A non-turbo Twin Air would make a lot more sense but I don't expect we'll see that 'till the new Panda comes along
General Farewell 1.1
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General Farewell 1.1
A non-turbo Twin Air would make a lot more sense but I don't expect we'll see that 'till the new Panda comes along
I think the 69bhp engine is fantastic IMO (in the 500 at least)! I think they needed to do something to compete with other cars, but I think this will just be enough until the Panda gets the TwinAir.
You need to remember that you can get around £2k off a Panda. Unlike an i10 the Panda won't rust either. The difference in quality is also huge. After driving a i10 the Panda feels like a Rolls Royce (ok, maybe a slight exageration ).
I may consider getting a Panda myself now. I was considering a 1.2 500, or a TwinAir 500. The 1.2 Panda is likely to be much cheaper than the 500, so it could be a tough decision.
You need to remember that you can get around £2k off a Panda. Unlike an i10 the Panda won't rust either. The difference in quality is also huge. After driving a i10 the Panda feels like a Rolls Royce (ok, maybe a slight exageration
).I may consider getting a Panda myself now. I was considering a 1.2 500, or a TwinAir 500. The 1.2 Panda is likely to be much cheaper than the 500, so it could be a tough decision.
I am sort of stuck what to do with my Panda long term (assuming its not written off).
I really do like the car but would want a higher spec one but this is going to be four years time or longer. Who knows by then electric cars will be cheap.
For now though there is no point on thinking its an out of date car and I will just enjoy it
The problem is now I have experienced a brand new car I am not sure I could buy anything second hand but it depends on so many factors. I also assume the 1.2 69bhp will cost a bit more to insure, not a problem for most people but for people like me a group 1 makes a difference.
I really do like the car but would want a higher spec one but this is going to be four years time or longer. Who knows by then electric cars will be cheap.
For now though there is no point on thinking its an out of date car and I will just enjoy it
The problem is now I have experienced a brand new car I am not sure I could buy anything second hand but it depends on so many factors. I also assume the 1.2 69bhp will cost a bit more to insure, not a problem for most people but for people like me a group 1 makes a difference.
What do you base that on?
The i10 comes with a TEN year corrosion warranty plus a five year unlimited mileage mechanical warranty.
Compare that with Fiat's rather crap two year warranty plus the third year which excludes all manner of stuff.
I've sat in an i10 but I haven't driven one yet. It would have to be really bad for me to discount buying one.
Well I had a Hyundai i30 classic hire car last week and it was horrendous. It seemed to be built ok but the quality of the materials and switch gear was shocking. The steering wheel felt like it was lined with sandpaper and was terrible on the hands. The steering was also very vague and the 1.4 engine was rough and loud. That might sound daft coming from somebody who owns a 100HP. But the 100HP sounds sporty the i30 just sounded rough. The seats were cheap and uncomfy and the rear window was tiny and not easy to see out of. Along with that the exterior styling was boring and uninspiring and the wheel trims were very thin cheap plastic.
The Panda is always seen as a cheap car but its cheap not nasty. The i30 I drove was cheap and very nasty. It had a 5 year gurantee and I am sure its pretty reliable. However I would never ever buy one no matter how cheap they were. It was just dull, dead and lifeless, give me any Panda anyday.
The Panda is always seen as a cheap car but its cheap not nasty. The i30 I drove was cheap and very nasty. It had a 5 year gurantee and I am sure its pretty reliable. However I would never ever buy one no matter how cheap they were. It was just dull, dead and lifeless, give me any Panda anyday.
I've seen a number of posts about rust and poor paintwork on i10 forums. Rust is often blamed on stone chips, and then the warranty doesn't cover it. This really puts me off the i10. From what I've seen, Fiat seem to be one of the best manufacturers when it comes to rust prevention.
It sounds like the i10 is quite different to the i30. The engine was quite nice, nothing special, but pretty good for a city car. The steering wheel was what really stood out for me, it felt like solid plastic in the i10. I suspect that would be improved with the leather steering wheel though? IIRC the material on the seats looked very cheap, but they were reasonably comfy.
The thing I noticed about the i10 is the doors made a ting noise when closing them. The panda goes clunk when you close them.
I was in a 58 plate Mazda 6 yesterday and even compared to the Panda many parts felt cheap but then they do sell for a lot less than a Mondeo.
I was in a 58 plate Mazda 6 yesterday and even compared to the Panda many parts felt cheap but then they do sell for a lot less than a Mondeo.
You need to remember that you can get around £2k off a Panda. Unlike an i10 the Panda won't rust either. The difference in quality is also huge. After driving a i10 the Panda feels like a Rolls Royce (ok, maybe a slight exageration
Do i10's rust? Have you any proof of this? Don't forget just about every car will have an anti-perforation warranty, also the i10 has a 5 year warranty unlike the panda's two year one, plus one year from the dealer.
I think you are making a massive exaggeration. My friend's i10 didn't appear to be put together any worse than my car in all honesty. I drove my friend's i10, was just very light on the controls but otherwise felt okay for a budget car. Better spec by miles too.
