Anyone got a Panda 100HP?
Discussion
I suddenly have an urgent need for a fun, frugal daily driver and a Panda 100HP is one of the front runners. Wondered if I could pick peoples' brains...
Firstly, does anyone know if you can fit a mountain bike frame in the back? (car seats folded, bike wheels removed etc.)
Secondly, is there a way to identify which cars have the ESP system and which don't?
Thirdly, I'd be looking at the cheaper end of the market and they all seem to have smoked glass - is that just a reflection of my 'gangsta' area of North London or do they all have that?
And, well, any other thoughts for or against? Need something cheap to run, capable of a certain amount of motorway work, but entertaining on other roads.
Firstly, does anyone know if you can fit a mountain bike frame in the back? (car seats folded, bike wheels removed etc.)
Secondly, is there a way to identify which cars have the ESP system and which don't?
Thirdly, I'd be looking at the cheaper end of the market and they all seem to have smoked glass - is that just a reflection of my 'gangsta' area of North London or do they all have that?
And, well, any other thoughts for or against? Need something cheap to run, capable of a certain amount of motorway work, but entertaining on other roads.
Edited by Chris71 on Wednesday 9th July 09:09
There are quite a few threads on this car knocking about, a few here and a bigger one in general gassing, but I can answer a couple of those points.
The rear glass looks like that as standard, 'they all have that sir'.
About ESP, well the only way I know of checking is to look on the dash for the button, or rely on the seller to identify it in the advert. I suspect there are not too many with ESP, it was a option on a well specced car so I'm not sure many people would have bothered. Secondly the reviews slated the ESP, so those in the know would be unlikely to spec it.
There are plenty of for and againsts. For, its a riot, against, its got a choppy ride. That sort of sums it up! Read EVO's first test in their 10k heroes article and the subsequent Fast Fleet entries and this months economy test for some thoughts.
Can't help you on the mountain bike, never tried. Best of luck though, well worth test driving as the ride might be a deal breaker.
Feel free to ask anything else.
The rear glass looks like that as standard, 'they all have that sir'.
About ESP, well the only way I know of checking is to look on the dash for the button, or rely on the seller to identify it in the advert. I suspect there are not too many with ESP, it was a option on a well specced car so I'm not sure many people would have bothered. Secondly the reviews slated the ESP, so those in the know would be unlikely to spec it.
There are plenty of for and againsts. For, its a riot, against, its got a choppy ride. That sort of sums it up! Read EVO's first test in their 10k heroes article and the subsequent Fast Fleet entries and this months economy test for some thoughts.
Can't help you on the mountain bike, never tried. Best of luck though, well worth test driving as the ride might be a deal breaker.
Feel free to ask anything else.
I think I need to drive one. I tried a Focus last night and found it rather underwhelming. I was thinking I maybe didn't need to spend nearly-new-Panda-money to get something fun and frugal, but looks like it may be the best option afterall. Obviously got to check out the bike issue beforehand - really I'd like to fit two in, like I could in the Saxo.
sjg said:
If you do go nearly-new, don't pay too much - broadspeed price on a brand new one is only £7587!
Jesus. Off to Google them in that case... That's about the cheapest I've seen them secondhand.
The price is putting me off slightly TBH - I'm sure they're great value as new cars go, but you can get something reasonably decent (a Focus or similar) for half the price if you go for something further down the depreciation curve and that might fit two bikes rather than one. I do really fancy the idea of a 100HP though... Bloody Evo.
Sorry - I know I'm way late to this thread but I can answer the question(s)
1. Yes you can definitely get a bike in the back with the seats down as I was forced to discover when I blew both tyres on my road bike training for the New Forest tri.
2. They all (100hp's that is) come with smoked glass. Personally I think it looks great on my black one
3. They are an absolute riot to drive at real speeds on real roads - and no, I am not a yoof and, yes, I feel qualified to give an opinion based on the other cars I own/have owned
4. The rear springs are very firm and short travel, so you will find creases and potholes you never knew existed. If that bothers you don't buy one cos it will just wind you up more and more
5. I think ESP may now have been deleted as an option because nobody was speccing them with them - check with your dealer. The only handling snag I notice is that the lack of a slippy diff means you can spin up the inside front really easily if you push it into understeer.
5. For once I think EVO got it right with this car - its a proper superhero supermini
1. Yes you can definitely get a bike in the back with the seats down as I was forced to discover when I blew both tyres on my road bike training for the New Forest tri.
