Panda (Classic) Learn to drive in a Panda classic?
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Panda (Classic) Learn to drive in a Panda classic?
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The Panda is a basic simple car in all respects - easy to maintain, mechanically durable and free of unnecessary gadgets. Steering can feel a little heavy at parking speeds by today's power assisted standards, perfomance is perfectly adequate as are brakes, roadholding, handling, ride and general comfort. Refinement is a little lacking - it can be noisy at speed and over long distances.
Buy the best car you can afford in terms of bodywork condition - this is the all important aspect - mechanics and electrics are cheap and simple to rectify in comparison.
Insurance should be OK, running costs are low with most models offering excellent economy, parts and tyres are also cheap.
Certain models 4x4 in particular are getting quite expensive and some parts for some models are starting to get scarce (4x4 petrol tanks and most things for the transmission of the automatic Selecta)
Stick to the standard 2wd 1000 (or 750) and you are unlikely to go wrong. Read up what you can in the Panda section of this forum and best of luck in your hunt - yes it will make a brilliant first car.....and last since you will never want to part with it.
Buy the best car you can afford in terms of bodywork condition - this is the all important aspect - mechanics and electrics are cheap and simple to rectify in comparison.
Insurance should be OK, running costs are low with most models offering excellent economy, parts and tyres are also cheap.
Certain models 4x4 in particular are getting quite expensive and some parts for some models are starting to get scarce (4x4 petrol tanks and most things for the transmission of the automatic Selecta)
Stick to the standard 2wd 1000 (or 750) and you are unlikely to go wrong. Read up what you can in the Panda section of this forum and best of luck in your hunt - yes it will make a brilliant first car.....and last since you will never want to part with it.
panda's are fantastic cars. nothing more to be said.
well... ok maybe a little.
i must admit that the panda doesnt really match up to a modern car very well.. keep in mind that the panda's technology is from the early 80's. so you can expect things to require that little more effort. like in a modern car you barely have to touch the brake pedal to almost lock them up but in a panda you have to press that little bit harder. dont let that put you off them though, they are still fantastic cars.
if i was in your position the way i would do it is have a few driving lessons with a driving school, keep on the look out for a panda and if you see one you like buy it. get yourself some insurance and someone who is covered to sit in a car with a learner (3 or more years driving license) and have a go in your panda.. become the family's "taxi", but keep doing driving lessons in the driving school's car. when it comes to test taking time, take your test in the driving school's car.. it makes things more easy in the long run. you will still have your panda sat at home ready for you to go out for a drive in (after insurance is told you now have a full driving license).
that is the way i would do it.. and kinda the way my brother did it.
if in doubt, ask a driving instructor what the best method would be i guess.
welcome to the forum!
well... ok maybe a little.
i must admit that the panda doesnt really match up to a modern car very well.. keep in mind that the panda's technology is from the early 80's. so you can expect things to require that little more effort. like in a modern car you barely have to touch the brake pedal to almost lock them up but in a panda you have to press that little bit harder. dont let that put you off them though, they are still fantastic cars.
if i was in your position the way i would do it is have a few driving lessons with a driving school, keep on the look out for a panda and if you see one you like buy it. get yourself some insurance and someone who is covered to sit in a car with a learner (3 or more years driving license) and have a go in your panda.. become the family's "taxi", but keep doing driving lessons in the driving school's car. when it comes to test taking time, take your test in the driving school's car.. it makes things more easy in the long run. you will still have your panda sat at home ready for you to go out for a drive in (after insurance is told you now have a full driving license).
that is the way i would do it.. and kinda the way my brother did it.
if in doubt, ask a driving instructor what the best method would be i guess.
welcome to the forum!
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The Fiat Panda is a pure drivers car, no abs, power steering, traction control, launch control, electric windows, air conditioning and other crap modern cars have but nobody really needs.
It's a great idea learning to drive in your own car as driving school cars have all that crap so new drivers haven't got a clue when they get into a real car.
Pandas are utilitarian, purposeful and out of the thousand or so vehicles I've owned or driven in my life from 126's to 200mph ego extensions I always come back to small Fiats when I want to just get in a car and go.
