If there was no Fiat or if Fiat were to stop making cars, what marque do you think you would be a customer/fan of?

Quite interested in the answers tbh, Everyone looks for something different in cars or a car scene.

Been thinking a little about this one. Fiat as a brand seem to be changing pretty rapidly, trying to become fashionable and a bit more upmarket, their cars have lost what got me interested in them to begin with so it's now a brand i struggle to identify with as time goes on, I dabble about with other marques as you know, quite like BMW's etc, but they are a totally different type of car to what i see a Fiat as, basic, cheap, characterful. Revvy, sharp drivers cars that don't give too much of a damn about image and because of that have a good one.

Strangely, i think i've got a bit of a left field answer to the solution of another manufacturer who still does that type of vehicle, and a quick drive in one recently nailed it for me personally.

Suzuki.

They make and have made some dull as hell budget granny-mobile type cars too over the years, but amongst that in the past 15-20 years, there's the likes of the little Jimny 4x4, the old Samurais and amongst them, The stylish little kei cars like the Cappuccino, the likes of the ignis sport that feels very, very like a modified Cinquecento, Even the centre console looks like it's been pulled out of a mk1 sei sporting, the whole car looks and feels to drive like something Fiat would have made a decade ago.

So what would fellow Fs'ers think they'd probably be into if it wasn't their Fiats?

alfa..

Initial reaction would be Alfa too.

lol been thinking of posting a very similar question this evening. I was initially intending on replacing the Polo with a cinq and getting back in the fiat fold. However, due to the new job an the 300mile a week travel I'm reconsidering what al buy. Trouble being the Stilo, mk2 punto never really floated my boat and am a bit meh about the early GP's too which leaves bugger all choice so looking at alternatives for the money (max. £1500).

I'll have a look at the Ignis Sport, bout to have some Fiat DNA in it since they share technologies. Currently considering Stilo Abarth, Sei Sporting, Alfa 156 Sportwagen, Subaru Forrester +others

Mrcento said:

If there was no Fiat or if Fiat were to stop making cars, what marque do you think you would be a customer/fan of?

Quite interested in the answers tbh, Everyone looks for something different in cars or a car scene.

Been thinking a little about this one. Fiat as a brand seem to be changing pretty rapidly, trying to become fashionable and a bit more upmarket, their cars have lost what got me interested in them to begin with so it's now a brand i struggle to identify with as time goes on, I dabble about with other marques as you know, quite like BMW's etc, but they are a totally different type of car to what i see a Fiat as, basic, cheap, characterful. Revvy, sharp drivers cars that don't give too much of a damn about image and because of that have a good one.

Strangely, i think i've got a bit of a left field answer to the solution of another manufacturer who still does that type of vehicle, and a quick drive in one recently nailed it for me personally.

Suzuki.

They make and have made some dull as hell budget granny-mobile type cars too over the years, but amongst that in the past 15-20 years, there's the likes of the little Jimny 4x4, the old Samurais and amongst them, The stylish little kei cars like the Cappuccino, the likes of the ignis sport that feels very, very like a modified Cinquecento, Even the centre console looks like it's been pulled out of a mk1 sei sporting, the whole car looks and feels to drive like something Fiat would have made a decade ago.

So what would fellow Fs'ers think they'd probably be into if it wasn't their Fiats?

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Fully agree with the above just bought the wife a Suzuki swift limited addition attitude last year because best car she had came up with, ( wanted a new style beetle at the start! :haha: ) i think it is a punto in another shape

and handles very well too, if you look under the bonnet you could easily mistake it for a fiat

richard33dees said:

I'll have a look at the Ignis Sport, bout to have some Fiat DNA in it since they share technologies. Currently considering Stilo Abarth, Sei Sporting, Alfa 156 Sportwagen, Subaru Forrester +others

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They are seriously cheap, i'd be very tempted if the BMW was sold tbh. You can get an Ignis sport that's only done about 60-70k for around 1500.

The interior is a weird hyrbid of old Fiats :laugh: Not in a pretty way, but it adds to the charm in my eyes.



The dash top clock looks like a cinqs, As does the little under glovebox shelf, just looks like somebody has mounded a glovebox on a cinq dash, The centre console looks and feels like a sei sporting, The ashtray and lighter socket are where they are on a mk2 punto, That little storage space infront of the gearlever is a mix of sei and cinq sporting too.

There's something about the seating position that feels like a standard cinq Sporting aswell, except you have comfy Recaros. But it feels sort of spacey, lots of glass around you, thin pillars etc... but how it corners, turns in and responds to bumps mid corner when pushing on make it feel very cinq like. The steering feel isn't as good as a cinqs non assisted setup, but is absolute lightyears ahead of the Sei's or mk2 puntos feel wise. It feels like a well sorted overgrown cinq IMO. It was a huge surprise.

