The sensation of performance without the expense of actually having it.

Pretty much describes why the 500 is fun, but at the same time why others are better in many ways.

306maxi said:

The sensation of performance without the expense of actually having it.

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Pretty much describes a classic Panda on standard tyres...!

Will be watching it in an hour or so, by the way -- thanks to the magic of BT Vision/iPlayer....

Isn't there a 124 in this programme, too -- as well as the original 500...?

i wouldn't normally watch james but have to say the programme was really excellent

What channel, what day, what time?

The Beard said:

What channel, what day, what time?

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bbc2 tonight 9.00pm
i player will ave it

Fiat 124....second most common car of all time...shame 90% of them will be Lada Badged heaps o' ****e.

StevenRB45 said:

Fiat 124....second most common car of all time...shame 90% of them will be Lada Badged heaps o' ****e.

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better than an fso polonez though
anyone remember when they were offered with a peugeot 1.9 diesel about 1992?

Saw it. Thought it was excellent. Will watch next episode.

306maxi said:

The sensation of performance without the expense of actually having it.

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That describes perfectly the way I feel about my 1.4 Sport - it feels moderately quick (with plenty of revs), sounds the part and grips quite well around corners, yet it's a sensation (an illusion, perhaps) of performance rather than true performance. Many makes and models of other cars would blow it away on the straight, take corners better and stop more quickly, but almost all these cars would be more expensive to buy and cost more to run.

Must catch that programme on iPlayer.

Fantastic program and well worth watching if you are a fan of weird cars.

Next weeks will be good. I am a closet fan of Microcars so really looking forward to it.

s and b said:

better than an fso polonez though
anyone remember when they were offered with a peugeot 1.9 diesel about 1992?

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Sadly, I seem to remember that too.

I also remember that the original Polonez, despite having a hatchback, also had the cross brace behind the rear seat like a saloon, so the rear seat did not fold. Didn't take them long to delete it, but made the original cars difficult to sell, although even cheaper.

My buddy had an fso pickup truck with a fiat twin cam 2.0. That thing would leave black lines for ever. They used to try and draw patterns on the forestry commission roads by pushing the rear of the truck whilst spinning.

Ace little truck that used to take many a bmw etc by surprise.

Was a fantastic show, I want a saloon 124 now... or rather the missus does!

I see sadly it slipped back in to Top Gear style BS last night! Disappointing considering how good episode 1 was.

Mercky said:

I see sadly it slipped back in to Top Gear style BS last night! Disappointing considering how good episode 1 was.

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Have to agree -- although the French girl driving the VSP had me in hysterics. :nutter:

Nice to see a Renault 4, though. Wonderful cars....

homeward said:

Have to agree -- although the French girl driving the VSP had me in hysterics. :nutter:

Nice to see a Renault 4, though. Wonderful cars....

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It always suprised me that the R4 never became a popular classic, you see very few around now considering how many were made. I learnt to drive in one!

Mercky said:

It always suprised me that the R4 never became a popular classic, you see very few around now considering how many were made. I learnt to drive in one!

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There was a really nice one at the NEC Classic Car Show, last November, next to the Fiat stand.

StevenRB45 said:

Fiat 124....second most common car of all time...shame 90% of them will be Lada Badged heaps o' ****e.

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Used to have a 1979 one. I liked the quaint way they left all the writing on the instruments as Cyrillic. Steering was by worm & sector box where you could move the wheel an inch or two with no effect whatsoever.

Still it was awesome fun to thrash along B roads and had the best heater of any car Ever. Plus it was still better built than the Ford Sierra that I foolishly replaced it with.

306maxi said:

The sensation of performance without the expense of actually having it.

Pretty much describes why the 500 is fun, but at the same time why others are better in many ways.

Click to expand...

That describes my Grande Punto: a lot of people would look at the performance figures and say its too slow, whereas when I'm driving it, it feels eager and great fun.

I now have a craving for a Renault 4 with faded dark blue paint and proper yellow headlights...