Fiat Panda or VW Up
Discussion
As a new car for the wife, which would you go for?
We're looking for fun, cheap tax, insurance etc. It will be our first ever new car, as current offers are really good. We're expecting her to be doing 6,000 to 10,000 miles a year (taking son to school and general poodling about - little traffic), so want a petrol.
She WANTS an auto (I know!) - so ASG / DualLogic. Unfortunately, this rules out the Panda Trakker (or 4x4) which we prefer.
We've come down to Panda Lounge (TwinAir) or Up (High Up 75bhp) with ASG.
The Panda is around 1K more, before negotiations.
Comments gratefully received, especially by owners of either - especially auto models as they're difficult to test drive (Fiat refuse to source one!)
We're looking for fun, cheap tax, insurance etc. It will be our first ever new car, as current offers are really good. We're expecting her to be doing 6,000 to 10,000 miles a year (taking son to school and general poodling about - little traffic), so want a petrol.
She WANTS an auto (I know!) - so ASG / DualLogic. Unfortunately, this rules out the Panda Trakker (or 4x4) which we prefer.
We've come down to Panda Lounge (TwinAir) or Up (High Up 75bhp) with ASG.
The Panda is around 1K more, before negotiations.
Comments gratefully received, especially by owners of either - especially auto models as they're difficult to test drive (Fiat refuse to source one!)
I have a Citigo, which is an Up! I disguise and I love it. I believe the ASG is the lightest auto gearbox or something along those lines so whilst I'm sure it's not as good as a manual I can't believe it's poor.
IMHO the Panda is expensive for what it is and the Up! will deliver significantly better residuals. The Citigo even more so and will be cheaper to purchase. Options and servicing etc. also cheaper on the Citigo.
I'm not convinced by the Panda's quartic styling and don't really think they have build quality sussed. My Citigo is built very well. Don't like the controls as much but that may be because I am familiar with VAG products.
Engine sounds lovely when you rev it, grip is really rather surprisingly high. Motorway refinement is good. I return an average mixed of 51 mpg.
Only thing I would swap it for would be the Up! GT if it delivers what is promised.
IMHO the Panda is expensive for what it is and the Up! will deliver significantly better residuals. The Citigo even more so and will be cheaper to purchase. Options and servicing etc. also cheaper on the Citigo.
I'm not convinced by the Panda's quartic styling and don't really think they have build quality sussed. My Citigo is built very well. Don't like the controls as much but that may be because I am familiar with VAG products.
Engine sounds lovely when you rev it, grip is really rather surprisingly high. Motorway refinement is good. I return an average mixed of 51 mpg.
Only thing I would swap it for would be the Up! GT if it delivers what is promised.
As far as I recall from my browsings of insurance sites, higher specced Seat Miis and Skoda Citigos also are a lower insurance group than High Up!s. I'd go for one of those. Plus, a mate at work has a Panda and he says it's OK but he's had some horrible dealer moments and breakdowns.
I have a Seat Mii (effectively the same car as a VW Up), although manual rather than auto. My wife uses it for the school run, nipping around town, etc. We've had it about 5 months and have been very happy with it so far. Not as economical as the stats suggest, although it does lots of short journeys so that's not really a surprise.
The Maps & More is definitely worthwhile: satnav, bluetooth for phone calls and to play music via your phone, etc. The boot is surprisingly big for such a small car - my wife's accountant popped over in her A1 a few weeks ago and thought the boot on our Mii was bigger than that of her A1. The engine is nicely revvy - not going to win any speed awards but you can have a nice thrash without getting into licence-losing territory. I quite like the sound of the 3-cyl engine - I've heard it described as sounding a bit like a 911. D)
All in, it's a surprisingly spacious (plenty of room for two young boys in car seats across the back) car that's good fun to drive around town, is cheap to own and feels quite classy inside.
We did look at the Panda, although we didn't test drive it. I quite liked the idea of a Panda as a utilitarian car (I always think of the old Fiats you see driving around the hill towns of Umbria) but my wife hated the looks - said it looked like a toy car - so ruled it out without much thought.
Hope that helps.
The Maps & More is definitely worthwhile: satnav, bluetooth for phone calls and to play music via your phone, etc. The boot is surprisingly big for such a small car - my wife's accountant popped over in her A1 a few weeks ago and thought the boot on our Mii was bigger than that of her A1. The engine is nicely revvy - not going to win any speed awards but you can have a nice thrash without getting into licence-losing territory. I quite like the sound of the 3-cyl engine - I've heard it described as sounding a bit like a 911. D)
All in, it's a surprisingly spacious (plenty of room for two young boys in car seats across the back) car that's good fun to drive around town, is cheap to own and feels quite classy inside.
We did look at the Panda, although we didn't test drive it. I quite liked the idea of a Panda as a utilitarian car (I always think of the old Fiats you see driving around the hill towns of Umbria) but my wife hated the looks - said it looked like a toy car - so ruled it out without much thought.
Hope that helps.
Got an Up! Black edition and it's great. (75 hp one) Will do generally 50-55mpg on average and have got well over 65 on some lengthy runs. The media device that attaches to the dash is great as a satnav and overall a nice little gadget. We specced ours with the leather look seats which are heated and very comfortable. The little 3 cylinder lump never feels strained, even on the motorway its quite at home at 70-80.
Fantastic little run around really! Hope that helps.. at all.
Fantastic little run around really! Hope that helps.. at all.
My own experiuence of several Up!s lead me to thoroughly recommend it.
As a 1000 cc driving machine, it's just great. Great sound when worked hard, otherwise, super civilised. Controls all work in harmoiny, light and precise. So practical except you need two hands to let passengers/boxes into the back.
Brakes are so so if caned, but if you drive it like you stole it, it's as much fun as you can imagine.
More akin to a modern version of a Mini Cooper. No probs cruising at 85 + on motor ways, but not a fast car. Amazing around town though, just so naughty.
As a 1000 cc driving machine, it's just great. Great sound when worked hard, otherwise, super civilised. Controls all work in harmoiny, light and precise. So practical except you need two hands to let passengers/boxes into the back.
Brakes are so so if caned, but if you drive it like you stole it, it's as much fun as you can imagine.
More akin to a modern version of a Mini Cooper. No probs cruising at 85 + on motor ways, but not a fast car. Amazing around town though, just so naughty.
I tried both and preferred the Panda. They were both fantastic cars but the Panda offered that bit of extra practicality and had a certain brio when driving that made the VW feel a little staid by comparison. I really liked the £450 Techno Pack in the Panda too that included the sat nav, Bluetooth etc although I know similar is available in the Up!
In the end though once the options had been selected whether looking at the Up! or the Panda to my mind the cost was just far too high so I went for a lightly used Panda 100hp instead - all the spec, more fun, and half the price. Perfect!
In the end though once the options had been selected whether looking at the Up! or the Panda to my mind the cost was just far too high so I went for a lightly used Panda 100hp instead - all the spec, more fun, and half the price. Perfect!
Edited by Wigeon Incognito on Thursday 7th February 10:38
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