Introduction
So, the long waffly bit first, if you just want to see pictures scroll down. 
I've wanted one of these since they were new, my boss had one at my saturday job back when I was 15. Obviously back then insurance was too much when I passed my test and I couldnt afford one, I've since had a few cars over the years, including;
Nova 1.3 SR
Punto 1.2 8v Active
Megane 1.5 DCi
Fabia 1.9 TDi vRS (220bhp by the end)
Then recently I've had a shake up of my fleet. Last year I bought a motorbike, the deal was Mrs Fattyboomboom got a new car so she now has a E90 320d. I sold the Fabia and was using a ropey 170k Octavia vRS, I didnt need such a big car and couldnt bring myself to spend money sorting the suspension and stuff so decided to look about for a cheaper to run car. Originally I was looking at Aygos and the like, then I remembered my love of the little Panda.
I kept a close eye on the prices for them, they were only £10,000 new, yet the prices seemed to have dropped very slowly. I guess this was partly due to the hype from the reviews but much like when I had the Fabia originally (not so much now), 90% of the drivers I see in them are blue rinse OAPs who most likely use them for the shopping once a week and thats about it.
I started looking at prices, I was pleased to see they were just about in my budget but I'd be looking at a higher mile example at circa £2000. I'd kinda accepted that I'd be lucky to get something with less than 80k on, this was until I spotted a newly listed car on eBay during my daily search. It was put up on auction, £100 starting bid, £1950 buy it now. Grey my choice colour, 52,000 miles, FSH, needed some tlc but nothing major. I emailed the seller straightaway to arrange a viewing but didnt get a reply until very late that night, by the time I'd read it in the morning the car had been bid up to £1400 and hit the reserve. I was gutted, but arranged a viewing anyway and went to look at it last night (Friday). Had a good poke about, took it for a spin, nice genuine seller. It was his wife's car but they're having a 3rd child and it's only a 4 seater so replaced it with a Renault Zoe. Everything that needed doing had been done, cambelt, tyres, MOT, services. They suffer from rotting back boxes, that had been replaced too. A few little bits need doing, it needs a good clean and the black trim treated, the gear gaiter is split and it had an advisory for bushes when MOT'd last week, nothing too expensive. I asked the guy if he was going to let the auction run and he was in two minds, to be honest I was thinking if he did, I'd most likely be out bid but thankfully after a bit of deliberation and me waving £1900 about he agreed to sell me it. I called the Mrs and we went back to collect it about 2 hours later.
I've only had it 24 hours and driven it about 40 miles so these are very limited first impressions;
Space, it's a TINY car, when I stand next to it I'm not sure if I need to get in it or use a remote control. In pictures they look quite tall but it's not in the slightest, I can see the whole roof easily. Cleaning will take 30 seconds. Inside though, thanks to the boxy shape it's not as small as you'd imagine. I'm 6ft 1 and fat yet I'm comfortable in it, my right leg is against the door card and I have the seat all the way back but I could still drive for hours in it. There is plenty of space for drinks and all that bull****, the boot is decent and square too, there's seats in the back and I could fit in them, but not with me sat in front of myself. Plenty of headroom thanks to that box shape again.
Speed/power. Well it's the polar opposite of the PD130 running 220bhp put it that way, the little 1.4 engine needs working to go anywhere at pace BUT when it is on the boil it does pull itself along well. The whole car weighs less than a ton I think so 100BHP goes a long way. I think it has torque figures in single digits It does have a close ratio 6 speed box though to make the most of the power available.
The ride and handling. Well, of all the research I done, this was the biggest problem and to be honest I didnt think it'd be that bad but boy was I wrong. I thought my Fabia on coilovers was a bit bumpy and harsh at times but **** me, this is a whole other ball game. On a smooth road it's fine, firm but no issues, the problem is none of the roads in the UK are smooth. A bump or dip in the road sends you flying, it's like Fiat fitted solid metal poles instead of dampers, hit a pothole and you can hear your bones crunching. The flip side of this is it feels like a go kart, it's a box with a wheel at each corner so was always going to be good, I've not explored cornering too much yet but it just feels so direct and pointy when you throw it into a corner.
There is loads of kit inside, MP3 headunit, handsfree phone connection, digital climate control, trip computer, lots of stuff you'd never expect a car of this price to have. The sport button firms up steering and sharpens up throttle, to be honest, the steering I like but the throttle just becomes snatchy unless you're really on it. It's also put together far better than any Fiat I've known, I think they're built in Poland but it all feels very well made.
The biggest thing for me though is that it has character, I cant even pinpoint why, or what bit, it just does. Maybe it's again a bit like the Fabia, take a shopping trolley and add a bodykit and warm engine to something that would otherwise blend in with everything else? I dunno, but every time I look at it or drive it I have a huge grin on my face.
Plans are in the short term to clean it and replace torn gear gaiter. Then in the new year I'll get some coilovers, sort the bushes, a Ragazzon exhaust and I'm in two minds what to do with the sound system. Longer term than that most likely some paint work, it's tidy but has a few little dinks and a few stone chips too.
