Hi there,

I have owned a succession of Peugeot 107s and fancy a change.
The 500 is on my list, and I am told that I would need to go for a Lounge model to have both aircon and bluetooth.
I cover between 15000 and 17000 miles per year, a lot of it up and down the M3. Dealer is pushing for twinair (they have 0% finance deal on TAs at the moment), and also has stated that the diesel model is not worh the money.

- First question: 1.2 or twinair?
- Is the difference in real life MPG really that great? I currently average 55 mpg in my 107.
- Is there a big difference in insurance costs?
- How about reliability? My 107 uses Toyota components and the three I have owned have been faultless. On the other hand, I have been put off Fiat ownership in the past after bad experiences with two Fiat Tipos (first was a 1.6 with a digital dashboard, the next was a 1.9TD GranTurismo - both suffered from a variety of recurring electrical gremlins that cost me a fortune to fix)

Thanks in advance for your help.
Danny

The 500 is generally good, you'll probably see about 10 more mpg from a 1.2 over the twin air.

Have you thought about a dismal?

Did consider diesel, but dealer convinced me that, given the 0% deal on the TA, the higher cost of diesel and the higher purchase cost, it would not be worth my while.
I have read some of the threads on this forum - which is excellent by the way - and it looks like there is little difference in terms of MPG between the 1.2 and the TA, whilst you get much better performance from the latter.

Can any one comments on my other questions?

DannyD said:

Did consider diesel, but dealer convinced me that, given the 0% deal on the TA, the higher cost of diesel and the higher purchase cost, it would not be worth my while.
I have read some of the threads on this forum - which is excellent by the way - and it looks like there is little difference in terms of MPG between the 1.2 and the TA, whilst you get much better performance from the latter.

Can any one comments on my other questions?

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If the ta is really 0% you might as well get that! But call me crazy, I found the 1.2 more rewarding than the TA and if you drive mainly motorway miles I think the 1.2 would be the better and more economical choice. The TA is more of a hoot to drive when leaving traffic lights due to its torque down low but as a motorway cruiser nothing special.

Doesn't the S have aircon and Bluetooth?

There's a link on the Panda site to Arnold Clark. Yes they are dealers and so biased, but I've looked at reviews of the 500, Panda and 500l, and found them pretty comprehensive.

Might be worth taking a look. For my part, I have driven a Panda TA and found it infectious. plus, the Panda has better suspension than the 500, but do you care if you want a 500

I don't see the 0% APR deal on Fiat site. Currently 3.3% APR on the Twinair. Is this a dealer promotion? Dealer seems to be rubbishing the diesel option. I wonder why!!
I personally would go with the diesel engine due to your higher than average mileage.
We have a Twinair, and previously had a Corsa diesel (similar engine to the Fiat I believe). Both engines are great but the Twinair does sip quite a lot more petrol than the diesel Corsa. My wife uses the car and her work mileage has reduced, hence the Twinair and not another diesel. Cracking motor that just loves to be driven, just uses more fuel when I am using it.
I am perhaps just a wee bit biased as I am a great fan of diesel engines. They tend to have quite consistent returns in terms of MPG. The Twinair is a bit of a difficult beast when it comes to predicting fuel consumption.

DannyD said:

Did consider diesel, but dealer convinced me that, given the 0% deal on the TA, the higher cost of diesel and the higher purchase cost, it would not be worth my while.
I have read some of the threads on this forum - which is excellent by the way - and it looks like there is little difference in terms of MPG between the 1.2 and the TA, whilst you get much better performance from the latter.

Can any one comments on my other questions?

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I wouldn't call 10mpg a small difference!


I'm not really a fan of dismals (can you tell?) but I think that a diesel or a 1.2 would be a better bet for you, the extra cost of the twinair will probably fuel a 1.2 500 for you for a year......

I love my twin air, but then I live and work in rural Bucks so can enjoy the torque of the TA daily. If your going for fuel economy first then I would say don't get a TA. I struggle to get out of the mid to low 40's at motorway speeds (50+ at 60ish). Don't get me wrong I wouldn't swop my TA for a 1.2 just think it would benefit from the 6th gear fitted to the Panda.

