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
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>> I could keep going but I can't be bothered
But you did originally post the text twice in the post and then edit it :-)
Glad you like the car - a bit basic but okay for low mileage driving. I sort of enjoyed one in Italy although it was a higher spec model I think. With only the two of us I was hoping for (and expecting) a FIAT 500. But couldn't be bothered to ask and delay our onward trip.
Some of what you compare it to means it should be better :-) e.g. supportive seats.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 15 Sep 11 at 23:00
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The seats are perfect, don't get back ache since buying the Panda, with the Corsa back ache was a symptom of driving, but of course that had 83k on the clock so it may have lacked support due to wear.
In terms of spec it has electric windows, central locking, power steering, cd player, airbags, ABS etc but I do wish it had aircon, but for my driving it is not a major issue.
I pasted it twice as I wrote it in Open Office and pasted in it, I must have pressed control V twice.
For £6400 (with the paint) I don't think I could have got a better car for my needs, the i10 and Picanto just didn't have the character and the Pixo is just a tin box.
Forgot to mention that I really like the high up driving position too :)
It is hard to right a review like this when all I have to compare to is my cars I frequently travel in but don't drive and my old bangers.
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>> I pasted it twice as I wrote it in Open Office and pasted in it, I must have pressed control V twice.
Thought I hadn't imagined it! Phew.
In Tuscany I didn't do stellar miles so a small car was good. And good for the small towns we visited. Shame it wasn't a FIAT 500 Twinair though :-(
But on the motorways I did feel it was a bit too small compared to what I would travel in normally. I didn't do much motorway driving in Italy though. But it was better by far than my first two cars and my wife's car which never goes on motorways. Well it did last winter when I drove it a bit to give the battery a good charge.
I think the Panda is a really good car to be honest. Excellent value. Although the new VW up! looks good too.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 15 Sep 11 at 23:16
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You do different sorts of mileage though, if I was driving all over the country I would have wanted something bigger, at least Focus sized and bought something second hand. I spend most the time trying tit into tight gaps though parking, so a smaller car suits better.
I wanted small car, so for £6k buying new made more sense as there would be no wear and tear, anything with 30k will need new tyres/pads/etc which all adds up. I know mine will need that but by then the loan will have been paid off.
My mates Panda is on just over 10k now I believe, and nothing at all has gone wrong in that time. He's had it over two years now and does similar mileage to me, although he only normally does in one week what I do in a day, but he also takes his Mrs out to places much further which is how he has built his miles up.
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>> You do different sorts of mileage though
I do some long drives but kept overall miles low over the last 4 years again. Only recently went past 45k on the Mazda6.
I am lucky that I have worked literally from home a lot again. And when I go to another site I can claim the mileage... unlike a lorry driver my work can start from home so my normal work location is home.
Most of the 45k miles has been private miles BTW.
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Good review, Rattle. Sounds like the ideal tool for the job, but still with enough of the pep and character that have always been a feature of small Italian cars.
Your comments about soft, esily marked paint apply to many modern cars. My 3-Series is no better. Blame environmentally friendly paints rather than a particular shortcoming on Fiat's part.
Hope you continue to enjoy the car. :-)
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>> Blame environmentally friendly paints rather than a particular shortcoming on Fiat's part.
That's what I think too. My previous Passat from 2000-2003 had perfect paintwork going back with no marks. The next car, a black Mondeo, and this grey Mazda6 have fine scratches all over the place. I put it down to water based paints.
My wife's Seicento has been remarkably reliable. We've had it nearly 10 years and it must have sat somewhere a year before that (like my Passat then!). It's so far had servicing etc. but only costs have been tyres*, exhaust, clutch cable and recently binding rear brake.
Had an issue with steering light coming on last winter which I assumed was battery charge. And proved. Local driving for Mrs RTJ so when lights, heater and heated window on it wasn't charging. So I took it out for a long drive and the problem went away. Electric power steering...
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Common issue on the Panda site, I am always warning people to check the battery and alternator before spending £500 on a new steering ECU which some rogue garages have a habit of saying it is without doing any proper diagnoses.
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I forgot we had to get a new battery at one point - very cold winter but not the recent two. It wouldn't even charge when plugged into a trickle charger.
Apart from purchase price (about £4k I think), insurance, RFL and MOTs... all it has cost is a few tyres, a battery, rear exhaust section, binding brake (£30 to fix). That's it. Cheap motoring. Fuel on top goes without saying.
So Rattle, I hope you have a reliable FIAT Panda too. And enjoy it. And do venture further afield.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 15 Sep 11 at 23:41
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Yep hoping for that Buxton trip soon, just need a sunny day when I have no jobs :). Hopefully before the winter, then planning on a two night camp trip next year, before I drive to Wales :).
That is my main aim though, I really want to be able to drive to North Wales by this time next year, sick of the slow and crowded train service now.
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Nice revieuw Rattle.
