Just back from our spring time in Umbria. Went out mid-April returned 26th June. Total mileage for trip 5,427. Average mpg just on 40. Car didn't miss a beat. Cruising on motor ways at 4000-4500 rpm - speed cameras permitting. Very pleased with the rear Koni adjustables, fitted just before we went, control of body movement is much better - there are numerous viaducts on Italian roads, often with poorly aligned transverse or diagonal ridges between concrete sections - on standard rear dampers these cause noticeable lurch, which can be interesting on a long bend at 90+ with very large lorries beside you and two narrow lanes - but the Konis manage them much better. All types of road in parts of Italy are now in a shocking state - there are pot holes in some roads around Spoleto that I have been wincing at for over twenty years, almost become old friends, now joined by many companions - so the 100HP's firm ride can be a bit of a bore after a long day at the wheel but better than wallowing around on soft suspension. (We detoured through leafy Surrey on the way back as there was an enormous jam on the M25 east of Leatherhead and I must say that the roads in the Bletchingley/Redhill area are not much better.)

I had to add a litre of oil after about 2,000 miles - car had had full service just before journey so this was slightly worrying but level has not changed significantly since - so presumably was under-filled. We also went to Puglia - heel of Italy - for the first time. Interesting trip - over 1,600 miles in all - very good value eating out - discovered Falonghina wine - single grape, white, crisp, citrus flavours, from Puglia and Campania. Some parts of the area are surprisingly green, with massive olive trees - the size of a mature oak and totally different from those in Umbria, which are much smaller. The south is a different country - we went to several large villages/small towns that appeared to have no commercial activity at all. The Gargano peninsula is lovely but getting from place to place is tedious - narrow winding roads with psychopaths coming the other way; Maglie and Lecce are fine cities; the area round Lecce - right down in the heel - I didn't find very interesting - flat with potentially beautiful coast line marred by horrendous ribbon development (as I'm not in the least interested in spending time at the seaside and on beaches, the fact that they were visually b-----ed up meant that they had no appeal whatever). The olive oil from down there has a less peppery flavour than that from central Italy and has a more fatty feel in the mouth. We spent a couple of days in a great organic agriturismo (farm with B&B) just south of Rome on the way back to Umbria - everything consumed produced by the farm - run by a young brother and sister on a wonderfully sustainable basis - just what Italy's about.

It was very hot in the south and in Umbria for the last few weeks - over 33C/90F every day so air con was working very hard.

After coming out of the Tunnel on the way back I was amazed to see a twin - Electroclash 100HP - a few miles up the road - lots of light flashing (headlights, not just sneaking a bit of flesh into view) and waving - one of a handfull of 100HPs that I've seen in over three and a half years of ownership.

Sounds like another true intercontinental adventure - nice!

sounds like fun. I was just in Turin yesterday Just in Freiburg now, going to make our way home for Sunday night our little 1.2 500 blasted its way across Switzerland yesterday doing 80-90 most of the way. I suspect it'll need a little oil now after that.

Buon viaggio.

Going to Italy we stop in France or Belgium for a night and in Switzerland for another, and the other way round coming back. The Ticino's not too bad but the rest of Switzerland is becoming poor value for staying and, in particular, for eating, especially after spending some time in Italy - restaurants charge even more for wine than they do In the UK - six quid or more for 20cl of a very ordinary wine, which would cost the same for a bottle in a decent Italian trattoria. The actual cost is bad enough but what I'm really after is value, and the combination of the high cost of living and the strong Swiss franc make that very hard to find now. Add on the tessera that you need for the Swiss motorways and we'll be looking for a route that avoids it next time.

Spring time in Umbria. Sounds like you had a terrible time!

Glad the 100HP behaved itself. They seem to be pretty solid bits of kit.

we went from nirth Wales to Kent in an afternoon then over on the tunnel in the morning then akk the way to Chamonix in a day. Killer drive!

Did the 100HP get washed at all in all of those 5000 and however many miles!?

speaking of needing washing... Have a look at the picture of my 500 in the summer trip thread in the 500 forum

W23AJH 100HP said:

Did the 100HP get washed at all in all of those 5000 and however many miles!?

Click to expand...

'Fraid not. In Umbria we live up a white road which becomes very dusty when the weather heats up, and it becomes far too hot to wash the car so the 100HP was covered in dust, but coming back through Belgium can always be relied upon to wash most of it off.

In answer to the comment about solidity - the 100HP has a great relentless feel about it when you get up the torque curve - we don't load it up too much but, with two adults plus 50-odd litres of wine plus 5 litres of oil and a fair selection of luggage and musical instruments, it is carrying a fair weight but it romps up the long haul to the St Gottard tunnel, for instance, if a Dutch caravanner gets in the way you might have to drop to fifth but it's a proper willing little Fiat. Brakes cope with the extra load very competently as well. The car's now done 38 and a half thousand miles from new and is still on its original disc pads. Vredestein tyres are also performing and wearing extremely well. Although it's not that quick, a long trip like this one emphasises that the extra grunt over the other Pandas adds the dimension of accelerating to avoid an evolving traffic situation, where a less powerful version only gives the braking alternative - especially true on two-lane autostrade with a lot of heavy stuff in the slower lane, just being able to pick up ten to fifteen mph quite promptly is a great boon.

On spring in Umbria - apart from being absolutely beautiful and very green, the place is full of glorious bird song from before dawn till after dusk - all the usual song birds plus hoopoos, buzzards, the occasional eagle, several types of owl overnight - woods that contain wild boar, porcupines, foxes, badgers, pine martins, and so on - and we can sit out in the garden, perhaps with friends round the table, till the small hours of the morning. We have incredibly generous neighbours, who appear at the door every few days to give us cherries, or wine, or olive oil, or tomatoes later in the year; friends who run restaurants, others who make gorgeous pasta in all sorts of shapes and with all sorts of fillings, a little organic bakery and café in Spoleto about 8 miles away from us, great red wine at a ridiculously low price straight from the producer (a mix of San Giovese and Sagrantino grapes - S G is quite widely grown in northern and central Italy but the Sagrantino is only grown in central Umbria round Montefalco - not the merest hint of that bloody ubiquitous Cabernet Sauvignon) - absolute hell, I tell you.

Babbo Umbro, you'd be surprised how well a 1.2 500 copes I did 80-90 across most of Switzerland with 3 people in the car I won't lie though, that extra 31 BHP wouldn't go astray though.

306maxi said:

Babbo Umbro, you'd be surprised how well a 1.2 500 copes I did 80-90 across most of Switzerland with 3 people in the car I won't lie though, that extra 31 BHP wouldn't go astray though.

Click to expand...

No surprise - Mrs b_u's Panda 1.2 was fine going to Italy last autumn and coming back via Brenner pass and a week with friends in Berlin, same sort of speed but autobahns were a bit frustrating when I thought what 100HP could be doing.