. The 6.5in central screen is clear and user-friendly, and the rest of the dashboard is quite easy to fathom.

The DS 3 doesn’t feel as well built, with some flimsy feeling switches and more brittle plastics, but its mix of gloss and metal-look highlights do lift it well above the Fiat for perceived quality.

Visibility is quite poor in all three cars, but the Mini’s wider rear screen gives it the best view out of the back.

The DS 3 has the widest cabin, and is the only car here that can legally seat three in the back, although we wouldn’t recommend trying it; even two adults will be pretty disgruntled in the back of any of these cars, sitting with their knees pressed against the front seats. The Mini has a touch more leg and head room, but its seatbacks are very upright, so most people will find the DS 3 more comfortable.

Luggage space isn’t a strong point for these cars, either. All have small, letterbox-shaped openings, although the Mini has the biggest aperture, and when its roof is up, its flip-Easy Load function allows you to loosen and lift the base of the roof to make a bigger opening.

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