| Motoring Discussion > FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda | |
| Thread Author: Bagpuss | Replies: 12 |
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New Wed 13 Jun 12 22:06
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - Bagpuss
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So, after probably the longest decision making process in car buying history, we finally bought Mrs. B. a car. After considering and looking at pretty much all the city car options available, she eventually decided on the one we originally wanted to buy – a Fiat Panda. Not the latest one, the one that’s just been replaced. So, where to buy one? I found a car supermarket near Munich selling brand new imports at usefully lower prices than a dealer can manage, even after discounts. With the intention of buying a massively cheap brand new basic spec Panda, off we went. The reality turned out to be slightly different. Instead of driving off in the poverty spec model man maths intervened and I allowed myself to be swayed by the high end ones. So we eventually ended up with a metallic grey model with remote locking, electric windows and mirrors, 6 speaker stereo, climate control, a fiendishly complicated trip computer and (gulp) parking sensors. It’s also the first Panda I’ve seen which actually has a lid on the glovebox and it has an impressive folding key fob thing like an Audi. One thing we forewent was alloy wheels. The car stands resplendent on steel wheels wearing 155SR13 Conti Eco Contacts without suffering from that undertyred look that Rover used to specialise in - it’s too small for that to be a problem. It’s an import from Slovenia, which means the service book is in what I take to be Slovenian, but fortunately the RTFM is in English. I’ve driven Pandas before so knew what to expect on the road. With a kerb weight of around 900kg to haul around, the 1.2 litre 69PS engine is lively enough to make progress without too much gear changing. There is some pitching on uneven roads due to the short wheelbase, but handling is precise and it’s much more fun to drive than a lot of city cars which suffer from terminal understeer. The brakes are reassuring and the clutch has that slightly sticky feeling common to Fiats, but overall you get the feeling that this is the sort of car that Fiat does well. Fiats, of course are also notoriously fitted with a “girly button” (officially called City Mode) which reduces the effort for the already light power steering to US car levels, but even Mrs. B. finds this too much of a good thing. One surprise was the noise level – or lack of it. I don’t know whether the (ahem) "luxurious” trim level also entitles us to additional sound proofing but it’s far quieter than I remember Pandas being, even at 130m/h on the autobahn. Not that it’s really ideal on the autobahn, it was bought for urban warfare. In town it’s in its element. I take great pleasure in parallel parking in gaps I wouldn’t even look at in our other cars. Finding a space between inconsiderately parked SUVs in the supermarket car park becomes a doddle due to its narrowness. Mrs. B. loves it due to the boxy shape making visibility much better than other cars we looked at and the high seating position which puts her eye to eye with the drivers of smaller SUVs. 3 year old Bagpussette loves it for the same reason. It also has usefully big door mirrors but a rather unusefully small boot – can’t have everything in a car this size. Overall I still think the Panda is the best of the city cars. The interior is a nice place to be with comfortable seats, well placed controls and a good level of finish. This particular model adds entertainment factor with a rev counter and digital displays for the climate control. Biggest problem is the overwhelming smell of cheap plastics, especially when it’s stood for a day in the sun. Like the problems though it’s difficult to complain at the price. We’ll see how it goes as we’ll probably keep it a long time – Mrs. B’s last car was a Ford Ka which she kept for 6 years. |
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New Wed 13 Jun 12 22:29
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - Runfer D'Hills
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Great wee cars BP. I've had several on hire in Italy. By far the best drive of the current offerings of that size of car from the hire companies. The worst, for me anyway, was the little Hyundai I10. Horrible thing. Wish I needed a Panda sometimes ! I'd like a shot of one of the 100hp ones. Bet they're a hoot. Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Wed 13 Jun 12 at 22:30
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New Thu 14 Jun 12 23:37
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - paulb
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>> I'd like a shot of one of the 100hp ones. Bet they're a hoot. >> They are indeed - we've had ours 4 years 3 months now, and it's as much fun as the day we bought it :-) |
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New Thu 14 Jun 12 23:49
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - Harleyman
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>> Great wee cars BP. I've had several on hire in Italy. By far the best >> drive of the current offerings of that size of car from the hire companies. The >> worst, for me anyway, was the little Hyundai I10. Horrible thing. >> Funny thing, we found the opposite to be true; tried the Panda and the Fiat 500, former was gutless and the latter, whilst I adored the styling (and still do) had a couple of minor niggles which made me think twice. Tried the i10, liked it, and still do nearly 3 years later. It's not perfect, but it's still a helluva lot of car for its price. Wouldn't do for us all to like the same though. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 00:14
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - RattleandSmoke