I have no idea what I'll buy next but, barring accidents, it's not going to be for another 5-6 years so not too worried yet. I don't think there's anything out there (in my price range) I currently want. All the marques seem to be obsessed with making cars you no longer need to drive and that takes the fun out of it for me. I was gobsmacked to discover vw have a gear change indicator on their cars. wtf! If you can't tell when to change gear buy a bloody automatic

If I didn't need a reliable car and/or knew a bit more about car maintenance I suspect I'd be driving a 4x4 Sisley if I could get my hands on one. They look so much fun and you drive them not the other way round. In fact I try and stay out of the classic panda section on FF because I have a bad feeling one day I'm going to be doing business with Vern on there.

Perhaps I should be saving more towards the next car so I can afford something more like a drivers car...

I was bidding on a Stilo Abarth last night and it went for 7quid more than my highest bid, so close yet so far. Will be running and fixing up the Polo for sale end of July and see what comes. My other contender I forgot was mk1 Skoda Octavia vRS but there pretty abused by my price range.

After this mornings run to work, i think my next stead will have to be something with a bit of stability and go about it. The poor polo was thrown about by the wind on the open road and didn't really have the guts for overtaking on the single carriageways. That's the Sei and Ignis out.

pmsl, well in a total contradiction to the above statement, I'm off to test drive one of these funky big machines, Skoda Citigo Sport 5dr



criteria for next car is vast so who knows what it'll be, but will test the Fiat Panda in comparison

Got to say, liking the new Leon. A lot.

Saying that, it is basically a Golf in a fancy top. For some reason I've always had a soft spot for Vauxs, but I dunno. Not really liking the new range.

Next car will depend on the work situ. If I have a company car for the next few years then Ill maybe look at something fun. I'd love to get an old Punto GT for weekend drives, but they're getting rarer than rocking horse **** now

If the new job dictates that I need a respectable car/commuting car then I might look at a Grande.

Having decided to look at some new cars, I'm starting to get the impression Fiat have either began to overprice their cars or their competitors are purposely undercutting them. Being a VAG Car there is the Skoda Citigo, VW UP! or Seat Mii to choose, but Skoda price range from £7990-10765 compared to Fiat 500/Panda £10010-11410/£8945-13495. I have to say, comparing specs on the Citigo/Panda there nearly like for like

Mrcento said:

Strangely, i think i've got a bit of a left field answer to the solution of another manufacturer who still does that type of vehicle, and a quick drive in one recently nailed it for me personally.

Suzuki.

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That is one manufacturer I am a fan of. Suzuki have not tried to go upmarket, like so many other brands have done. They continue to make good, reliable, cheap cars which have all the basics and none of the expensive stuff you don't need.

And let's not forget the links between Suzuki and Fiat. Most notably, I suppose, the Suzuki SX4 and Fiat Sedici pairing. But also, Suzuki use Fiat's multijet diesel engines in their models.

My wife has had two suzukis, first (her first car) was a 2003 Suzuki Alto 1.1GL, the second (a shared car between us) was a 2010 Suzuki Alto 1.0SZ4. Both were good little cars, cheap to run and didn't go wrong often. The 2003 example was actually surprisingly nippy in town, although once above 50MPH it did struggle a bit. The 2010 one was a great all-rounder, it was an absolute hoot on the B-roads (it reminded me a lot of the original Ford KA. No power, but cracking handling to make up for it). It would cruise at motorway speeds reasonably well. It was great and frugal in town. I would have another 2009-on alto in a heartbeat (preferrably one of the latest ones with the VVTi engines which are 99g/km emissions).

And I do like the Swifts. The current generation is a nice looking car, and the 1.2 K-series engine (not to be confused with Rover!) is nice and frugal and clean. I toyed, quite seriously, with the idea of getting myself a new Swift 1.2 in SZ4 guise - the SZ4 model does have a host of gadgets including climate control, keyless start etc. that make it stand out from the lesser models. Ultimately though, I couldn't afford a new car, and I did want something with a decent bit of power without having to pay a fortune in insurance to get it.

And a strange one for me, I quite like the Dacia Sandero.

A brand new car from 5995? That'd do me. To be honest, if I was buying one it would be because I needed a cheap frugal car to commute a high mileage, and in that sense I'd be going for one of the diesels. That puts it up to the 7,000 ish price range, but that is still damn cheap for a brand new diesel car!

If go back to ford tbh

richard33dees said:

Skoda Citigo from £7990-10765 compared to Fiat Panda £8945-13495. I have to say, comparing specs on the Citigo/Panda there nearly like for like

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How wrong could I have been! Despite the Citigo wheelbase only being 120mm longer, it really shows in the leg room in the rear of the cars. I tested the Panda, explained to the salesman about the leg room issue, his answer was spend another £1500 and buy a Grande instead.

simon_16vpunto said:

If go back to ford tbh

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I would too, but none of their modern rubbish (although I admit I quite like the new 1.6 EcoBoost Fiesta ST). It would have to be another mk1 Focus for me, or something older - Escort RST S1, Fiesta XR2/i, etc.

And this from a Ford fanatic. I think like Mrcento was saying in the original post: much like Fiat, Ford have lost their way. They used to make good reliable cheap cars which cost peanuts to run, but now have tried to go upmarket and making their stuff expensive in the process. And there's no charm about a modern Ford. I think the late 90s cars were the last to have any of the traditional Ford charm about them.