I have a hunch, no evidence mind, that the 500 will get the Panda's improved suspension, gearbox and also an updated interior next year. Plus other more minor changes.

I say this because the Mini is soon getting a big revamp and Fiat can't afford to stand still with such an important model as the 500.

I say this because if I was in the market for a new Fiat I'd hold off, if at all possible, until next spring. Or get a very good deal now.

Ulpian said:

I have a hunch, no evidence mind, that the 500 will get the Panda's improved suspension, gearbox and also an updated interior next year. Plus other more minor changes.

I say this because the Mini is soon getting a big revamp and Fiat can't afford to stand still with such an important model as the 500.

I say this because if I was in the market for a new Fiat I'd hold off, if at all possible, until next spring. Or get a very good deal now.

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It's because Fiat can't afford to let the 500 sit still that they will allow it to happen

Just purchased a lounge instead of a twin air and find it more comfortable despite it being an unsettled ride at times. Currently averaging around 40 mpg in town driving.

Dixonphil said:

Just purchased a lounge instead of a twin air and find it more comfortable despite it being an unsettled ride at times. Currently averaging around 40 mpg in town driving.

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The lounge is a spec and the twinair is an engine, though for a short time it was also a spec. There are no differences in suspension between specs of 500

I will probably get flamed for this, do not even consider the 1.2 it is useless for motorways. I have driven around 5 different 1.2's and they all struggle as soon as the gradient changes.
Go for the diesel it loves the motorway and the torque makes it a blast round town.

When new a 1.2 does feel slow, after it's run in it's absolutely fine.

Spinnerdcc said:

I will probably get flamed for this, do not even consider the 1.2 it is useless for motorways. I have driven around 5 different 1.2's and they all struggle as soon as the gradient changes.

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Yes you will. What utter tosh!

Having clocked up 2250 miles in a 1.2 over 5 weeks, I can say that there is nothing wrong with the 1.2 500 on motorways, especially with its VVT.

Its no worse than any other car of similar size and engine.

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Yes you will. What utter tosh!

Having clocked up 2250 miles in a 1.2 over 5 weeks, I can say that there is nothing wrong with the 1.2 500 on motorways, especially with its VVT.

Its no worse than any other car of similar size and engine.

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All I can say is you must love the left hand lane

The 1.2 is probably the most depressing thing I've ever driven on a motorway, it's lovely on A and B roads but you are kidding yourself if you think you can comfortably keep up with the traffic on a motorway in it without having to change down when you come to a hill.

And I'm pretty sure all the ones I've driven can't all be stinkers ( some loaners and some hire cars )

To the OP for the love of god please test drive or hire one and take it on the motorway before you shell out on it. You may like it or you may be like me and are not happy with the lack of guts.

If you've driven one with less than 20k miles on then then you've not driven a proper 1.2. I nearly cracked a ton today in my 1.2 on a private road today. When they're new and tight they do seem quite slow though.

306maxi said:

If you've driven one with less than 20k miles on then then you've not driven a proper 1.2. I nearly cracked a ton today in my 1.2 on a private road today. When they're new and tight they do seem quite slow though.

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In August I drove a courtesy car with 4k on the clock, and the other week I had a hire car with 36k on the clock.

Can't remember the mileage of the others but would probably have been quite low. As I said though A and B road's are fine, motorways are the issue and the op said he'd be on the motorway.

And no it's not just because of the A500 that they seem slow and gutless because when I used the first 3 I had my diesel.

The OP really needs to try for himself.

Dixonphil said:

Just purchased a lounge instead of a twin air and find it more comfortable despite it being an unsettled ride at times. Currently averaging around 40 mpg in town driving.

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Mine is a TA engine in a Lounge Spec 'C' which means I also got the street (S) seats = Happy Scout

My TA will happily keep up with any usable speed on the motorway (got over three figures easily at a local airfield recently) it just gets thirsty over 60/65. It doesn't bother me, as even the worse MPG from the TA is more than twice as good as I was getting from my Hyundai Coupe V6