I've only got a couple of snaps from yesterday, I'm just going to nip out and take some more now it's been washed, I'll add them later
I've wanted one of these since they were new, my boss had one at my saturday job back when I was 15. Obviously back then insurance was too much when I passed my test and I couldnt afford one, I've since had a few cars over the years, including;
Nova 1.3 SR
Punto 1.2 8v Active
Megane 1.5 DCi
Fabia 1.9 TDi vRS (220bhp by the end
)Then recently I've had a shake up of my fleet. Last year I bought a motorbike, the deal was Mrs Fattyboomboom got a new car so she now has a E90 320d. I sold the Fabia and was using a ropey 170k Octavia vRS, I didnt need such a big car and couldnt bring myself to spend money sorting the suspension and stuff so decided to look about for a cheaper to run car. Originally I was looking at Aygos and the like, then I remembered my love of the little Panda.
I kept a close eye on the prices for them, they were only £10,000 new, yet the prices seemed to have dropped very slowly. I guess this was partly due to the hype from the reviews but much like when I had the Fabia originally (not so much now), 90% of the drivers I see in them are blue rinse OAPs who most likely use them for the shopping once a week and thats about it.
I started looking at prices, I was pleased to see they were just about in my budget but I'd be looking at a higher mile example at circa £2000. I'd kinda accepted that I'd be lucky to get something with less than 80k on, this was until I spotted a newly listed car on eBay during my daily search. It was put up on auction, £100 starting bid, £1950 buy it now. Grey my choice colour, 52,000 miles, FSH, needed some tlc but nothing major. I emailed the seller straightaway to arrange a viewing but didnt get a reply until very late that night, by the time I'd read it in the morning the car had been bid up to £1400 and hit the reserve. I was gutted, but arranged a viewing anyway and went to look at it last night (Friday). Had a good poke about, took it for a spin, nice genuine seller. It was his wife's car but they're having a 3rd child and it's only a 4 seater so replaced it with a Renault Zoe. Everything that needed doing had been done, cambelt, tyres, MOT, services. They suffer from rotting back boxes, that had been replaced too. A few little bits need doing, it needs a good clean and the black trim treated, the gear gaiter is split and it had an advisory for bushes when MOT'd last week, nothing too expensive. I asked the guy if he was going to let the auction run and he was in two minds, to be honest I was thinking if he did, I'd most likely be out bid but thankfully after a bit of deliberation and me waving £1900 about he agreed to sell me it. I called the Mrs and we went back to collect it about 2 hours later.
I've only had it 24 hours and driven it about 40 miles so these are very limited first impressions;
Space, it's a TINY car, when I stand next to it I'm not sure if I need to get in it or use a remote control. In pictures they look quite tall but it's not in the slightest, I can see the whole roof easily. Cleaning will take 30 seconds.
Inside though, thanks to the boxy shape it's not as small as you'd imagine. I'm 6ft 1 and fat yet I'm comfortable in it, my right leg is against the door card and I have the seat all the way back but I could still drive for hours in it. There is plenty of space for drinks and all that bull****, the boot is decent and square too, there's seats in the back and I could fit in them, but not with me sat in front of myself. Plenty of headroom thanks to that box shape again. Speed/power. Well it's the polar opposite of the PD130 running 220bhp put it that way, the little 1.4 engine needs working to go anywhere at pace BUT when it is on the boil it does pull itself along well. The whole car weighs less than a ton I think so 100BHP goes a long way. I think it has torque figures in single digits
It does have a close ratio 6 speed box though to make the most of the power available. The ride and handling. Well, of all the research I done, this was the biggest problem and to be honest I didnt think it'd be that bad but boy was I wrong. I thought my Fabia on coilovers was a bit bumpy and harsh at times but **** me, this is a whole other ball game. On a smooth road it's fine, firm but no issues, the problem is none of the roads in the UK are smooth. A bump or dip in the road sends you flying, it's like Fiat fitted solid metal poles instead of dampers, hit a pothole and you can hear your bones crunching. The flip side of this is it feels like a go kart, it's a box with a wheel at each corner so was always going to be good, I've not explored cornering too much yet but it just feels so direct and pointy when you throw it into a corner.
There is loads of kit inside, MP3 headunit, handsfree phone connection, digital climate control, trip computer, lots of stuff you'd never expect a car of this price to have. The sport button firms up steering and sharpens up throttle, to be honest, the steering I like but the throttle just becomes snatchy unless you're really on it. It's also put together far better than any Fiat I've known, I think they're built in Poland but it all feels very well made.
The biggest thing for me though is that it has character, I cant even pinpoint why, or what bit, it just does. Maybe it's again a bit like the Fabia, take a shopping trolley and add a bodykit and warm engine to something that would otherwise blend in with everything else? I dunno, but every time I look at it or drive it I have a huge grin on my face.
Plans are in the short term to clean it and replace torn gear gaiter. Then in the new year I'll get some coilovers, sort the bushes, a Ragazzon exhaust and I'm in two minds what to do with the sound system. Longer term than that most likely some paint work, it's tidy but has a few little dinks and a few stone chips too.
I've only got a couple of snaps from yesterday, I'm just going to nip out and take some more now it's been washed, I'll add them later