2. They all (100hp's that is) come with smoked glass. Personally I think it looks great on my black one
3. They are an absolute riot to drive at real speeds on real roads - and no, I am not a yoof and, yes, I feel qualified to give an opinion based on the other cars I own/have owned
4. The rear springs are very firm and short travel, so you will find creases and potholes you never knew existed. If that bothers you don't buy one cos it will just wind you up more and more
5. I think ESP may now have been deleted as an option because nobody was speccing them with them - check with your dealer. The only handling snag I notice is that the lack of a slippy diff means you can spin up the inside front really easily if you push it into understeer.
5. For once I think EVO got it right with this car - its a proper superhero supermini
I must agree, Panda 100 is alot of fun, useable everyday, but is a VERY firm ride. The 500 sport is a panda 100 with a different body shell on it.
Privacy glass is standard, as well as climate control, 6 speed box, sport button and bluetooth. You would be very lucky to find one with ESP, I really don't think i've ever seen one.
With a word of caution, PLEASE do not try to buy a Fiat from Broadspeed. They officially cannot supply you with a Fiat because Fiat WILL NOT supply them with cars. There are internet companies out there that can supply you with a Fiat at a discount price, but Broadspeed is not one of them.
The way that Broadspeed used to work was, they would take orders from 50 customers for cars. They would then go to a Fiat dealer and ask for a fleet deal with large discounts. Fiat got wise to their dealings and told the whole network to not supply them any cars.
Privacy glass is standard, as well as climate control, 6 speed box, sport button and bluetooth. You would be very lucky to find one with ESP, I really don't think i've ever seen one.
With a word of caution, PLEASE do not try to buy a Fiat from Broadspeed. They officially cannot supply you with a Fiat because Fiat WILL NOT supply them with cars. There are internet companies out there that can supply you with a Fiat at a discount price, but Broadspeed is not one of them.
The way that Broadspeed used to work was, they would take orders from 50 customers for cars. They would then go to a Fiat dealer and ask for a fleet deal with large discounts. Fiat got wise to their dealings and told the whole network to not supply them any cars.
have to tag onto this thread...
currently undecided whether im mad, but im very drawn to one of these at the minute. Im looking to get rid of my focus ST and get into something fun and frugal so my bank balance can breathe a sigh of relief once more...
id be giving away the best part of 200bhp, but gaining at the pumps, tax and insurance.
thing is, after having a diesel focus whilst mine was in for a service, i realised that i could drive flat out when i wanted but still return 50mpg when sat on the motorway (which i do for about 25-30 miles each way to work). If I drove the same in my ST id a) lose my licence and b) get about 20mpg
i want something thats fun- i love to drive across to the triangle every now and again as its just down the road, and it needs to be reasonably nippy.
it def doesnt have to have 5 doors though, but i really do like the look of the 100hp!
on paper its going to cost me roughly half the cost to run compared to my ST and my head says that day to day, sitting at 80 on the mway, a 200bhp deficit isnt going to make any difference at all
id love to know if anyone else has come from a high powered car to the 100hp, and what their thoughts are.
there is one in a dealers near me which i may go and see on sat, get a real impression of them.
my biggest worry is depreciation i guess, as i'll be doing 20k miles a year, but i guess thats par for the course at the mo, and, on a 6-7k car, is relatively minor anyway
if anyone can help me establish why im so drawn to this little car, id love to know!!
currently undecided whether im mad, but im very drawn to one of these at the minute. Im looking to get rid of my focus ST and get into something fun and frugal so my bank balance can breathe a sigh of relief once more...
id be giving away the best part of 200bhp, but gaining at the pumps, tax and insurance.
thing is, after having a diesel focus whilst mine was in for a service, i realised that i could drive flat out when i wanted but still return 50mpg when sat on the motorway (which i do for about 25-30 miles each way to work). If I drove the same in my ST id a) lose my licence and b) get about 20mpg
i want something thats fun- i love to drive across to the triangle every now and again as its just down the road, and it needs to be reasonably nippy.
it def doesnt have to have 5 doors though, but i really do like the look of the 100hp!
on paper its going to cost me roughly half the cost to run compared to my ST and my head says that day to day, sitting at 80 on the mway, a 200bhp deficit isnt going to make any difference at all
id love to know if anyone else has come from a high powered car to the 100hp, and what their thoughts are.
there is one in a dealers near me which i may go and see on sat, get a real impression of them.
my biggest worry is depreciation i guess, as i'll be doing 20k miles a year, but i guess thats par for the course at the mo, and, on a 6-7k car, is relatively minor anyway
if anyone can help me establish why im so drawn to this little car, id love to know!!
