You know, so often, particularly around the City of Sunderland, here, where I live, other drivers treat my Panda with contempt.
You see, I stick to the speed limit and even stick at 30 mph in the city. So other drivers overtake, often in an inappropriate and dangerous manner.
Then, when we hit the next junction or roundabout, they get a right shock because my 4x4 sticks to the road as if by glue and I sail past them.
What I really need is a 4x4 with a 100HP motor to reallly scare those that despise the Panda.
Sorry for the rant, just had a bad day today with chavs who think that, because they can press an accelerator pedal that they can drive.

Totally agree, several incidences and close calls (including my girlfriend's mum overtaking in what I can only describe as a 'bold' move) recently which never would have happened in my old car.

doctorchris said:

You know, so often, particularly around the City of Sunderland, here, where I live, other drivers treat my Panda with contempt.
You see, I stick to the speed limit and even stick at 30 mph in the city. So other drivers overtake, often in an inappropriate and dangerous manner.
Then, when we hit the next junction or roundabout, they get a right shock because my 4x4 sticks to the road as if by glue and I sail past them.
What I really need is a 4x4 with a 100HP motor to reallly scare those that despise the Panda.
Sorry for the rant, just had a bad day today with chavs who think that, because they can press an accelerator pedal that they can drive.

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i have to agree, when i had my 55 plate eleganza in London other drivers just took the p***. numerous near misses with cars pulling out, and dont get me started on the horn fitted to the Panda.
life with a 100 hp is a lot better. :devil:

Another one in complete agreement here. The amount of people who take the P*ss, pulling out in front, cutting up, overtaking in stupid places etc. Must be worse for me with the baby blue colour too!!! hardy masculine. I love the look on some peoples face when they realise it not a blue haired granny who they've just cut up, but a p*ssed off 6 ft something muscley geezer! I'm sure they think they can make themselves invisable!

Had my first bit of unwanted attention in the Panda a couple of weeks back after dropping my other half off at the airport. Decided I was going to do the 30 miles home along the back roads and was caught up quite quickly by 5 lads in a blinged 306 while I was chugging through the town at 30mph. Noticed the driver pointing at my car a couple of times so decided to leave my signalling a bit late to see if they were following me.

They followed me for 2 turns so I opted to reroute to get myself onto the nearest NSL road as I reckoned I could put some distance between us or at the very least duck into the works car park if not.

As we approached the NSL sign, I dropped the car into second and made a swift getaway while the Pug flashed its headlights and the driver floundered trying to keep up. I think he may have been a tad surprised at how rapidly I disappeared into the distance

Chris

doctorchris said:

You know, so often, particularly around the City of Sunderland, here, where I live, other drivers treat my Panda with contempt.
You see, I stick to the speed limit and even stick at 30 mph in the city.

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no wonder they pissed, fiat speedos are often 10mph out so you are only doing 20mph

Welcome to a world full of VW, Audi and BMW drivers who think that unless you have the latest reg on your car and it's something big and wanky that you're crap. I get the same treatment in either one of our 4 door saloon's. It's a class thing. People think you can't afford a car that's big and new you're a PoS and they treat you accordingly.

Have checked my speedo against satnav on a level road, no more than 10% out. therefore I run at just bit above 30 registering on speedo.
Definitely not doing 20 mph.

To play devils advocate here, it is bloody annoying when people dawdle, sometimes, especially in the city centers, people are in a tearing rush, yes they might drive in a way you dont like, but if you dont like it, move out of the way so they are gone quicker!

Its the same on the motorway, if I want to overtake at 90mph, I might be in the BMW but that doesnt make me any worse a person!! Just bloody move out the way if you want to do 75!

I don't dawdle. I've just found that I cannot predict where they will put a mobile speed camera van and don't want points and fines. So I get the car up to the speed limit sharply then stick at it. If I'm on a dual carriageway, I stay in the inside lane as much as possible, I don't get in the way of those that want to speed.
However, at the next set of lights I'm just behind them and at the next roundabout they slow me down cos they don't know how to get a car safely around a corner.
Oh, and it's a bit of a laugh when we reach a known fixed camera and they all drop to 20-25 mph!

true indeed, if someone wants to press on, they shouldnt be shy about it!! it annoys me when people go through say a 30 camera at 25, if you cant hold your car at 30 on the dot you obviously have no control lol!

