Could Panda owners please comment on the following list of drawbacks and add any from their experience? Some are from a while back and may no longer apply but I want to check them out when I take a test drive (probably opting for the 1.2 Dynamic):
Bouncy ride, bad over bumps
Poor wheel grip
Body roll
Noisy, especially at speed
Steering too light and rather dead, wheel too thick for women
Failures: steering motor and clutch master cylinder. Leaking windscreens
Cheers
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Your list covers things I'd have a tendency to agree with, to a certain extent.
Regarding issues, look here:
www.fiatforum.com/panda/99320-known-faults-problems-issues-things-aware.html
There is also a section above that about the new "2011 Panda", and if that car is coming soon you may get a good discount on the current/old model.
FWIW I think it's a good little car. With the emphasis on little.
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Brother's on to his second Panda as his station car.
I helped select the first, a manual diesel, which I thought was a competent supermini, which drove and handled nicely.
It could scrabble for grip if you accelerated hard exiting a bend or roundabout.
He kept that car for five years, so was happy with it, although I did hear a couple of grumbles about expensive servicing.
It needed a brake overhaul after four years - about £300 - possibly due to its stop/start use.
The second one - bought because brother now wants auto and aircon - is only a few months old, but has been fine so far.
Last edited by: Iffy on Mon 1 Aug 11 at 18:43
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>> although I did hear a couple of grumbles about expensive servicing.
Good point - I'd forgotten about that, despite briefly mentioning it on this forum somewhere quite recently.
I'd expect the diesel to be a bit cheaper to service: AFAIK you don't have the valve shim adjusting game every 24 months, unlike the "FIRE" engined petrol versions.
My daughter's 1.1 cooking/eco is just over two years old now, and has been trouble free (but it has been virtually unused/cosseted).
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Bouncy ride, bad over bumps - I find the ride on mine very good in for city driving.
Poor wheel grip - never been an issue if driven sensibly.
Body roll - is an issue, but the car always grips well even if the bodyroll suggests otherwise.
Noisy, especially at speed - it depends what you're used to, for a small car it is very refined at higher speeds, BUT it is a small car, and road noise will be noticeable if you're used to bigger more refined cars.
Steering too light and rather dead, wheel too thick for women - I think most the steering issue is due to tyre pressures being too high, the tyre pressures need to be low (around 27-28 psi) on the 13" rims. Alloys will probably help matters a lot, including grip.
Failures: steering motor and clutch master cylinder. Leaking windscreens - from the Panda forums not known of a single issue with leaking windscreens or the clutch master cylinder. A couple of people have had issues with clutch release bearings but they tend to be on higher mileage Pandas close to 100k, one of these is used as an ADI car.
Servicing is comparable to most other cars, yes the valves do need checking every two years, but FIAT is quite flexible with this. There is also a low mileage scheme which needs less attention. Cam belts do need changing every four years if its used as a city car (five if mainly motorway use) but its around £160 at the main dealer including fitting, so it is not a major issue.
I've only done 4445 miles in my Panda and I've had it for 15 months. I've had two things fixed under warranty but I am very fussy:-
1) Clutch pedal didn't have enough lubricant so it started making s springy noise after 1500 miles. Dealer rebuild pedal assembly under warranty.
2) Exhaust manifold flexihose failed due to it being fitted incorrectly - dealer replaced it under warranty.
Mine is metallic blue and I find it scratches a bit too easily because the primer is white, so I would choose a lighter colour.
As a city car I find it fun to drive, it is extremely comfortable and the seats support my back very well, when I had the Corsa and Fiestas I would often get back problems, had a lot issues with my back since getting the Panda.
MPG on mine is not great, 41mpg city driving, but the Pandas now have a Euro 5 engine so should get better results.
Mine used 1 litre of oil up to 3500 miles, and has used about 150ml since the last 1000 miles. This however is well within specs.
The boot is small, but is a small car, in the front for a small car it is extremely spacious and comfortable.
I also love the high up driving position and large mirrors. Visibility is also very good due to all the glass.
The car is still doing well in the reliability scores, and according to Auto Express is the cheapest car you can possibly run due to extremely low purchase costs, decent MPG and very low insurance.
It is a small car, and you do get all the disadvantages of that, but when discounts are applied it is a good £4000 cheaper than the basic spec Fiestas.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 1 Aug 11 at 19:10
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Hired ones go very well.
