Thursday 22nd January 2015

Fiat Panda 100HP: Catch it while you can

A great hatch that should have been an Abarth. A Fiat of genuine star quality (and cheap too!)

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Forgive me if I sound evangelical about this but, four years ago, I found myself with just one car in my garage - a Caterham - and was in desperate need of something with four seats for not much cash. I looked at lots of options but kept coming back to one: the Panda 100HP. I took the plunge at £5K and I've never looked back.

Fast, fun, cheap - what more do you need?

A lot of people really don't get the 100HP but, take it from me, it's brilliant. It's pretty much the last of the old-school mini hot hatches: no-nonsense, with the focus firmly on fun (it was one of the last cars with no ESP, unless you ticked an option box, which pretty much no-one did).

Since Fiat is seemingly incapable of producing anything nearly this good any more - don't even get me started on the Abarth 500 - the 100HP is your last chance to experience true Italian micro-magic.

I always thought the 100HP deserved to be badged as an Abarth, and it's always punched well above its featherlight (975kg) weight. Yes, I'm very well aware of the 100HP's faults - board-hard ride, over-assisted steering (even in Sport mode), occasional mid-corner bump excitements - but it's brilliant in so many ways that it's always easy to forgive.

Six gears to make most of modest power

Most modern hot hatches require you to drive stupidly fast just to feel like you're doing anything on the edge. The 100HP delivers belly laughs at any speed, is supremely chuckable and a blast on almost any road.

Given its modest 100hp output, it's also surprisingly lively. Its 0-62mph time of 9.5 seconds feels much faster, courtesy of Fiat's rev-happy 1.4-litre 16-valve Fire engine and close-ratio six-speed gearbox. Just remember to press the dashboard 'Sport' button to firm up the steering and sharpen low-rev throttle response.

It's also unbelievably practical - I can comfortably carry two mountain bikes in the back. Try that in a Mini. And the Polish-built Panda is also relentlessly reliable and cheaper to run than any other enthusiast car I can think of.

Fewer than 2000 Panda 100HPs were sold in the UK between 2007 and 2011, and seeing one on the road is remains an I-spy moment. Numbers will undoubtedly fall soon as they're knocked out by accidents and neglect.

Cheap to buy and cheap to run too

For now, the 100HP is the very definition of an accessible car for the yoof. Not only is it great value, it's very affordable insurance-wise (group 11, or group 5 in old money). And there aren't the usual issues with mods - almost all 100HPs remain standard, which is greatly to their benefit.

What price a 100HP? I've seen 100HPs below £2K but they're normally Cat C insurance jobs (of which there seem to be quite a few). The entry point for a decent one is around £3,000, as evidenced by this one in the classifieds. It's finished in ridiculously-named Electroclash grey (Fiat's bizarre music genre paint-naming scheme also gave us such shades as Bossanova white and Pasodoble red).

Finding a low-mileage one is getting harder, and prices for these remain very firm. In fact there is only a single other 100HP in the PH classifieds, and at 60,000 miles it isn't exactly lightly used. It's for sale at £3,795. When you consider I paid £5K for a 17K-mile car four years ago, it seems the Panda is faring up against depreciation well too. What more do you need?

 

 

 

[gingerbeard]

I test drove one of these and it really was good fun but ultimately I preferred the Swift Sport and paid a bit more for one of those. Both very similar cars and great fun to thrash around in without doing silly speeds.

Pandas are cheap now though and I think a good SSS is a bit more

[Fetchez la vache]

Massive respect for this car. Been meaning to get one for a while and this article isn't helping...

[Targarama]

I bought one new in 2007. Red too. Great car, I sold an Audi A6 to buy it as I only needed a car for local trips. My only gripe was the over-hard rear suspension. It didn't go that fast, or grip as well as a 'real' sports car, but it was fun to drive up and down the hills of the Wycombe area. Perfect for town/local use. I added ESP and side airbags options, probably one of the few built with these options (££). Part exchanged it after 5 years for £5k and bought a £5k 2004 E39 530i Touring Auto. Completely different type of car, but a car which now suits my needs.

