Well, i have been through around 20 pages of threads on this forum, and just wanted some re-assurance.
I'm tempted to get a new 1.3Multijet from Fiat supersave, as no dealer has any around the north west, new (at a decent price) or used!

What i'm after finding out is will this car cope with high miles. I will be doing a round trip of 100 miles a day, 2,000 miles a month. All Motorway miles, M61, M60. Should i expect it to keep pace with traffic at 70 - 80mph and still retain a good MPG return. I have read so many conflicting posts.

I have also read a post on here about common problems with the Panda? Have any of these got better with the newer versions, or do they still occur?

Thanks for all your help in advance. :worship:

I bought my Multijet at beginning of December and have only done 2000 miles so far, but they have been all trouble free miles. I tried several Panda's of various ages and latest 2007 spec cars do seem an improvement on earlier examples, with regard to refinement, comfort, etc.

Motorway work is no problem, my engine is still a little stiff but easily does 80/90 + with no problem at all, though have noticed perhaps unsurprisingly economy drops to around 50 mpg if you are doing those kind of speeds. Overall I am avaeraging 58 mpg with a best of 64 and worst of 49. But as I say engine still running in.

I ummd and arrd for ages about Panda but am made up with mine.

NottsCharger said:

I ummd and arrd for ages about Panda but am made up with mine.

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This is my problem too. I have read loads of people reviews on here and they seem to be what i'm after. I currently have a Mondeo, but its proving expensive to run, and maintain. The panda seems to fit the bill with £35 tax, cheep tyres etc. Just concerned about putting on the m-way miles!

Think you will find that the Panda MJ is about the lowest running cost car available...the more miles covered the better value it becomes.

Only problem's I've had is a little rattle on the dash and the sunvisor clips sometimes unclip themselves (something for the next service) overall though very happy with the wee motor....

We've had ours for almost 9 months and 10,000 miles, and the only 'fault' - which I now realise is probably more a characteristic - is a low speed diesel clatter. Overall consumption has worked out at just under 52mpg, but some people seem to achieve much better. It spends 90% of its miles on clear A and B roads, with little town work.
As already mentioned, cheap tax and insurance are a bonus, and the car itself seems well screwed together. Motorway speeds aren't a problem and it's well able to keep up with the traffic.

I am a Driving Instructor and use the Panda Multijet Sporting, i have covered 47k in the last 18months, only issues slipping clutch from 19k only top gear and low revs when turbo spools up, one indicator bulb, steering packs up when doing a lot of parking(1hrs parking solid) returns 48/53mpg if roof box on or off and on a run on motorway at 70mph will return 60mpg no probs good build good heater 80/90mph no worries very nippy car hope this helps.

had mine 7 months, 18k miles, super little courier car that spends near all its hours on the motorway. Only problem was passenger window switch on the day I picked it up - fixed in no time at all. Suzuki and GM would not use the MJ engine if they had doubts about it I'm sure. I believe GM use it at 90BHP as well. Reliability - just check out the vehicle recall pages on the VOSA nad Direct.gov website and be very scared - Panda MJ has one recall, some prestige manufacturers should be ashamed at their lists. Just ask yourself, how many second hand do you see for sell?

There is a dealer in the north-west who will beat supersaver prices albeit by a fiver.

No idea if you are anywhere near Macclesfield, but if you go to

http://www.better-deal.co.uk

You can get a base spec MJ for £5995.

better-deal are actually MossRose Fiat Macclesfield trading under a different name. We bought our car from there. Came in at £6904 with aircon and metallic paint.

That way you get to do it all through the dealer as normal but you get the better price.

HTH.

We have had our Panda 1.3 Multijet since Nov 2006 and covered 37,584 miles.

So if we divide the total mileage of 37,584 into the 15 months of ownership we have an average monthy mileage of 2,506.

The car does get a lot of use, most of it on motorways - even went to Hungary last Feb (going again in March). We never hang about and the Panda does an excellent job of 70 mph plus cruising.

So far, we have not had any issues with reliability, breakdowns etc... Only had to change the front tyres at 35,278 miles. And the front pads are being changed in the next week.

During the running in period I had to top up the oil a couple of times - but since about the 5,000 mile mark the Panda has not used any oil between the 12,000 mile services.

Just one more point - If your budget can stretch to it - Get the Climate Control option - It's fantastic - so much better than the air con we have had on previous cars. You just set the temp you want and press the Auto button. We use it all year round, lovely and warm in winter (the integral Dehumidifier keeps the windows mist free) and as cool as you want in summer.

