Hi guys. My names dave, i'm new here- i come to you all from being a die hard smart owner. I'm hopfully going to chop it in for a 1.2 panda very soon- i just wanted to know - what are the pro's and cons of the panda?

Is it economical?
Does it rattle?
Is the 1.2 any good on the motorway (have to do exeter to leeds every weekend)?
Does anything go wrong?

I'm coming from my beloved smartie after 30'000 of troubled motoring, its been off the road for 8 of the 24 months that i've had it :bang: . Also can you tell me - what with the 1.2 8v being straight from the punto is there any scope for tunning? Also do they respond well to stereo upgrades? Anyways, thanks in advance! Dave

hello dave, welcome to the forum, and hopefully panda ownership!

i bought an eleganza new on an 04 plate last year for mrs turboned, and it's coming up to it's first service now

so far only one warranty issue is the indicator on the nearside is allowing moisture in.

other than that its very economical, smooth and surprisingly heavy duty, 4 up around town with stop starts and its fine and comfy. she only managed about 4600 miles it it, but other than the one issue above no rattles or squeaks, starts first time every time, a bonus when it's a cold dark night! the free aa cover has been used once, when a nail went through a tyre, the mrs is not hot on tyre changes, it took all of 5 minutes for them to arrive! not bad at all!


its not really a "hot hatch" as the suspension is quite long and the ride height is a bit 4x4, but i daresay a k&n might make it a bit more free breathing, having said that a spirited drive around town shows its surprising chuckable and nimble, engines ready to rev and pulls well.

as i've said else where in here we haven't done much motorway work, but when we have it's relaxed, not that noisy and able to keep up easily with ebb and flow of traffic, i do particularly like the seats, very comfy.

a lot of her friends, mainly female also really like the car and are putting in orders for when the new plates come out

all in all it suits her perfectly

would i buy one for me? no i like the rough and ready uno tub i have now, but when the trepiuno abarth comes out in 2007? who knows!!!!

hey thanks! I'm obviously not expecting a roller skate like the smart is, but i do like to have a play once in a while! Can you tell me does the enigine really like to be reved? I was looking at the tacho in the demonstrator and here was no red line at all... and it went to 7000rpm. I was thinking about the 1.1lt, whats that like? Is it far removed from the 1.2 or am i better off spending the extra grand to get a 1.2?

Hi

(Just adding small input) The 1.2 8v likes to be revved to get the best out of it. There isnt a red line in my Punto either As long as you dont fit big alloys the 1.2 is a good nippy engine, that copes on the motorway aswell

as my wife had just been driving a 1.3l uno 70sx, i thought it would be best to keep engine size similair, plus for her it was more the spec she wanted as standard and the offer the dealer gave

ie: 14"alloys, climate control, elec windows/mirrors as standard, colour coding, free met paint, mats, etc, 0% intrest over 3 years etc

so the eleganza whilst initially expensive (i think list is still £8100?) it's worked out very well

sorry small point too!

as i recall from else where in here, the engine is a development of the FIRE, which is now over 20 years old, and well proven, and in the main i've found very tough, i regularly thrashed the screaming nuts of one of my old uno's (poor dear!) and she lasted 3 years!

no redline? can't say i've noticed that....must point it out to the mrs next time i get to drive it...heeheehee

hmmm a fire engine huh... the same as in the cinq and the uno and some pandas huh.... hmmm that sounds sweet! The people on the smart site are trying to sour my desisions now... they'v put up pictures of the panda rally car.. the buggers! I wanted to keep it standard!

http://www.funkysmart.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=189773#post189773

Grrr! The buggers!

Also can anyone point me in the direction of a tunner so that i can have an ask...?

i dunno if forza in park royal are still around

Ah wel not to worry... can anyone tell me anything else about the car... what are the bad points then?

Anyone ever had a 1.1? What are they like?

