... But alas, two months ago while passing a Fiat garage with a large 0% finance sign gleaming in the sun, the idea of a new car sprung into my mind. 0%, can I possibly go wrong I mussed?
So in I popped with all intentions to upgrade my x reg Punto for a brand new sparkly Punto. At least that ... Read review
Advantages: Bargain price Disadvantages: None so far!
...months ago while passing a Fiat garage with a large 0% finance sign gleaming in the sun, the idea of a new car sprung into my mind. 0%, can I possibly go wrong I mussed?
So in I popped with all intentions to upgrade my x reg Punto for a brand new sparkly Punto. At least that was until I spotted the reincarnated Panda sat beside what then appeared to be a rather clumsy big brother Punto!
A small amount of sales chat ... ...the Uno of the old Fiat empire of the pre Punto era? Well yes it was, but things have changed, the rackety little tin box of bygone years has been brought back from the dead with a new shape, a new spec, a new set of colours but most importantly a new engine capacity that for a car that size is hard to resist!
Price
In any car decision this has to be the most important factor, after all I can want an E type ... more
I didn't think the day would come when I would gleefully write about the death of my Punto. But alas, two months ago while passing a Fiat garage with a large 0% finance sign gleaming in the sun, the idea of a new car sprung into my mind. 0%, can I possibly go wrong I mussed?
So in I popped with all intentions to upgrade my x reg Punto for a brand new sparkly Punto. At least that was until I spotted the reincarnated Panda sat beside what then appeared to be a rather clumsy big brother Punto!
A small amount of sales chat and a couple of forms later, I became the proud owner of a bright blue Panda. I know what you are all thinking, wasn't the Panda the poor cousin of the Uno of the old Fiat empire of the pre Punto era? Well yes it was, but things have changed, the rackety little tin box of bygone years has been brought back from the dead with a new shape, a new spec, a new set of colours but most importantly a new engine capacity that for a car that size is hard to resist!
Price
In any car decision this has to be the most important factor, after all I can want an E type Jag as much as I like, but if the money doesn't stack up then I'm not having one. Well if you are looking for a bargain car that will nip around town, this has to be in the running. For £6,500 you can buy a basic Panda with a rather respectable base spec. Once you start to add on any of the extras the price can shoot up pretty quickly, I think just to have metallic paint would straight away add an extra £500. There are some little benefits that come with the car as standard, AA cover for a year and a 3 year warrantee (two years provided by Fiat then an extra year on top). But as I have said before if you do find yourself in any garage at the mercy of a car salesman make sure you strike a bargain, try for some money off and failing that ask for something else to be thrown in, in the past I have had anything from car mats, free insurance, additional spec added for no cost, etc. If they won't budge on the price, go at them with another request for something you might want. Just one other point regarding the price, if you are thinking of buying one and are not too concerned about the colour and spec, then ask around the garages to see if they have any which have been pre registered. My car had been a showroom car prior to me buying it, as I didnt mind the fact that it had been sat in a room doing nothing the garage I brought it from gave me a discount of £800. As an added bonus it also had a lot of features which are not part of the basic model, including Cd player, roof rack thrown in, metallic paint etc. So worth asking, at certain times of the year garages are more likely to have cars like this to others, so if you dont mind waiting, dont mind the colour etc then ask around and get your car even cheaper!
My bartering was somewhat restricted this time around due mainly to the fact that Fiat are running a pretty good finance deal that I wanted to take them up on. I'm not sure how much longer it is going to run for, but Fiat running a promotion of 0% finance for 3 years, with no deposit. And although it appears as if quite a few makes of cars are running similar, they actually all have more catches than Fiat, some request half of the cost of the car paid upfront then provide the rest of the money at 0%, some let you pay 0% for 3 years but somewhere hidden in the small print are details stating that after 3 years the car will only be half paid. So slightly at a tangent, but I think a useful one, be careful of the 0% deals, make sure you understand what they are really offering you.
Choice
If you are buying brand new then there is a basic range of colours, some of which are unique to the year that you buy the car. It seems to be the pattern that every year there are 5 colours are the standard non metallic colours all pretty bright and cheerful as Fiats generally are, then a more subdued selection of 5 metallic colours. As I said earlier, if you want the metallic then Fiat do charge extra. There are an equal number of interior colours to choose from, which can be combined with any of the range of paints.
Performance
Now obviously I'm not going to pretend that a Fiat Panda is a match for any of the super cars or in fact a high spec Golf but baring in mind the size and lightness of the car the engine is more than ample to let the Panda hold its own on any motorway. Infact, the Panda's base engine is actually the exact engine used in the basic Puntos. So baring in mind that the Panda is substantially smaller and lighter, it is more than capable of outperforming a run of the mill Punto! With a 1.2 engine I have found that the Panda is a nippy little rascal, brilliant for jumping in and out around town, and more than capable of keeping the pace on A roads and motorways. So far I have been pretty gentle on the car, but it seems more than happy to chug along at 80mph on the motorway with room to accelerate up for a short burst of overtaking. The top speed I've probably sat comfortably at is about 85mph, but I did still feel a bit of acceleration still in there.
Around town, its size is its advantage, easy to park, easy to manoeuvre and fast to accelerate away from traffic lights. But if you do fancy a Panda but want something faster then there is quite a range to choose from, including believe it or not a rather sweet 4 x 4!
