FIAT Panda MK3 1.1 Eco Active - 5000 miles review: Motoring Motoring Discussion forum

Motoring Discussion > FIAT Panda MK3 1.1 Eco Active - 5000 miles review	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: RattleandSmoke	Replies: 27

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New Thu 15 Sep 11 22:51

FIAT Panda MK3 1.1 Eco Active - 5000 miles review - RattleandSmoke

I've had my Panda 1.1 Eco Active for 16 months now and the clock reached 5000 last night so I thought I would right a quick review of my ownership.

Practicability and Comfort –

This where the Panda scores highly, it is a very small car but I managed to get everything in, but the boot could do with being a bit bigger. I have got 6 lots of 2.4 metre wooden planks in the back and managed to shut the tailgate. It can seat four adults with relative comfort, but in the front is as comfortable as many lager cars with lots of leg and head room.

The drivers seat really supports my back, which of course it should, but this is a £6k car brand new and it was nice to find it had the best seat of any cars I've ever owned.

Road noise is a little high, but it even at 80mph motorway speeds you can have a conversion, I have found it a tad quieter than a friends dads Mazda 6 at motorway speeds, but it was the diesel engine drowning out the conversation rather than road noise.

The suspension does a good job of ironing out the bumps but it never gets bouncy.

Driving-

The Panda is a nice car to drive, with an engine which just wants to be reved, at speeds up to 40mph it feels like there is a lot more power than there actually is, however frequent gear changes are required in order to make progress.

The driving position is good but the there seat is not height adjustable being the base spec Panda, but the steering wheel is.

The steering has a nice balance between being very light and having some steering, I've driven cars which have much more feel but I have also driven cars with a lot less feel. There is no rear anti roll bar, so cornering at speed can introduce a lot of roll but at the same time the car always grips the road and it never feels like you will loose control.

Reliability – Just minor issues

1800 miles – clutch started to make a springy noise, dealer re-assembled pedal and re lubricated it, this cured the problem.

2300 miles – After its first service, the dealer discovered the manifold flexy hose had a small leak and replaced it under warranty.

Since then its been perfect.

Build Quality:-

For a small car very good, no issues with any of the trim, everything feels like it can handle a lot of abuse and a lot of mileage, I use my car as a van and it takes the abuse perfectly. Certainly not what you would expect from a cheap FIAT.

However the paint work is another matter, it scratches far too easily, but I have now got to the stage where I simply don't care anymore.

Running costs – Good. Insurance is group 1 (new groupings out of 50 odd groups) so very cheap to insure. Only three cars ever made have qualified in this group, the Panda achieves it mainly by its very good security and a good safety record in accidents.

MPG could be better, I get around 42mpg in town, but it is an old 8v engine low compression engine.

Servicing – Very cheap providing you haggle, I paid £125 for my first service, which is not bad but the dealer originally quoted £185, I had to phone around to get this down.

Overall so far I am impressed and am planning to keep the car long term. I can forget about the mechanics and just concentrate on driving. When I do buy a newer car though I would want a slightly bigger boot and one with air conditioning, an option I sometimes wish I did pick.

I could keep going but I can't be bothered, overall buying a brand new car is the best thing I've ever done, but depending on the car I would buy a second car again depending on the circumstances.

Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 15 Sep 11 at 22:54