My daughter has the higher spec model Aicon.The 1.2 Engine.I find the seats comfortable when I drive the car once in a while to fill up with petrol..;)
The Fiat behaved well last winter skinny tyres had a good grip and she managed to get anywhere.Car got to be driven like a Italian car should put foot down and drive.!
Good luck with the Panda.
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That is my only regret not getting the 1.2, but then it was nearly £1k more, and the insurance would have been more so I just think of that.
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Nice review, Rattle. Thanks for taking the trouble to post.
>>Road noise is a little high, but it even at 80mph motorway speeds you can have a conversion
Have you been taking St Paul to Damascus?
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>> with the Corsa back ache was a symptom of driving, but of course that had 83k on the clock so it may have lacked support due to wear.
The steering position on the Corsa's isn't quite square on with the drivers seat. It sits slightly to the left of centre in relation to the seat and to compensate the steering wheel is set at a slight angle. In other words when holding it the distance the right arm needs to reach it is slightly further away than the left arm does and thus can cause back ache because you aren't sitting square on with the steering wheel. The Nova was designed like this as well.
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>> The steering position on the Corsa's isn't quite square on with the drivers seat. It
>> sits slightly to the left of centre in relation to the seat and to compensate
>> the steering wheel is set at a slight angle. In other words when holding it
>> the distance the right arm needs to reach it is slightly further away than the
>> left arm does and thus can cause back ache because you aren't sitting square on
>> with the steering wheel. The Nova was designed like this as well.
>>
The Corsa was based on the Nova.
Check out suspension upgrade kits - many fit both.....
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Well the fix it again today routine begins. Was doing my accounts last night, and worked out I am now getting around 33mpg from it down from 41mpg from the same type of driving.
Posted this on the FIAT forum and they reckon it could be the hand brake binding. I have noticed the level itself is a bit stiff. So I am going go round the block in a bit and touch each wheel to see if any of them are hotter than they should be.
Either £17 per 100 miles is pretty ridiculous, I managed to get 30mpg out of the Corsa even when the head gasket went.
Now I don't exactly drive it with MPG In mind, but on the FIAT forum they reckon even driven hard in town 40mpg+ is what I should be looking at.
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Just been having a good look at it, and have discovered that the hand brake lever doesn't go all the way down. When you release it, you can still pull it down by another 2cm by putting weight on it. So it seems like it is the handbrake which is binding slightly.
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Chock front wheels, put in gear.
Jack up a back wheel an inch off the ground with handbrake off (hence the chocks).
Spin wheel.
Does it spin? If yes it isn't binding.
Binding enough to increase fuel consumption by 20% should have some redhot drums I would have thought.
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How are you working out your fuel consumption if as you have told us you never fill the tank ?
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Doesn't feel like it is binding, not jacked it up as it is too much faff on the street.
One of the rear drums felt slightly worm, the other didn't, but there is quite a bit of play in the hand brake lever.
I feel it up to the half way point, then fill it up again just before the red light comes on, so just the before the needle gets into the red. This way the figure I get is always between 39 and 43mpg allowing for the errors you get in this method. The last fell up was in the low 30s.
My Shell fell up yesterday seems to be lasting a lot longer but if I have to fill up, done 30 miles since the last fill up, so I should be able to get at least another 80 and if I don't I know I have a problem.
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>> I feel it up to the half way point, then fill it up again just before the red light comes on, so just the before the
>> needle gets into the red. This way the figure I get is always between 39 and 43mpg allowing for the
>> errors you get in this method.
Nowhere near accurate. At all. The gauge will only be accurate to within about 10 litres, or 20% of a tank. An even greater error, if you park it on a slope.
You need to do a brim-to-brim analysis before jumping to conclusions, that's the only way.
One thing, do you ever sit in the car with the engine idling? I.e. doing paperwork outside a customer's house etc. Even 2 or 3 minutes of that can drop your average mpg figure alarmingly. Only have the engine running when you're ready to set off, and switch it off as soon as you've parked.
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Tue 20 Sep 11 at 17:01
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Never do that, but it did take me 40 minutes to get 4 miles down the road last Friday due to some horrific roadworks on the outskirts of the city centre. So I think this may have had a major effect too.
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Rats, you need to save your pennies until you have enough to fill the tank until the second click of the pump (you might not have experienced that before).
Then take a note of your mileage or zero your trip computer, drive it until its empty, and do the same again. Thats the only way to accurately work out your mileage.
As petrol very rarely falls in price, you could even convince yourself that it is cheaper to fill it up as the price will have increased by the time of your next fill!
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>> Never do that, but it did take me 40 minutes to get 4 miles down
>> the road last Friday due to some horrific roadworks on the outskirts of the city
>> centre. So I think this may have had a major effect too.
>>
There's your answer.
Surprised you got as much MPG as you did!
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Rats, you should get a wee scooter, one with a big enough box to take your computer gubbins. and then use it to dart around town?
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Yeah - organ donors are apparently in short supply.
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Why I would rather spend a bit more and have something with airbags and seatbelts :)
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FIAT Panda MK3 1.1 Eco Active - 5000 miles review - rtj70