I drove a 1.1 once. It was actually the first time I drove a Panda. Can't say that I noticed much difference with the 1.2 that I have at the moment. It was fine for around town. It felt nippy and wasn't noisy. I didn't drive it on the motorway so I can't comment on that.
All I can say is that the 1.2 goes well on the motorway and on B roads. There are a lot of hills where I live and the Panda copes very well. I often overtake much bigger cars going uphill. I agree that you can rev the 1.2 engine if you want but it has quite a lot of grunt in the middle region. You don't have to trash it to get the best out of it.

Ouch Exeter-Leeds every weekend in a smart car sounds a bit uncomfortable!! They must be better than I thought.

Not got a panda myself but I can vouch for the 1.2 8v being fine with motorways, that's in a punto which is presumably heavier...

Meanwhile the press raves about the 1.3 Diesel which is either available now or available soon, it's apparently a great performer and you'll get good economy too. I didn't even know they still did the 1.1...!

Righto does anyone know if fiat do the 1.1 with body coloured bumpers?

Unfortunately the 1.1 comes with black plasticy bumpers and not colour coded ones.

As for tuners, try angel tuning or GSR.

http://www.angeltuning.co.uk/

http://www.gsrengineering.com/engineering/mainpage.html

Hi Munk welcome to the forum.

I am a 1.1 owner so I might be able to answer some of your questions...

I find the 1.1 plenty nippy enough in urban situations - it also like the 1.2 likes to be revved but it isn't too thrashy and when your not pushing it is reasonably refined. You will have to change down on some inclines in the 1.1 especially if you have passangers and/or heavy luggage. Although it's not too bad; I took my Panda up Birdlip Hill near Swindon which is one of the steepests hills around and it pulled up in 3rd gear at about 35-40 mph.

It's done 2k miles now since September and it has not missed a beat - there are absolutely no rattles or squeaks - it's absolutely rock solid.

Personally, I think its a hoot to hustle. Granted the suspension is quite soft (it rides beutifully) and theres an amount of roll in the corners, but nowhere near as much as you'd think looking at the height of the vehicle. The steering is fantastic and the overall set up means you can really push the cars to its limits in complete safety as it really communicates with you. The only other car I've felt that secure in - in terms of handling balance- is a Ford Focus.

If I were you and budget allows - I would go for the 1.2 or possibly better still the 1.3 multijet diesel. Both would be more easily tunable (I think) than the 1.1. Although, if like me your budget wont stretch - you wouldn't feel cheated with the 1.1

Finally - you might be able to spec a 1.1 with colour coded bumpers but I'm not 100% certain. I got mine in black so the bumpers don't stand out too much - but on reflection I prefer the lighter coloured Pandas.

I hope this reply helps.

Hello, Ive got a 1.2 and have been to Poland in it and have done 12500 miles so far. No problems with the car at all (just dealers!), and even on the German autobahns it flies along. I would seriously try a 1.3 diesel as well as the 1.2 as its economy is great. You wont regret buying one, oh yes, one small rattle from sunroof thats all.

Hey
hope you buy a panda
i have driven mine 1,3multijet for now 2weeks and no probs.

when the panda came out, i tryed the panda 1,2. i had only 2complaints it was that it was just a bit to slow for me(drive alot of motorway). and the suspention was a bit soft...
didnt try it on the motorway

if you can buy a 1,3 i would recoment it. Otherwise the 1,2 is also a realy great car around town

i love to rev my panda and just get the tires screaming around tight bends and rev away it is fun to drive i tell you.

and when i get my stiffer suspention lowprofile 16" rims and a chip tuning(90hp / 228nm) im realy looking forward to pushing it even further

righto - i can't really afford a 1.3 diesle- a bit to much for me i think. i've found some 1.1's for 4999 on auto trader without abs - are they worth going for?

Thats a good price, but try to push a dealer for a big discount. A while back ours was selling a small batch of 1.1s brand new/unregistered for 4994!!! They all sold in hours...