Fiat Panda 100HP
Discussion
Traded in my Mk4 Golf GT TDI PD 130 for something a bit more fun last week and picked this up yesterday:
Being 20 its (hopefully) much cheaper to insure and run than the Golf GT and has three years of extended warranty as a bonus.
Initial impressions are good. It's very nippy and the induction / exhaust noise combined with the eagerness of the little 16v engine make it very difficult to drive slowly.
It's also very well kitted out for such a small car with a 6 speed gear box, CD / mp3 player, bluetooth hands free built in, remote central locking, decently bolstered seats, climate control etc.
The 'Sport' button on the dash is totally pointless as I can't see why you'd ever want to turn it off!
Only real downside is the damping. Whilst the stiff suspension keeps the handling very taught it doesn't seem to have much travel, especially on the rear and as a result the dampers don't seem to be able to cope. Undulating B roads cause it to get a bit of a bounce on so depending on how much it bugs me I might look at changing the rear shock absorbers.
Being 20 its (hopefully) much cheaper to insure and run than the Golf GT and has three years of extended warranty as a bonus.
Initial impressions are good. It's very nippy and the induction / exhaust noise combined with the eagerness of the little 16v engine make it very difficult to drive slowly.
It's also very well kitted out for such a small car with a 6 speed gear box, CD / mp3 player, bluetooth hands free built in, remote central locking, decently bolstered seats, climate control etc.
The 'Sport' button on the dash is totally pointless as I can't see why you'd ever want to turn it off!
Only real downside is the damping. Whilst the stiff suspension keeps the handling very taught it doesn't seem to have much travel, especially on the rear and as a result the dampers don't seem to be able to cope. Undulating B roads cause it to get a bit of a bounce on so depending on how much it bugs me I might look at changing the rear shock absorbers.
It's a great car, and good on insurance too. You'll find it surprisingly quick in comparison to the manufacturers figures, I think they may have been altered slightly to make it a more desirable car for younger drivers. I'm 19 and find it perfect for where I live (in the countryside) and when you get lazy sat in traffic having the sport mode off makes it a little easier.
The white looks amazing, just wish I'd got mine in the Bossa Nova white or the Red.
The white looks amazing, just wish I'd got mine in the Bossa Nova white or the Red.
Bought a grey 08 version a month ago - I absolutely love it, and as far as I'm concerned it's the closest modern I've driven to my old 205 GTi.
Unlike (apparently) the rest of you, I'm nearly 40 - chopped in my 06 MX5 Sport for it, and, to be honest, I prefer the Panda - you can have more fun in it and stay reasonably legal. I was a bit surprised at the insurance though - not that much cheaper than the MX5 - 220 pa as opposed to 280 fully comp.
Unlike (apparently) the rest of you, I'm nearly 40 - chopped in my 06 MX5 Sport for it, and, to be honest, I prefer the Panda - you can have more fun in it and stay reasonably legal. I was a bit surprised at the insurance though - not that much cheaper than the MX5 - 220 pa as opposed to 280 fully comp.
Or888t said:
Really do like these, being 20 myself, i'm reaaaly jellous, surely insureance is very expensive, i'm guessing you have 3 years no claims, to make it semi-affordable.
They can't be that expensive to insure - I was insuring a 2.0 Laguna for £700* at 19 which is bound to be a higher insurance group than this- until some stupid woman wiped out my year's no claims
Cheers for all the compliments! It's an amazing that such a little car can get such a good reaction.
Waugh-terfall , this is what you could of had... 
OP , Very nice car, i have heard good reviews about them. I think it suits the colour as well.
May be a silly question but how does it compare to the VW Golf??
The Golf was far quieter, smoother and more comfortable but boring as hell to drive, expensive to run and the suspension was rolly poly. The Fiat is considerably smaller but much more fun and engaging to drive. The 16v FIRE engine is much more eager than the lazy TDI in the Golf except for at motorway speeds where you do miss the turbo!
The electric power assisted steering in the Panda is reasonably light even with the Sport mode on however the Golf's was so light and unresponsive that it doesn't bother me in the slightest. The TDI was meant to give great MPG however I do a lot of shorter journeys and found it took forever to warm up and drank loads of fuel whilst doing so. From what I've seen so far the Panda is quite frugal and the trip computer reports over 40mpg average on such journeys even with the occasional thrash. Out for a hoon I can get it down to 38mpg and if driven carefully an average of 45mpg+ is possible, but where is the fun in that?
I will miss the boot space, comfort and effortless motorway ability of the Golf but I'd still much rather be having fun driving the Panda.