I've just had another look at the i10 forum. It seems to be general paint problems. One person had plastic parts bubbling, and they were resprayed under warranty. Another person had an i10 which has rusted in three completely different places. The dealer blames one of them on a stone chip so they won't do anything about it. I can remember one which had a lot of paint come off one part of the car within a few months, so that was resprayed. Others complain about the paint chipping easily. It's hard to say what percentage of them have these problems, but I've never seen those kind of posts (with the exception of stone chips) on the Fiat Forum.
It did feel very cheap and plasticy compared to a Panda. I wasn't exagerating. I'm sure it will be robust enough, but it feels horrible.
Well if FIAT does pull the 4x4 out of the UK permanently it leaves Suzuki to mop up the customers and, for those with circa 20k to spend on a small 4x4! , the new 4x4 Mini. Perhaps FIAT should look for partners who could use the 4x4's platform such as Land Rover?
, the new 4x4 Mini. Perhaps FIAT should look for partners who could use the 4x4's platform such as Land Rover?
I was in a Picanto recently and was appalled at the quality of the plastics used. Very well screwed together but the materials used were very budget (if that makes sense). Take for example the mirror adjuster, it felt like it would snap before the mirror would actually move. Likewise I found the seats very poor and the door sounded VERY metallic on closing. I know its a cheaper version of the i10 and that price related cuts will have been made but it really put me off Hyundai/Kia again after a surprisingly good experience in an i20. The Panda has a far better quality cabin and I would say also a lot roomier and a tried and tested design and engineering. However, FIAT's warranty is lacking compared to the korean competition (also look at Toyota with the admittedly much more expensive Aygo, but with 0% finance + no deposit and a 5 year warranty).
FIAT still has an image problem concerning quality. IMHO they should follow the Koreans and now others and offer a 5 year warranty. Or do they not have faith in their products because to the consumer thats what it looks like.
As regards the 1.1 engine, I think it is very sad to think that a small engine (and remember the ECO falls into the lower road tax bracket) is banned due to emmisions yet BMW are allowed to produce a 5972 cc V12 for example in the 7 series!!!! Surely it is in everyones best interest to promote small engined cars. If the price of the Panda does go up as a result of the more powerful engine then surely this is yet another own goal for Europe. People will be less likely to switch and make do with the less environmentally friendly cars they have - old escorts, cavaliers, etc
Had an Aygo loaner for about a month. It was a nice enough car, especially the engine but it was clearly built down to a price and that price was less than a Panda never mind what Toyota charge you for it.
Stuff like the fuel gauge being replaced by five blobs of LCD on the trip meter.
It's an ancient outdated engine though that has had it's day, plus having a 1.1 and a 1.2 doesn't make a huge amount of sense either.
With bigger engined cars such as BMWs they generally use a lot of technology to make their bigger engines more efficient. Not everyone wants small engined cars, for so very many reasons.
Thing is, for the pollution created by making a new 'Eco' Panda you could run your knackered Escort for about twenty years (if it lasted that long).
New cars are bad bad news for the environment. You can reduce your impact by buying a small car but really it's a drop in the ocean.
Not really. A 13 year old Escort will be ready for the knackers yard anyway. A brand new Panda may may may well create a hell of a lot of polution to make but it should last a good ten years or more if properly serviced. If that Escort was kept on the road every part would have needed to be replaced anyway.
That said my dads 13 year old Fiesta runs like a new car at almost 90k its just rusting but we aiming to get to 15 years old and over 100k before it sees the scrap yard. That would then be £850 for a car which has done 40,000 miles and lasted five years.
I still stand by the the fact the 1.1 is more than powerful enough for the city driving and I am suffering a credit crunch of my own right now so the group 1 insurance is a massive bonus.
I might of course change my mind depending on the results of my dealer trip.
That said my dads 13 year old Fiesta runs like a new car at almost 90k its just rusting but we aiming to get to 15 years old and over 100k before it sees the scrap yard. That would then be £850 for a car which has done 40,000 miles and lasted five years.
I still stand by the the fact the 1.1 is more than powerful enough for the city driving and I am suffering a credit crunch of my own right now so the group 1 insurance is a massive bonus.
I might of course change my mind depending on the results of my dealer trip
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Yes but there's hardly any CO2 produced simply by taking that Escort and replacing all the bits that need replacing.Not really. A 13 year old Escort will be ready for the knackers yard anyway. A brand new Panda may may may well create a hell of a lot of polution to make but it should last a good ten years or more if properly serviced. If that Escort was kept on the road every part would have needed to be replaced anyway.
That said my dads 13 year old Fiesta runs like a new car at almost 90k its just rusting but we aiming to get to 15 years old and over 100k before it sees the scrap yard. That would then be £850 for a car which has done 40,000 miles and lasted five years.
I still stand by the the fact the 1.1 is more than powerful enough for the city driving and I am suffering a credit crunch of my own right now so the group 1 insurance is a massive bonus.
I might of course change my mind depending on the results of my dealer trip
I might of course change my mind depending on the results of my dealer trip
'Just say no' :nono:
I looked around an Aygo in 2008 when I was deciding what new car to buy. I really didnt like the Aygo at all. They look funky from the outside but I hated the interior. As soon as I looked around a Panda I knew it was the car for me. Even though the Panda is a cheap car at least some thought has been put into designing it. The window buttons for example have been made into a feature. They arent just taken from a parts bin and glued on. The Panda has loads of neat little design features.