I hate being overtaken by boy racers however reps are the worst in their big audi's etc.

However I like to poke fun at people stuck behind me whilst i'm sticking religiously to 30mph. Instead of the child on board sign mine reads 0-100 in 15 minutes that usually makes people laugh that much that they forget overtaking me. I have not had one person overtake me in the 9-12 months i've had it up.

auto_blanco said:

Its the same on the motorway, if I want to overtake at 90mph, I might be in the BMW but that doesnt make me any worse a person!! Just bloody move out the way if you want to do 75!

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The problem isn't people like you. It's when you're doing 80 and you're behind another 10 cars doing 80 but knobby no friends the sales rep still wants to tailgate you.

306maxi said:

knobby no friends the sales rep

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I'm claiming that as my phrase of the week. brilliant!

auto_blanco said:

true indeed, if someone wants to press on, they shouldnt be shy about it!! it annoys me when people go through say a 30 camera at 25, if you cant hold your car at 30 on the dot you obviously have no control lol!

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Problem I find is in the 30 limits when the drivers of lesser vehicles want to overtake you at 45mph with little regard for road signs or safety, they are usually the ones that still want to do 45 when it becomes a 60 limit so you then need to be past them.

Driving a Cinquecento and a Panda I see the 'small car envy' thing a lot - getting cut up on the dual carriageways unless you tailgate the car in front.

Yeah, HP, isn't that weird. They're usuallly old gents who only know how to drive at 40mph. So, they drive at 40 mph through the villages then continue at the same speed when the road opens up and you can legally do 60 mph. All you can do is blast past them after the 30 sign expires, they never catch you up thereafter.

doctorchris said:

They're usuallly old gents who only know how to drive at 40mph. So, they drive at 40 mph through the villages then continue at the same speed when the road opens up and you can legally do 60 mph.

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I believe the technical term for these people is 'farts' - Forty All the Ruddy Time.

I find that I seem to have "stealth mode engaged" (i.e. other cars seeming not to notice me) quite a lot, but not as much as in my old car ('92 Polo).

I think that other cars just think that as they're bigger, they can bully the little Panda.

Sometimes I get my own back by playing catapult, i.e. I'm sitting at the lights and big car decides to take the lane beside me instead of sitting behind me, then when the lights change I take off fast to beat the big car away from the lights and then when I get to the speed limit, I sit at the speed limit. Big car then can't resist and has to overtake. Speed camera van is just round the corner sometimes... :devil:

puffed out daddy said:

numerous near misses with cars pulling out, and dont get me started on the horn fitted to the Panda.

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Same with the mk2 Panda! Crap horn, hence why it now has 2 air horns from a Ford Serra, they really made a woman in a Zafira jump when she cut me up, and the spots I've got lit up the White Fiesta that cut me up on a roundabout well to, the looks on their faces as they saw all the lights!

Wee Smurf said:

I find that I seem to have "stealth mode engaged" (i.e. other cars seeming not to notice me) quite a lot, but not as much as in my old car ('92 Polo).

I think that other cars just think that as they're bigger, they can bully the little Panda.

Sometimes I get my own back by playing catapult, i.e. I'm sitting at the lights and big car decides to take the lane beside me instead of sitting behind me, then when the lights change I take off fast to beat the big car away from the lights and then when I get to the speed limit, I sit at the speed limit. Big car then can't resist and has to overtake. Speed camera van is just round the corner sometimes... :devil:

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I used to have the same in the Panda until I fitted DRL's and although people are tossers still, I don't get the 'I wasn't looking and so didn't see you' people cut me up.

I like it at lights when you get the boy racers revving, I rev back and give them the stare, Lights turn green, they floor it and make a fool of themselves, as I pull of nice, smoothly and economically.
The sometimes if they're at the next lights sitting there, I come up slowly, to keep momentom, and when they turn green I fly past them

Must admit I can't see any issues with other car drivers treating me any differently. Maybe I just don't notice it?

Mind you i am probably considered fairly aggressive with my driving tactics.

What does the panda horn sound like? In six months of ownership I don't think i've used it yet.