:-)
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We're currently going through an extremely long process of choosing a car for Mrs B. The Panda is high on the list due to small size, excellent visibility with a squared off shape, large window area, high seating and light steering.
It also has good interior space with a surprisingly nice design and good fit and finish for such a cheap car, rather than the depressing one-foot-in-the-grave greyness of an i10 for example.
What does it drive like? Well I like it, it's a great town car - in 1.2 litre form anyway. Mrs B. doesn't care.
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Many thanks for all of the above. I'll probably buy after the hols.
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We've just done 250 miles in the Panda today. My dad did most the driving. My grandpa has had a stroke (he is 91) but he is ok so we had to go and see him in hospital. The round trip was 250 miles and wow the car was extremely comfortable. It stuck to the most windy bends even at 60mph+ and was very happily cruising at a speed lets just say 10mph faster than the speed you should go.
The only slight let down was the 54bhp meant overtaking lorries on the Saddleworth Moor part of the M62 was a bit bit tricky, but the current Panda has a 74bhp engine and mind as the discontinued 54bhp unit so I doubt that will be such an issue on the current Euro 5 version.
Seats where very comfortable and despite spending more than 5 hours in the car today I have no aches any where and feel very alert. For a small car the Panda is extremely comfortable.
Not done the MPG figures yet, but we worked out it £20 worth of fuel got us 205 miles. Fuel was 133.9p.
For a £5995 car it really was very comfortable and refined, far better than my friends MK2 Phase 2 clio.
Road noise was an issue on some surfaces, but on the fast majority of surfaces a conversation could be had easily at 70mph.
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>> It also has good interior space with a surprisingly nice design and good fit and
>> finish for such a cheap car, rather than the depressing one-foot-in-the-grave greyness of an i10
>> for example.
I tried both and bought the i10; both Mrs. H and myself prefer the Hyundai's interior to the Fiat. The i10 handles motorways better too, and pulls well for such a small engine. We found the Panda rather gutless.
Our only criticisms of the Hyundai are that the seats get a bit hard on long trips, and the lack of an intermittent wipe is annoying.
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The FIREs need about 3000 miles to break in, they are very stiff before that and have no flexibility.
Also since October 2010 all Pandas have been fitted with the Euro 5 engine, which has a lot more power and better MPG.
My engines certainly a lot quicker than it was 3000 miles ago. I have the old 54bhp 1.1 (1108cc 8v SMPI) unit which is now discontinued.
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Doesn't the i10 come with a 5 yer warranty too? About 80hp from a 1.2 and chain cam I think. I showed one to the MIl and drove it - seemed fine. (she bought a more expensive second hand Yaris but that's an appearance thing. I'd have had the i10...)
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It does but I would have not wanted to be tied with Hyundai for five years. My local Hyundai dealer (which was 6 miles away) has gone bust. If I had bought the i10 I would have had to drive 20 miles just to get the damn thing serviced. My FIAT dealer was 7 miles away, but a new one has opened just 2.5 miles away.
The five year warranty also has a lot of exclusions in it.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Wed 3 Aug 11 at 20:07
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>> It does but I would have not wanted to be tied with Hyundai for five
>> years. My local Hyundai dealer (which was 6 miles away) has gone bust. If I
>> had bought the i10 I would have had to drive 20 miles just to get
>> the damn thing serviced. My FIAT dealer was 7 miles away, but a new one
>> has opened just 2.5 miles away.
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>> The five year warranty also has a lot of exclusions in it.
>>
They need servicing once a year, for heaven's sake. Personal experience (ours has done 15 thousand miles) is that it's the only time you need to go there. For the record, my nearest dealer is fifteen miles past the nearest Fiat one which itself entails a thirty mile round trip.
Having compared the two warranties I prefer Hyundai's; and it's transferrable if you sell the car. Are you sure you're not confusing warranty with finance package Rats?
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You can have it serviced with any VAT reg'd trader provided you can show that you've serviced it according to schedule and with manufaterers parts then the warranty is still valid. I take the Skoda to a VW dealer 2 miles away and it's cheaper. Damn, admitting Skoda ownership again...
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FIAT Panda - May buy a new Panda - AnotherJohnH
