Anyone owned one?

no, but i had a punto, which i believe is the same floorpan/mechanicals.
i did 70,000 miles in it, no problems at all, it was a great little car.
nothing like fiats of old.
very closely related to the corsa of the same age.
mine was a 1.3 diesel, plenty nippy, averaged about 54mpg all the time i had it.
probably the best thing i can say is, i would buy another.

Panda closely related to a corsa??

I used to have a 60hp Punto (from 2001). It wasn’t a fast car, but it did start every day and the body was in good nick when I sold it after 8years. That said, I did have to replace the exhaust a couple of times (which had rusted), the radiator (which had rusted) and the sump (which had rusted).

panda/punto/corsa/ all part of gm group, all available with common engines.
fiat croma/vauxhall astra.
also, vectra/saab 9-3/alfa 155, very closely related, mechanically.
its not uncommon these days to have 5 or 6 cars from different manufacturers share the same floorpan/engines etc, it cuts developement costs as they can be shared across the whole group.

Thanks, I’ve currently got an MG ZR (i swopped stuff for it, otherwise not my 1st choice) which I’m learning to drive in, I would like to get rid of it soon. I’ve test driven 2 100hp pandas had one for an afternoon and loved it. I am seriously considering buying one soon. The power seems to be simular to what I’m used to and the boot space deceptive. At 29 insurance isn’t too bad and servicing not too expensive.

IIRC HP Source of this parish has (or had?) one, pretty sure he liked it – hope he turns up to confirm and proffer an opinion for you…

Nothing like the punto in 100hp form. All the road tests liked it, fast and fun and much better made than fiats of old. EVO tested it and loved it. The only small issue is that the suspension is very hard, yes obviously it’s a sporty car of sorts but it has been said it is very hard riding. A longish test drive would test if that bothered you obviously.
A friend at work bought his wife one – he has a Jag S Type – and he used to pinch a drive in it when he could as he loved it.
I’d go for it!!

Evo magazine always seemed to rate theirs (as said above)

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/211983/fiat_panda_100hp.html

Fiat isn’t part of GM, they’ve just bought Chrysler. Some engines are the same however, and even though most Saabs are made in Germany they’re not related to Fiats ( although the Saab 9000, Fiat Thema and Alfa 155 were developed by the 3 companies together).
It’s a bit like people pretending that modern Volvos aren’t based on the Ford Focus and Mondeo.

panda/punto/corsa/ all part of gm group, all available with common engines.
fiat croma/vauxhall astra.
also, vectra/saab 9-3/alfa 155, very closely related, mechanically.
its not uncommon these days to have 5 or 6 cars from different manufacturers share the same floorpan/engines etc, it cuts developement costs as they can be shared across the whole group.

Fiat have nothing to do with GM. OK they had a working partnership for a time but they didn’t produce any cross-brand cars – AFAIK the corsa has absolutely nothing to do, body-wise, with fiat.

(I’m aware of the rather scary one company-owns-all moves that have swallowed many manufacturers these days), such as the jag/ford floorpan sharing.

I’m also aware of second hand car dealers who’ve tried to blag how their cheaper car is 90% the same as the market leader except the body panels and an endless perpetuation of lies which makes me question and research every time anyone mentions such a similarity – no offence meant!

They look quite cool! as Panda’s go!

Had a 52 plate 1.2 Punto, did 88k before I wrote it off, exhaust & engine coil only problems! Great lil car!

Evo had a buying guide for the Panda 100HP in its November(?) issue. Check it out! They seem to love it.

Hired one in Spain last year. Absolutely brilliant chassis and suspension. Literally threw it into corners down mountain roads with total confidence after being in the thing 10 minutes. The front just tucks in with little understeer. Got an indicated 120mph (@6000rpm) out of it down a huge sweeping valley section of motorway. Actually transformed a rather dull holiday. The best small car of driven since my 106 Rallye.

If they were available here we’d have bought one.

Just to redress the balance, we had a 53 plate Punto for a year, I hated that piece of shite 🙂 Jerky, felt like it was falling to bits, and slow.

However, I can’t imagine the Panda is the same floorplan as the Punto has been around for yonks and is an old design. More likely it shares with the Grande Punto from 2006 on.

For the money you could buy a seruously competent car. Secondhand 100hp’s are 7k?

OK, here I am….

yeah I had one (hence the name). It was an ace little car, bags of fun, loads of grip and enough power for small car. I had a blue 57 reg one, did nigh on 30,000 miles, only paid for service and tyres, no other worries.

