Whats the Fiat Panda like?

mr tommo

mr tommo

mr tommo

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Unfortunately, due to a bit of cost cutting on our upcoming snowboarding holiday Ive been forced into renting a Fiat Panda :o

Its through Avis, and I presume it will be a petrol model because diesel is usually specified.

Are they as bad as I'm imagining? Having been bought up in an Italian family, my parents had one about 15 years ago, most of my family have had one at some point, and everytime I go to Sicily to visit family they are everywhere.

What kind of MPG can I expect realistically on motorways? I will be doing a 12 hour round trip in one :( from Milan to Obergurgl, Austria.
 
I would imagine 12 hours in a Panda on the motorway would be as much fun as weeing in the wind.

Let us know how you get on ;)
 
mr tommo said:
What kind of MPG can I expect realistically on motorways? I will be doing a 12 hour round trip in one :( from Milan to Obergurgl, Austria.
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Brother has one and he gets around 50-60mpg when driving sensibly. (His words, not mine)

They truly aren't horrid eco-boxes like a lot of people think.
 
They are great little city cars, but not something I would relish the thought of doing a 12 hour stint in. Petrol engines fitted to the Panda are the 1.1 (54bhp), 1.2 (60bhp) and 1.4 (100BHP). It'll most likely be the 1.2 8v engine from the rental company.

On the economy side mid-high 40's should be obtainable on a steady run if you aren't trying to extract 80mph out of it everywhere.
 
Duke said:
I would imagine 12 hours in a Panda on the motorway would be as much fun as weeing in the wind.
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Dad has a 1.3 MultiJet one, and we've driven it from home (Burton-on-Trent, middle of England) down to Villelongue-de-la-Salanque (practically at the bottom of France) a few times now. It's been perfectly comfortable each time.

Sure, we've only got it up to ~160km/h at best on the run down - but if anyone needs to go that quick then they need to splash out and get something more appropriate. For cruising within the speed limit it's absolutely fine.
 
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Ok, it was terrible! :p

10 hour round trip in it, and it returned around 60mpg I think it was (thats if I converted it correctly)

Which I was impressed with, but it was a terrible place to spend so much time in, felt as though it was going to tip over around every motorway bend and was totally gutless.

None of the above suprised me but I fail to understand why anybody would buy one, ever.
 
All the owners I've spoken to say it feels like a much bigger car. I think you'll find it quite comfortable on the motorway. Certainly nothing like the original Panda.

They're uber reliable too, very little warranty work being done. And they have the new Head Gasket. By far FIAT's most reliable at least.


Edit: LOL, so this is the follow up thread now.
 
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:D 650ish Miles... even driving past Lake Garda didn't help with my mood!

Never again. Because we were under 25 though all the companies charge an extra amount a day,and it almost doubled the cost of car hire. Otherwise I would have paid for something decent!

Edit - yeah it was the 1.2

Also I understand that they are extremely reliable and good on fuel but Its certainly not a car I enjoyed on the motorway. Attempting an overtake really was an experience.
 
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mr tommo said:
None of the above suprised me but I fail to understand why anybody would buy one, ever.
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because they a are a bloody great car for driving around towns in. cheap , reliable:eek: good MPG , cheap

only drove one for a few days but thought it was amazing for a small and cheap car.
 
How much are they new? What sort of cars are its competion? The newest shape Renault Clio feels a lot nicer to drive for example.
 
Oh christ well if thats the case then they do make perfect sense. It was a lot roomier inside than my ex's Peugeot 107 and I prefer the engine in the panda too.
 
I thought it was a little high to be honest. Didnt keep track of how much petrol we put in.

However at the end of the journey back the trip computer read 7.7litres per 100 miles

EDIT - No it didn't at all, just realised my major fault with the equation... It must have been measured per 100 km.

Which would make it.... (7.7 litres) per (100 km) = 36.6858511 miles per gallon.
 
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