What features does it come with
As a standard, every Panda comes as a 5 door, 3 door cars just don't exist with Pandas. Probably due to the size of the car, it would be pretty uncomfortable climbing into the back of the car if it were to have 3 doors. A base Panda also comes with front electric windows (wind your own in the back) that as a nice little touch allows for the driver side to whip straight up and down in one fair swoop with a slightly different press of the button. It also has driver and passenger airbags, which the passengers can be switched off if you wish to have a baby chair in the front. Also a height adjustable steering wheel which comes in very handy, central locking, a remote door locking key, Blupoint stereo (cassette for the real base model but for little extra or a good barter this can be changed for CD) and Fiats version of ABS breaking which seem to do the job very nicely!.
Now the best feature of all, which I am so pleased has been brought over from the Punto is the power steering. I know that power steering is pretty much standard for all cars these days, but Fiat have devised a very useful variation on this, called 'Dueldrive'. Basically Fiat have realised that there are two types of requirements for steering, firstly steering when driving, and secondly when parking and have basically devised a two part power steering which allows for both to be carried out at ease.
On the dashboard of both the Panda and Punto is a button marked 'city', now this button is the answer to everyone's dreams in getting into difficult parking spaces. By pressing this button a whole new world of parallel parking opens up! This switches off the normal power steering which is your run of the mill drive around town light steering, and turns on the ultra light steering for parking, accessed through the 'City' button. 'City' only works when you are travelling at 5mph or less, so even if you switch it on and forget (very hard to do as it is so light), it will automatically switch itself off. No one can mange to park badly with this feature, like a feather the steering releases to a level that you can get a full lock with the movement of a finger. Brilliant, I would even go so far as to say go to a Fiat garage and try this feature on a test drive even if you have no intention of ever buying one!
Fuel Consumption
Another all important part of the car especially when considering the continual hike in fuel costs. The Panda is fantastic, although a petrol car (diesel version is possible) the petrol really does go a long way! I think approximately 39 miles per gallon in town conditions, 58 miles per gallon when on a motorway. To fill the tank it seems to cost between £35-36.
Insurance
If you aren't convinced by the fuel consumption, then consider the other largest expense linked to cars, which is the insurance. Pandas fall into Group 3, which is one up from the lowest bracket. Obviously, if you do opt by one of the Pandas further up the range then it will vary and could be in the higher insurance brackets, but all 1.2 Pandas are in Group 3. To give you an idea what this means in regards to cost I've been driving for 10 years, without making any claims and have just insured my Panda for £250 fully comp with protected no claims. Obviously this varies according to where you live and whether it is garaged or not. But I think this is as cheap as you are going to get for a new car.
Comfort and Trimmings
With regards to internal features I haven't found a reason to complain so far. Fiat don't appear to have cut back in many areas from the spec of a Punto, although the one thing I did notice (which I found a weird place to save money) was on the mirrors. Either have to be positioned externally, without any internal levers, not really a huge problem or reason not to buy the car, but it does mean that moving them while driving is pretty inconvenient. The seats are padded, comfortable and clad in a plain but modern material. Both front seats can be contorted into a huge variety of positions, although as the car is small if you do wish to have the front seats at their furthest back position, it does tighten up the space in the rear considerably.
The radio is high in the middle of the dashboard, and forms part of the molded dash. Underneath that is the heating system, which consists of a dial to choose hot or cold or whichever setting in between and a lever to choose which location you would like hot or cold to blow out of at any one of four speeds. The gear stick also forms part of the dash as apose to the more common position coming up from the floor. Fiat have chosen to position the gear stick on the dash in order to give maximum elbow room to both passenger and driver, and I've found that it does the trick and really does give the illusion of a spacious interior. There is a mirror over the passenger seat for those who want to do their make up in the car and a large storage space. All cars come with a car lighter, removable cup like ash tray that if you wish can sit in any of the cup holders (in the dash and central to the rear) The trims on the doors come in the same fabric as the seats, and again are padded with pockets the perfect size for an A-Z and some sweets!
Standard on some of the higher spec Pandas or an extra with the basic model is the roof rack. As a rule I would never suggest that a roof rack could be a must have car accessory, but on the Panda it really does look sweet, and sort of finishes it off. As it isn't a sporty looking small car, the roof rack seems to add a robust healthiness to the car, and gives it almost the image of a baby range rover. Have a look at the ones on the road, with and without the roof rack and you might see what I mean!
The awards
So if I haven't convinced you maybe the plethora of awards the Panda has managed to bag in its two years since re-launch will. Since 2004 it has picked up award after award from Auto express (car of the year, in 2004 and 2005), won best city car from What Car, and best budget car from Top Gear, there are some others too, but these should convince you to at least consider the car!
Reliability
Well this one is hard to test so far, as I've only had the car a couple of months, but so far so good, and having spoken to people who have had the car since its launch you can safely say that 2 years and you should have no problems.
So I think that about sums it up really, a good reliable, cheap run around with an engine that can cope with a motorway. They are available from all Fiat dealers, as they have only been around for less than 2 years, second hand Pandas are still pretty rare and are holding their price.
If you want to have a look at the car Fiat have dedicated a site to the new Panda at http://www.newpanda.co.uk go and have a look, see if you agree with me!
Ive just noticed, ignore the picture on Ciao as this is the old Panda photo rather than the new Panda!