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Mine is on almost 10,000 (well 9350) miles now. Been a very good car although a slight fault with the central locking as appeared in that the drivers door doesn't always fully unlock making it quite difficult to open when its just unlocked. Its very random. I drive the I10 and the Panda. I drive my Panda a lot more but occasionally use the i10. My Panda is 54bhp and the i10 is 85bhp so I really really do notice the difference in the extra power. Over all though everything on the Panda is better weighted, the steering feels more natural, the brakes feel sharper and the controls feel better quality. The seats on the Panda especially are much better quality than the i10. I actually like both cars, the i10 is much better value than the Panda, more equipment, much better engine, better warranty, better MPG etc but some how the Panda is more fun. It always staggers me how much I can get in the Panda too. Today I carried 6 step step ladders, an upright hoover, a 4m x 3m carpet and my Dewalt drill and tool kit to my new office and it all fitted in perfectly with room to spare. As for noise level I would say it is marginally better than the i10 but there is not much in it, its tyre noise really. On a Motorway in 5th doing 70mph there is very little road noise. Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Fri 15 Jun 12 at 00:16
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 00:49
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - rtj70
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I had an i10 in Greece a few weeks ago. If anyone knows Lesvos there's lots of bends. The i10 was really fun. I enjoyed having a 1.2 petrol car for sure. Far more fun and drivable than the Panda 1.1 I had in Tuscany last year. I'd even say the i10 was as well if not better built. And the gearbox better too. Some of the roads driven were not high speed and hardly any (mostly no) other cars... but I probably had more enjoyment than in a powerful/bigger car. Only did about 300 miles in 4 days on Lesvos mind. Not the high mileage Rattle does in his Panda or his dad's i10. Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 15 Jun 12 at 00:51
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 00:55
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - rtj70
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I thought I'd respond to: >> It always staggers me how much I can get in the Panda too. Today I carried 6 step step ladders, Surveyor's tend to carry something like this: www.maplin.co.uk/2.9m-telescopic-ladder-591716 >> 4m x 3m carpet I got 5m x 4m carpet in my Passat (saloon/CC)... lots of room to spare but if you've ever played the game where you fold paper.... only so many times you can fold a carpet. I've got a sofa to the tip in a previous Passat saloon too. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 10:06
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - Londoner
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>> If anyone knows Lesvos there's lots of bends. Yes - and a "shrine" on a heck of a lot of them as I recall. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 10:50
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - CGNorwich
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"If anyone knows Lesvos there's lots of bends." And a lot of followers of Sappho, especially around Scala Erressos! Fantastic island for a holiday - Still very Greek and largely unspoiled by mass tourism. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 12:05
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - rtj70
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>> And a lot of followers of Sappho, especially around Scala Erressos! Scala Erressos isn't a very nice place IMO. Yes we love it because it's still very Greek and not very touristy - but then tourism is the third largest source of income after Ouzo and olives. Back to the original purpose of the thread (sorry Bagpuss), but these small cars like the Panda, i10 can be a lot of fun when you can't use much power and skinny tyres means they handle well enough. Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 15 Jun 12 at 12:05
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 15:51
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - CGNorwich
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Rented an i10 in La Palma in February and drove up to the European Space Observatory which is 2,400 metres above sea level and as you can imagine hairpin bends all the way and quite narrow in places. It is amazing how any small modern car will easily cope with climbing such a mountain. I can remember my old mini back in the seventies virtually running out of puff half way up Porlock Hill in Somerset. Rented a Panda in Zakynthos last month and must say I preferred the handling and gearbox over the i10 but either would be be perfectly acceptable transport for most purposes and both are vastly superior to the equivalent products of a generation ago. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 17:44
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - Bagpuss
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I had a new model Panda for 2 weeks in Spain. It feels much bigger than the outgoing one in a positive and negative sense. Positive in that the the bouncy ride has gone and it is far more comfortable with big car seats and lots of elbow space. Negative in that it understeers like a big car and the 69PS engine which feels so nippy in the old car is totally out of its depth hauling around the extra mass of the new one. I frequently found myself in 3rd gear on some of the hilly sections of motorway. The interior is nicer than the old one and the odd shaped handbrake which reminds me of the aliens in the original version of War of the Worlds works really well. Shame fiat couldn't think of anything more creative to use up the space in the centre console freed up by this arrangement than put in a cupholder - there are an astonishing 5 cupholders in the centre console as well as 2 bottle holders in the front doors. Overall though I prefer the agile feel of the old model and can't help feeling Fiat has missed a trick my making the replacement so much bigger and (in Germany) considerably more expensive. We tried various cars before deciding on the Panda. The only one categorically ruled out from day 1 was the i10. The base one is horrible to drive and a depressing place to sit. The middle spec one with the 1.2 engine is in a different price category altogether, for the same price we could have got a Suzuki Splash 1.2. In the end the decision was between the Panda, the Toyota Aygo and the Chevrolet Spark. |
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New Fri 15 Jun 12 18:15
FIAT Panda - Ownership Report Fiat Panda - RattleandSmoke
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| The old model is still in production but I am not sure how much longer they will keep the RHD one in production. As longs as Tychy has spare capacity then I suspect the old model will still be manufactured. |
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