Couldn't get this image into the prev post for some reason.

Thanks for that info Z11, but unfortunately i wont be able to get the climate control as i need to get the car as soon as mines sold, and untill its sold i cant buy one.

Any how, it will have A/c and does this have the Dehumidifier?
Thanks for the break down on your mileage and MPG. I had read the thread about your trip to hungry, and there is some valuable information there and here!
Thanks!

All A/Cs and climate controls have a dehumidifier built in. That's actually what air conditioning is. Mine is a March '05 model with 30K on the clock and has been used for driving lessons as well, but not as much as arsedownoz. 55-62 mpg, although at the moment it's only returning 51-52. Going to try some RedX injector cleaner. The only other fault has been the front pads which wore down to the rivets at 23,900 miles. 2 days before its service! That meant new discs as well. If I knew then what I know now, I'd ask for the opinion of the service dept at the 12K service as to whether they thought the pads were more than 50% worn. Otherwise, very pleased with it.

I collected mine from Fiatsupersaver a week & a half ago. Train to Chippenham & a £7.50 taxi fare & you're there. I had a 250 mile trip home & the car buzzed along great & returned 50mpg. I've currently got about 900 miles on her at around 52mpg - A & B roads with a splash of dual carriageway work.

I've downgraded car wise but have had a pleasant surprise at the Panda's refinement. Once you're under way you can't really tell it's a diesel & don't worry about motorway work - as long as you've not got 5 fatties on board it'll sit all day at 80mph.

Hi cool_dood01

You should nearly have enough information by now. I know the feeling. I did a good bit of research before buying my first Fiat - the Multijet back in 2005.

It has 112, 871 Kms on it at the moment (little over 70 K miles) and is flying along. I do a lot of A & B roads with a motorway trip about twice a month. It has no problem humming along nicely on the motorways at about 75 MPH with a nice bit of Torque left to surprise the big boys with a smartly timed overtake. This car is good for over 100 MPH, or so I'm told

My lowest MPG is about 56 mpg on (Fast) motorways and about 66 mpg on the A & B roads without driving it too gently. My best was 78.2 mpg when I was stuck behind 55 - 60 MPH traffic on the way to Northern Ireland one summer. Just goes to show what is possible.

No major problems with reliability - we had a fuel sensor go once, drove around for about a week at lower speeds until it suited me to take it into the garage under warranty. Dash light bulbs go every so often - on the third one in three years so I can hack that.

By the way, anybody know what service is due at 70 K miles? I am out of warranty now with the higher mileage so will do minor stuff myself: i.e., oil change, with filters etc. I think it's a minor service, oil / filters etc so if anybody can confirm, I can do it this week.

Don't have too many worries on the Panda Multijet. I am going to buy another one just as soon as I can get a realistic trade in for this, or sell it privately in the summer.

Stay safe.

BJ20

Well, about 2 Minutes ago i just ordered my Fiat Panda 1.3 Multijet + Aircon in Metallic Black! £6759 From Fiat Super Saver which i think its pretty impressive considering 55plates are going for £5500 round here!
All i need now are a nice set of Alloys + try and retro fit some fog lights and ill be one happy chappy!

Well done, when do you collect it?

Its getting delivered to me on Tuesday. Cant wait!
Would have cost me and the Mrs £150 in train fairs down there or £200 delivered.

Well doe Dood hope you are as pleased as we are, its a small car that thinks its a bigun.

Hope you will as pleased as I am with mine! I've had it now for 3 weeks and its great. Getting around 60 mpg and so far, no oil burn. If you find a good source for the alloys, please let me know, for I would like some too.

Jaytee

cool_dood01 said:

This is my problem too. I have read loads of people reviews on here and they seem to be what i'm after. I currently have a Mondeo, but its proving expensive to run, and maintain. The panda seems to fit the bill with £35 tax, cheep tyres etc. Just concerned about putting on the m-way miles!

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I went from Mondeo TDCi to MJ. The Mondeo's a great car, but you'll be surprised as to how good the MJ is. For a small, cheap car, it doesn't seem like a small, cheap car. I miss that surge of power with the Mondeo, and the MJ can't match the smooth ride, but it's in no way bad. Looking round the web, I couldn't find any bad press/postings about the engine, so I assume there are few problems with it. Unlike the 2.0TDCi which seems to run into issues quite often, even though there are a lot on the road doing a lot of miles.

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