Having spent a reasonable bit of time driving Mk2 Golfs I must (alike to your 205 comparison) that the Panda seems to be about as close as I can get to the great driving experience that provided. I just wish the Panda suspension rode a bit more like a Mk2 GTI!
I will have 2 years NCB when I pay my (hopefully) £629 renewal.
Last year with 1 years NCB I paid £1289 for my 2002 Golf GT. The year before I paid £1400 for a Mk2 Golf 1600 8v with no NCB. Sadly didn't get any no claims bonus from the year before as I had a classic policy for a 1972 Beetle! In relative comparison the Fiat seems quite reasonable and a welcome step down too as I simply can't afford such a high bill this year.
Lets Torque said:
Waugh-terfall , this is what you could of had... OP , Very nice car, i have heard good reviews about them. I think it suits the colour as well.
May be a silly question but how does it compare to the VW Golf??
The electric power assisted steering in the Panda is reasonably light even with the Sport mode on however the Golf's was so light and unresponsive that it doesn't bother me in the slightest. The TDI was meant to give great MPG however I do a lot of shorter journeys and found it took forever to warm up and drank loads of fuel whilst doing so. From what I've seen so far the Panda is quite frugal and the trip computer reports over 40mpg average on such journeys even with the occasional thrash. Out for a hoon I can get it down to 38mpg and if driven carefully an average of 45mpg+ is possible, but where is the fun in that?
I will miss the boot space, comfort and effortless motorway ability of the Golf but I'd still much rather be having fun driving the Panda.
C2james said:
I have to admit i am very tempted to get one of these next year, whats the insurance like?
Insurance is only group 5 so pretty good actually. At 20 with 2 years no claims bonus my renewal quote is £629. I do well in the post code lottery though. ChevronB19 said:
Bought a grey 08 version a month ago - I absolutely love it, and as far as I'm concerned it's the closest modern I've driven to my old 205 GTi.
Unlike (apparently) the rest of you, I'm nearly 40 - chopped in my 06 MX5 Sport for it, and, to be honest, I prefer the Panda - you can have more fun in it and stay reasonably legal. I was a bit surprised at the insurance though - not that much cheaper than the MX5 - 220 pa as opposed to 280 fully comp.
Yes the Panda certainly does make driving fun at more accessible speeds. Unlike (apparently) the rest of you, I'm nearly 40 - chopped in my 06 MX5 Sport for it, and, to be honest, I prefer the Panda - you can have more fun in it and stay reasonably legal. I was a bit surprised at the insurance though - not that much cheaper than the MX5 - 220 pa as opposed to 280 fully comp.
Having spent a reasonable bit of time driving Mk2 Golfs I must (alike to your 205 comparison) that the Panda seems to be about as close as I can get to the great driving experience that provided. I just wish the Panda suspension rode a bit more like a Mk2 GTI!
Or888t said:
Really do like these, being 20 myself, i'm reaaaly jellous, surely insureance is very expensive, i'm guessing you have 3 years no claims, to make it semi-affordable.
As above insurance really isn't that terrible. I will have 2 years NCB when I pay my (hopefully) £629 renewal.
Last year with 1 years NCB I paid £1289 for my 2002 Golf GT. The year before I paid £1400 for a Mk2 Golf 1600 8v with no NCB. Sadly didn't get any no claims bonus from the year before as I had a classic policy for a 1972 Beetle! In relative comparison the Fiat seems quite reasonable and a welcome step down too as I simply can't afford such a high bill this year.
Wayne1989 said:
Looks great in white I must say! Had mine since June and still enjoy getting in it even if its a boring drive to the shops, makes it much more entertaining and effortless to drive. Check my profile for thread with pics of mine 
Thanks will have a look!Kiltox said:
I do like these 
- found the driver's footwell in the 1.1 I test drove to be cramped though, so I guess I'd find the same with the 100HP.
Nice choice.
Yes I think you are right on that one. It works ok for me as I'm quite slim but I did find at first that it was possible to catch the bottom of the steering column when using the clutch pedal if I wasn't careful. - found the driver's footwell in the 1.1 I test drove to be cramped though, so I guess I'd find the same with the 100HP.Nice choice.
Generally the interior is very well laid out with all the controls close at hand. Having the gear stick so close to the steering wheel just adds to the fun.
The seats are good for such a small car and whilst the dash plastics are a bit on the hard side the buttons all have a quality damped feeling to them and there are no creaks or rattles (rather unlike the Mk4 Golf!). Bluetooth handsfree controls on the steering wheel are also handy not that I plan to use them much. It could do with steering wheel rake adjustment though...
Edited by OldSpeed on Saturday 9th April 08:50
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff