In 2006 I had a Grande Punto, and enjoyed owning it, but wanted something a bit punchier and smaller - I went to a 06 Panda 1.3 multijet. I had a great time with that but unfortunately, it went a knacker.
After that, I got a Panda Trekking with the TwinAir engine - my heart still belongs to that car. I sold it to my brother at a huge discount as he was having a rough time and an unlucky run of cars, and I wanted him to have something decent. It broke my automotive heart, but I was glad to give him a car I knew to be excellent and he still has it and loves it as much as I did.
When giving my brother the Panda, I moved to a Renault Zoe as I wanted to have an EV. Unfortunately, despite the car being pretty much faultless, it has been the most dull car ownership experience I've ever had. No soul. No character. No love from me. For the first time ever, my car was just an A to B device and was about as emotive as owning a fridge. Sadly, I think this is the future of car ownership once EVs are the norm. I did upgrade to the newer Zoe with all the toys and more power, and yet still, was bored out of my brain when driving it. Fastest car I've ever owned by far, but still, just soooooo very meh to drive (comfortable and easy as heck though).
However! Since I barely use a car these days due to change in working pattern and using my bicycle and trains quite a bit, paying finance on a newish car became silly. I decided to move back to Fiat, and picked up a 2013 registered Punto 1.2 Easy. After not driving a petrol or a manual car for so long, my love of cars and driving came alive, even in this humble little hatchback. So I'm back with Fiat, and wish I'd never left. Hoping for a good number of years with my 'new' Punto. It's kinda back where I started, with a 1.2 Punto, but I'm okay with that. It suits my needs and it's punchy enough for me. Living within my means, but with a huge smile on my face.
After that, I got a Panda Trekking with the TwinAir engine - my heart still belongs to that car. I sold it to my brother at a huge discount as he was having a rough time and an unlucky run of cars, and I wanted him to have something decent. It broke my automotive heart, but I was glad to give him a car I knew to be excellent and he still has it and loves it as much as I did.
When giving my brother the Panda, I moved to a Renault Zoe as I wanted to have an EV. Unfortunately, despite the car being pretty much faultless, it has been the most dull car ownership experience I've ever had. No soul. No character. No love from me. For the first time ever, my car was just an A to B device and was about as emotive as owning a fridge. Sadly, I think this is the future of car ownership once EVs are the norm. I did upgrade to the newer Zoe with all the toys and more power, and yet still, was bored out of my brain when driving it. Fastest car I've ever owned by far, but still, just soooooo very meh to drive (comfortable and easy as heck though).
However! Since I barely use a car these days due to change in working pattern and using my bicycle and trains quite a bit, paying finance on a newish car became silly. I decided to move back to Fiat, and picked up a 2013 registered Punto 1.2 Easy. After not driving a petrol or a manual car for so long, my love of cars and driving came alive, even in this humble little hatchback. So I'm back with Fiat, and wish I'd never left. Hoping for a good number of years with my 'new' Punto. It's kinda back where I started, with a 1.2 Punto, but I'm okay with that. It suits my needs and it's punchy enough for me. Living within my means, but with a huge smile on my face.