It's a great idea learning to drive in your own car as driving school cars have all that crap so new drivers haven't got a clue when they get into a real car.
Pandas are utilitarian, purposeful and out of the thousand or so vehicles I've owned or driven in my life from 126's to 200mph ego extensions I always come back to small Fiats when I want to just get in a car and go.
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A Panda will be the closest thing to riding a motorbike. As others have said, it is a basic car with no modern attachments. You will need sharper skills to drive it compared to a more modern car. If you are not taught it, you need to learn cadence braking as a Panda does not have ABS (anti lock brakes). There is little or no protection like airbags or crumple zones. You have to drive very defensively because if you crash, you stand a much higher chance of injury or dying in a Panda than most other cars (it has one of the worst safety stats). That said, it's better than being on a bike and your cycling should have made you a very aware rider. Very useful in the Panda to help you keep clear of the idiots that may kill you.
As a car, it's cheap to run and maintain, very basic systems and group 1 insurance.
As a car, it's cheap to run and maintain, very basic systems and group 1 insurance.
Where are the stats saying they have a bad safety record?
Tests at the time all gave Panda's a good rating compared to their contemporaries (see the literature section). Having seen photos of quite severe crashes in Panda's where occupants have walked away unscathed, I feel they are pretty strong.
Please can someone post a link to these official stats showing the Panda is poor compared to other sub city cars of the era firecolour so we know this to be based on fact? I've looked online & can't find anything much for pre 2000 cars. This has been thrown into threads a few times by people recently, and I would like to see what it's based on before changing my opinion - if it's not comparing similar cars then it's wrong.
Clearly I'd rather avoid any accident, but if there's to be one at high speed I'd rather it was in my 5* bouncy castle Abarth. That doesn't mean I believe a Panda has a poor safety record for similar age/size cars (Mini/2CV/Peugeot 104 et al).
Tests at the time all gave Panda's a good rating compared to their contemporaries (see the literature section). Having seen photos of quite severe crashes in Panda's where occupants have walked away unscathed, I feel they are pretty strong.
Please can someone post a link to these official stats showing the Panda is poor compared to other sub city cars of the era firecolour so we know this to be based on fact? I've looked online & can't find anything much for pre 2000 cars. This has been thrown into threads a few times by people recently, and I would like to see what it's based on before changing my opinion - if it's not comparing similar cars then it's wrong.
Clearly I'd rather avoid any accident, but if there's to be one at high speed I'd rather it was in my 5* bouncy castle Abarth. That doesn't mean I believe a Panda has a poor safety record for similar age/size cars (Mini/2CV/Peugeot 104 et al).
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Please can someone post a link to these official stats showing the Panda is poor compared to other sub city cars of the era
I didn't say it was poor compared to others of it's age/type (although Honest John believes this to be so with the review - Very high 9 point death rate from accidents in this model). Any "classic" car will offer less protection than a modern car. Manufacturers strongly resisted the introduction of NCAP ratings back in 1994 (firecolours birth date) and it wasn't until 1997 the results were starting to be seen. (NCAP history).
I'm not sure where you'd find stats on each car prior to the late 1990s but my local classic friendly garage has strong comments about the Panda based on his own experience of crash repairs and he supports HJs comment that it is a more dangerous car than average to have an accident in. Despite it's almost classic status and cheap running costs, he prefers to pay more for something based on the Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo/Citreon C1 which has all the protective stuff and NCAP 4 ratings which is about the highest for small cars.
If you drive a car like this, you need to be aware of it's limitations in protecting you in the event of an accident. Too many drivers adopt an alter ego when they get inside a car and feel they are almost invincible. As Alixcompo says, if you imagine you're driving a 4 seat crash helmet, then you'll be in the right frame of mind. If you've never heard of or tried cadence braking, look it up and give it a go, it's not a natural action to take your foot off the brake when danger looms ahead, but the method will drastically shorten your braking distance in a non ABS car and give you the ability to steer round trouble if you ever find yourself in a nasty situation.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadence_braking]Cadence braking[/ame]
I didn't say it was poor compared to others of it's age/type (although Honest John believes this to be so with the review - Very high 9 point death rate from accidents in this model). Any "classic" car will offer less protection than a modern car. Manufacturers strongly resisted the introduction of NCAP ratings back in 1994 (firecolours birth date) and it wasn't until 1997 the results were starting to be seen. (NCAP history).
