It is not much larger to American eyes, but after just getting back from Italy, I cannot understand why they brought the 500 instead of the Panda, which is their most popular car there as well. It is big enough to not seem like a gag and the Panda 4x4 is much cooler IMO.

I guess I give a different perspective than average around here as someone who is maintaining older cars on my own, not buying or cross shopping new.

I gave up Audi about 10 years ago after it being my primary brand. They are not as forgiving to work on and the BMW DIY support is much better. I still get chances to work on them with friends and they experience more frustrations across generations than I have.

I currently have a C6 A6 Avant that fell into my hands to sell, and while it was lovely and has so many trick little features for its time, it’s a misery to work on compared to E46’s and E39’s. I wish I could like them more because my first car was an A4, but just too many horror stories of issues that weren’t recoverable to go back unless it was a really excellent opportunity.