Oh, and no faults whatsoever during my ownership.

Do it folks!

[RossP]

We are on our second! I sold the first one to a mate a few years ago and he still has it and loves it. Bought another one last September for my daughter to learn to drive in!

[dukebox9reg]

gingerbeard said:

I test drove one of these and it really was good fun but ultimately I preferred the Swift Sport and paid a bit more for one of those. Both very similar cars and great fun to thrash around in without doing silly speeds.

Pandas are cheap now though and I think a good SSS is a bit more

Was going to mention the swift sport, surely thats pegged in the same manor 'last of the old school hatches'

Not much power, rev hungry and fun to chuck about at any speeds.

I like the 100HP from the outside in a quirky kind of way but the interior is not a nice place, the Swift is much better in that regard.

[Dazed & Confused]

Awful, awful cars. Nobody should buy these. Even mint ones really aren't worth more than a grand.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I've just put an offer in for one, of course....

Edited by Dazed & Confused on Thursday 22 January 09:38

[skyrover]

Owned a Fiat once.... never again.

[Eighteeteewhy]

Looked/test drove a few last year, ended up getting a Fabia VRS.

Fun little cars but just felt a bit flimsy. Tiny boot as well and the rear seats don't fold flat which I needed.

[g7jhp]

They do seem to hold their value well, but there are quite a few available on Autotrader.

2009 Fiat Panda 100HP with 10k miles for £5,495.

2009 Fiat Panda 100HP with 19k miles for £4,300.

2007 Fiat Panda 100HP with 42k miles for £3,500.

[Motorrad]

Main issue with these is you can buy a cliosport for less or similar money. The Renault is a better car in every way.

[Targarama]

Motorrad said:

Main issue with these is you can buy a cliosport for less or similar money. The Renault is a better car in every way.

Yes, but Pandas are about cheap running costs and in a class below. You can buy a lot of cars for £3k. I averaged 40mpg with mostly in town use. Group 5 insurance, nothing goes wrong.

[TurboHatchback]

They are great little cars, being so microscopic does come with some downsides though. Thrashing one around is great fun, long motorway cruises not so much and they are definitely built with the smaller driver in mind. That said I think they offer unbeatable fun and reliability for the price.

[JD PH]

I had a Panda 100hp when I started here at PH - I absolutely loved it and complete agree with Mr Rees! Way more practical than you'd believe and (for me at least) it provided nearly 10,000 miles of completely trouble free motoring - Fuel in one end, the odd drop of oil in the other and away you go!

Only sold it because it wasn't getting much use courtesy of the PH fleet cars, but sold it to another PHer. Still miss it. Genuinely loved it. Mine was "Nero Provocante". Got to love elaborately named car colours. It was black.

JD

[RossP]

Motorrad said:

Main issue with these is you can buy a cliosport for less or similar money. The Renault is a better car in every way.

No, its not. HTH.

[MikeGoodwin]

If I wanted a cheap stter or I was a young lad I would certainly look at one of these.

They are dog st slow with anything more than a single person in them.

[GiuseppeQV]

Always had a soft spot for these. Love them.

[M@1975]

Loved our one but had to trade it when the sprog came along but the Mrs is desparate to get another one. Cracking little car, completely utilitarian, only issue is the bouncy rear suspension.

[AOK]

My 100hp really was 'the one that got away' for me. Regretted selling it before it was even collected.
Had a lovely spec too... pano sun roof, tinted glass, bluetooth and the (I think) rather rare 'Pandamonium' Pack... still not entirely sure what that did, but the red stripes looked awesome!

Hope it's still being taken care of!

[carinaman]

Targarama said:

Yes, but Pandas are about cheap running costs and in a class below. You can buy a lot of cars for £3k. I averaged 40mpg with mostly in town use. Group 5 insurance, nothing goes wrong.

What's the road tax pa?

[Twin2]

A friend of mine had one of these but unfortunately had a bit of a bump, didn't want to pay his high insurance excess so ended up thinking it a great idea to get a 59bhp model in st brown.

Very tempted by one but I don't know if I could stomach the loss in performance