I'm not sure where you'd find stats on each car prior to the late 1990s but my local classic friendly garage has strong comments about the Panda based on his own experience of crash repairs and he supports HJs comment that it is a more dangerous car than average to have an accident in. Despite it's almost classic status and cheap running costs, he prefers to pay more for something based on the Peugeot 107/Toyota Aygo/Citreon C1 which has all the protective stuff and NCAP 4 ratings which is about the highest for small cars.
If you drive a car like this, you need to be aware of it's limitations in protecting you in the event of an accident. Too many drivers adopt an alter ego when they get inside a car and feel they are almost invincible. As Alixcompo says, if you imagine you're driving a 4 seat crash helmet, then you'll be in the right frame of mind. If you've never heard of or tried cadence braking, look it up and give it a go, it's not a natural action to take your foot off the brake when danger looms ahead, but the method will drastically shorten your braking distance in a non ABS car and give you the ability to steer round trouble if you ever find yourself in a nasty situation.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadence_braking]Cadence braking[/ame]
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you mention "HonestJohn" ,as if it's not a work of fiction by a man in an office..!!
yes the panda is a small / light vehicle with no great thought to "crumple-zones," etc, because it was essentially designed in the 1970's,
I've had quite a few panda's and have come across 2 badly damaged ones I broke for spares,
the worse of the 2 crawling out across a T-junction and being "t-boned" , the passengers seat now being an arm-rest for the drivers seat..,
all standard fare for a car of THAT ERA..,
personally I thought the Mk2 uno to be a much nicer DRIVE , Quieter at speed due to aerodynamics , etc,
despite being 95% identical to the Mk2 Panda , and without it's "Classic Prestige",
in all honesty the mk2 Uno's were a nicer car than our '04 1.1 active,
with FAR better fuel economy , practicality + driver appeal,
due the the excellent Mk3 and on added weight due to Safety Constraints,
Charlie
Yes that's what I expected. So if everyone would kindly qualify the "one of the most dangerous" comments in future and note if they are comparing them to modern cars, we'll all be happy
By the way the Peugeot 104 is in my view the most likely to kill you. I hit one from a standing start in a Tipo years ago (quite hard I'll give you, as it shot 100 yards up the road) and the boot disappeared along with ALL of the rear passenger compartment & some of the driver's seat. I cracked a headlight. A Panda does not fold to that extend and has been said before people have stepped away from quite nasty crashes.
Anyone who expects a car designed in 1980 to compare to one trying to achieve a modern 5* NCAP rating deserves everything they get (it's not cruel, I call it natural selection! ). Compare to the same design era by all means though
I respect anything a crash repair place has to say, but it's still only an opinion, and not always comparing contemporary vehicles (as the reference to modern alternatives in the reply above shows).
By the way the Peugeot 104 is in my view the most likely to kill you. I hit one from a standing start in a Tipo years ago (quite hard I'll give you, as it shot 100 yards up the road) and the boot disappeared along with ALL of the rear passenger compartment & some of the driver's seat. I cracked a headlight.
A Panda does not fold to that extend and has been said before people have stepped away from quite nasty crashes.Anyone who expects a car designed in 1980 to compare to one trying to achieve a modern 5* NCAP rating deserves everything they get (it's not cruel, I call it natural selection!
). Compare to the same design era by all means though I respect anything a crash repair place has to say, but it's still only an opinion, and not always comparing contemporary vehicles (as the reference to modern alternatives in the reply above shows).
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^ This!! This big time!
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Having recent experience of seeing a crashed Panda that completely demolished a late 90's Honda Civic before flattening a brick wall I cannot agree entirely that it is a bad car to crash.... it still drove and the unbelted driver escaped with only a minor cut.
Crumple zones...no....airbags....no....undamaged passenger compartment ?...yes. What more can you ask from a design of this age.
Seems to me to be plenty strong enough.
Crumple zones...no....airbags....no....undamaged passenger compartment ?...yes. What more can you ask from a design of this age.
Seems to me to be plenty strong enough.