It’s got some punto mechanicals, but its not ‘based’ on a punto. the Fiat 500 and New for Ka are very closely based on it. EVO did love theres, to the point that they actually kept the test car to be a long termer.

You can get a bike (two at a squeeze) in the back, both wheels off, or they have roof bar mounts already (see below).

I averaged 42mpg in mine, but could get around 48-50 on a longer motorway trip.

check out fiatforum.com as there’s a good panda section on there.

Willing to answer any other queries.

Keith

Thanks everyone! Thanks Keith, I have only driven a handful of cars propely on the road (my MG ZR, a Mini cooper S, new fiesta and a Mazda 6 & 100hp) I found the Panda to be my faveorate. Dynamically I love my MG, I am perhaps biased though as I cut my teeth on this car so I kind of consider it to be the norm. It feels (to me) stiffer than both the panda and the cooper. It’s just it’s build quality is dire, A 2003 on 50k & all the interior is loose/coming loose. How did your Pandas interior stack up? I would want to keep the car for a couple of years and still have it look fresh inside. Nice to know you can fit a bike on it easily too!!

My car mad girlfriend suggested the 100hp, she’s an Evo subscriber so I will ask her for the November road test.

Hora, how is the Panda not competent? What alternatives do you suggest? Thanks for the reply.

Thankyou to everyone.

Interior was fine, have seen one or two where the drivers seat was a little ‘soft’ looking on the bolster you swing a leg over to get out, but it never happened to mine.

The only thing I did to mine was get a decent bit of carpet for the back (to cover the boot and seatbacks when flattened). to keep it looking fresh.

I think Hora’s comment is more that it’s a small is car that has a bit of a premium due to it’s rarity, and that for a similar amount you could pick up something bigger/more powerful. Depends what you fancy though. I changed from a Yaris T-Sport to the Panda, and then from the Panda to a Merc A-Class…

I dont mean its not competent. Its a great little car but as a families only car I dont think its practical. In a two-car household or a couple/single person- different matter.

Then again if we were a couple or I was single it’d be a MX5 😀

I have 4 friends in Italy with them, and they all love it…

I had a drive in one and I crapped myself, this car CANNOT be driven sensibly…..take that as a warning.

hp, what A class is it? New gen or old? I had a 03 140 petrol.

If you need to look at alternatives a Skoda Fabia VRS is well worth a look. Fast and handle well and can be easily chipped to 170bhp and crazy torque. However they are a diesel. 🙁

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=938144&mid=70159&i=0&nmt=Panda%20100hp%20deals&mid=70159

Hora, it’s a new shape 3dr A180 CDI Avantgarde, and very nice it is too (well to me it is anyway).

As above, the 100hp does egg you on. Especially with the ‘sport’ button on.

Ooooo very nice 🙂

Abit flash. Do you have a mini bar in there and chandeliers?

no, I went for the optional ‘covered in dog hairs’ pack.

Panda closely related to a corsa??

No.

Panda, Ford KA (new) and Fiat 500 share a common platform co-developed by Fiat and Ford (also Lancia use the platform, but no Lancia in Uk these days..)

My mum has an ordinary Panda, great little car, had a go in the 100hp and v. fun.. though the ride is a little harsh… def cooler than a 500 ina reverse sort of way and more spacious.

To be honest, I’ve driven the small (1.1?) Panda, an older Seicento and I used to have a 1990 1.0 FIRE engined Panda, and I bloody love them all!
I’d have one like a shot. 🙂

Just a bit small though for us right now, although I think we could manage….

I had a boggo Panda on holiday in Ibiza as a hire car. GREAT FUN- over 120km/h it was quite unstable though.

My dad has a 1.2 Panda and its a brilliant little car. Its five years old now and has weathered the years a lot better than previous Fiats the family has had; only one item of interior trim has fallen off so far despite some heavy use.

The fuel economy is excellent and I have to say that driving it always makes me smile.

Thanks everyone, please keep comments coming. Thanks for suggestions on other cars too, I will start with looking at insurance quotes. My specification is small car, robust interior, decent enough boot space, lowish insurance, stiff/nippy/enjoyable. I was considering a puma but finding a good one is hard and the loading space is too small for what I am after.

Ignore what I said above I’ve just played in an MX5 ( admittedly on private land and no quicker than 35mph) but I have now decided I don’t need any boot space or seats for friends.