Hi, I have a little 100hp, my previous car was a BMW M3 Evo.
Once you get used to the Panda, you soon forget about the power difference, and the Panda is very enjoyable to gun along; infact I find much more enjoyment in punting the panda along than the m3, as the grip and limits are a lot lower - more fun at lower speeds. The gearbox is a million times better than the M3s vauge long throw, and the upright driving position is great for vision in traffic once you get used to it. Build quality is better than the 12 year old BMW.
One of my reasons for changing apart from halving my driving expenditure across the board, was that I wasn't using the m3's performance, and when I was, only in short burts. It's more of an empty autobahn, empty B road stormer, than a nippy town and country car as the Fiat is. This suits me fine, as that's where I drive, and I couldn't be more happy with it to be honest. Sure it could do with a bit more power for overtaking on motorways and possibly an LSD, but that isn't what this car is about. I've just done a trip from Derby to Newquay, 5 hours each way, 4 up and felt fresh and un-hastled when I arrived. I played my 110 track cd in the MP3 head unit too.
The only critisism I can point the 100hp's way is the ride bounce. Watch out for potholes which crash through the suspension, and also for undulating road surfaces, as this really makes the car bounce around. It's part of the character, and to be honest makes you feel like you are travelling at starship speeds, despite just making progress. I slow right down if I have passengers! Also for me, 6'3, there isn't a great deal of rear leg room behind me, but my shorter friend sat behind me on the newquay trip and was happy enough.
I love the functional and funky slyle of the 100hp, all the dimensions and proportions are spot on. Drive one and see if you like it.
Once you get used to the Panda, you soon forget about the power difference, and the Panda is very enjoyable to gun along; infact I find much more enjoyment in punting the panda along than the m3, as the grip and limits are a lot lower - more fun at lower speeds. The gearbox is a million times better than the M3s vauge long throw, and the upright driving position is great for vision in traffic once you get used to it. Build quality is better than the 12 year old BMW.
One of my reasons for changing apart from halving my driving expenditure across the board, was that I wasn't using the m3's performance, and when I was, only in short burts. It's more of an empty autobahn, empty B road stormer, than a nippy town and country car as the Fiat is. This suits me fine, as that's where I drive, and I couldn't be more happy with it to be honest. Sure it could do with a bit more power for overtaking on motorways and possibly an LSD, but that isn't what this car is about. I've just done a trip from Derby to Newquay, 5 hours each way, 4 up and felt fresh and un-hastled when I arrived. I played my 110 track cd in the MP3 head unit too.
The only critisism I can point the 100hp's way is the ride bounce. Watch out for potholes which crash through the suspension, and also for undulating road surfaces, as this really makes the car bounce around. It's part of the character, and to be honest makes you feel like you are travelling at starship speeds, despite just making progress. I slow right down if I have passengers! Also for me, 6'3, there isn't a great deal of rear leg room behind me, but my shorter friend sat behind me on the newquay trip and was happy enough.
I love the functional and funky slyle of the 100hp, all the dimensions and proportions are spot on. Drive one and see if you like it.
thanks for the advice- it seems like you came from a similar situation to mine in that your previous car, although very accomplished and very quick, wasnt used to its full potential...
i will be selling mine regardless, purely for financial reasons, but while it is hugely quick and torquey on the motorway, i do need something which will give the economy when cruising
i think its more the fact that there is something hugely endearing about being able to take a car by the scruff of its neck and have massive fun when you need to, but not be punished when it comes to economy.
i def think a test drive is in order...
i will be selling mine regardless, purely for financial reasons, but while it is hugely quick and torquey on the motorway, i do need something which will give the economy when cruising
i think its more the fact that there is something hugely endearing about being able to take a car by the scruff of its neck and have massive fun when you need to, but not be punished when it comes to economy.
i def think a test drive is in order...
Totally agree with the scruff of the neck thing. It's so absorbing to extract all the performance from the panda, and you don't end up going too fast, unlike the M3 which is very quick and very grippy.
Also the ownership experiance is less stressful too. I can park the Panda anywhere and not worry, don't have to think too much about the warm up procedure and being careful with the m3 vanos, drivetrain shunt, tyres etc...
Also the ownership experiance is less stressful too. I can park the Panda anywhere and not worry, don't have to think too much about the warm up procedure and being careful with the m3 vanos, drivetrain shunt, tyres etc...
I appreciate I'm in a minority of one with this, but I didn't actually get on with the Panda that much in the end.
I love the concept, but the pogo-ing ride became intrusive on the sort of backroads where you can actually have a bit of fun in my overpopulated part of this little island.
Everything else was pretty good, but I didn't feel it was exceptional. I could have bought a Puma for less than half the price with equal poise, an equally nice gearbox, the same sort luggage space (this bit is important to me as a mountain biker...) and a rather more composed ride. It's by no means a bad car, but the revered tones that you hear them talked about in magazines like Evo had led me to expect something like a less powerful, but even more satisfying 205 GTi.
If I had to buy a new (or nearly new) car I'd be very tempted, but seems I could spent the same budget on something second hand which had already depreciated.
In the end I did neither. I decided that with a 'fun car' already absorbing a good proportion of my limited income I should buy something sensible instead. I got a low mileage special edition Focus with all the toys for half the price of a 100HP (again, this isn't a criticism, just a case of economics) and I'm not convinced it's that far behind in dynamics either. The main consideration was space - I can get the bike in the Focus in five seconds, virtually complete. If the Panda had been a revelation I would have bought a roof rack or soemthing, but it was just good, rather than perfect.
I love the concept, but the pogo-ing ride became intrusive on the sort of backroads where you can actually have a bit of fun in my overpopulated part of this little island.
Everything else was pretty good, but I didn't feel it was exceptional. I could have bought a Puma for less than half the price with equal poise, an equally nice gearbox, the same sort luggage space (this bit is important to me as a mountain biker...) and a rather more composed ride. It's by no means a bad car, but the revered tones that you hear them talked about in magazines like Evo had led me to expect something like a less powerful, but even more satisfying 205 GTi.
If I had to buy a new (or nearly new) car I'd be very tempted, but seems I could spent the same budget on something second hand which had already depreciated.
In the end I did neither. I decided that with a 'fun car' already absorbing a good proportion of my limited income I should buy something sensible instead. I got a low mileage special edition Focus with all the toys for half the price of a 100HP (again, this isn't a criticism, just a case of economics) and I'm not convinced it's that far behind in dynamics either. The main consideration was space - I can get the bike in the Focus in five seconds, virtually complete. If the Panda had been a revelation I would have bought a roof rack or soemthing, but it was just good, rather than perfect.
I would tend to agree, it does what it says on the tin, and yes you could go for an older car which would tick the same boxes. I nearly did in the shape of a puma, but theres something about the Panda as a whole, above how it drives, that makes it a desirable thing to have. I guess it has character, much like the new Abarth 500. Outright you'd be better with a Cooper.
Well I now have 3500 miles on board and love the car. The only downside is the ride which is not great, but the rest more than makes up for it. It has worked faultlessly and now on gas does the equivelent of 90+mpg compared to my old diesel. Can't tell the difference on performance either. Its great.
john501 said:
With a word of caution, PLEASE do not try to buy a Fiat from Broadspeed. They officially cannot supply you with a Fiat because Fiat WILL NOT supply them with cars. There are internet companies out there that can supply you with a Fiat at a discount price, but Broadspeed is not one of them.
The way that Broadspeed used to work was, they would take orders from 50 customers for cars. They would then go to a Fiat dealer and ask for a fleet deal with large discounts. Fiat got wise to their dealings and told the whole network to not supply them any cars.
Is this true as Broadspeed have some cracking deals on Fiats at the moment and I was considering using them for one should we decide on a new Fiat for our next car... I was under the impression that Broadspeed work through dealers that sign up to them so to Fiat at least, buying a car through them would be just like any other sale. Broadspeed simply connect the buyer with the cheapest of their participating dealers if that makes sense. At least that's how I thought it worked??The way that Broadspeed used to work was, they would take orders from 50 customers for cars. They would then go to a Fiat dealer and ask for a fleet deal with large discounts. Fiat got wise to their dealings and told the whole network to not supply them any cars.
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