Hello guys, just sharing my experience driving the 1.2 Panda Pop. This was a relatives car, they let me drive it for a short while. I drive a 2005 Panda 1.2 which is my point of reference when making a comparison.

Taking off in first is very different to my older Panda. You put your foot down and let the clutch out and it’s quite slow to build power. It feels like there’s a two second flat spot. Though the revs continue right up to 2,000+ but the car doesn’t seem to be ‘running away’ as my Panda does. It is very controlled and predictable, the speed at which I let the clutch out seemed to make little difference.

I found first and second gear very numb and once I got the hang of it did experiment with trying to take off quickly. Though I don’t feel like it was dangerously slow, I feel like I would have to be more careful at roundabouts and junctions and have to make a conscious effort to ensure I drive within the limits of the take off.

I sort of like this, as in my Panda, you can spin the wheels if you let off the clutch too quickly. Even when careful as it’s so willing to throw the power it has out. This has allowed me to do some stupid things and I see this more controlled slower take off as an encouraging way to ensure I drive sensibly?

Third gear is still the strong gear as it is on my Panda. Going up hills and between fluctuating inner city traffic it’s still the gear to avoid stalling but have enough power to rapidly take off if the car in front does. Though again, nowhere near as lively as my older 1.2.

Once up to speed the car feels very much like my older Panda in terms of ‘foot to the floor steady building of its power’ - which again, is slow with it being a small car, but not a bad thing.

Everything is just a bit more delayed.

The road and wind noise is still the same but I’d imagine this to be the case on most city cars.

The car is much much MUCH smoother and easier to enjoy though than my Panda. I love how my Panda pitches up and down even on long flat smooth roads. I’m unsure if the new one does this.

I also love how frantically steering the wheel on my older Panda throws the whole cars body left and right .. again I tried to replicate this on the new model. This new one is still fun, though more stable. It’s like you’ve got finite, Italian mad control over the nose of the car, which you lean into but there’s a feeling that the back of the car is slower to respond and does not fully lean. But importantly, the agility is still there and it still feels like a fun car.

The brake pedal made a bit of a noise (at the pedals mechanism itself) when I let it off (is this the start of ‘play’ as there is on my older one beginning?). The brakes themselves squeak but all 500’s and Pandas seem to do this at all ages..


So I’m quite happy with it. I didn’t get to really drive at 60 and above but I’d like to think it’s the same as my Panda on the motorway but better. Think I’m sold on the car. I love the interior layout and the visibility and driving position of the Panda.

I’ll test drive everything I can when the day comes: Celerio, Up, Viva, Ka+, 500, Yaris, Corsa etc each with their 1.0 and 1.2 ish engines and if anything seemed MUCH better than the Panda that I could afford I’d consider it. But if this new model just builds on my one with the caveat being slower response time then I see it as achieving my personal want of having a cheap, reliable car that I can fix myself


How did my experience compare to yours and can you add to anything I said?

You pretty much nailed it. Smoother, less fun/revvy/nervy in some respects but easier to live with overall.

The clutch/setting-off issue you will have seen is fixable - I did it very soon after getting our Euro6 1.2 last year. Much better.

Consider looking at a car auction - take a day off and watch the prices. Mannheim or BCA etc. Fees can be high but you'll pay much less than retail. Be aware that many cars have scratches/dents etc which is why they're at the auction versus forecourt but who cares about that right? They tend to show every 'issue'.

Example attached.

AB100 said:

You pretty much nailed it. Smoother, less fun/revvy/nervy in some respects but easier to live with overall.

The clutch/setting-off issue you will have seen is fixable - I did it very soon after getting our Euro6 1.2 last year. Much better.

Consider looking at a car auction - take a day off and watch the prices. Mannheim or BCA etc. Fees can be high but you'll pay much less than retail. Be aware that many cars have scratches/dents etc which is why they're at the auction versus forecourt but who cares about that right? They tend to show every 'issue'.

Example attached.

Click to expand...

Or maybe even:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/fiat/fiat-panda-pop-2yrs-servicing/1295976656

We bought our Pop straight from the dealers.
It was obvious it had come in at 3 years old from a PCP deal, it was virtually new with very little miles on the clock, so it was easy to work out what it actually owed them, very helpful with the negotiations.

There was a choice of three or four, all pretty much identical spread across the dealers two, fairly local sites so I started to play them off against each other.

Wasn't fussed which car, as I knew they'd sort any items that any needed and they all fitted the bill.

Got it for less then the local car supermarket Car Giant were flogging similar model, higher mileage, more scratched and abused cars for and they took in a rot box Citroen C2 as trade in for a decent price without grumbling.
(anything less than mint goes through the auctions and ends up at Supermarkets and non franchised dealers)

Out of all the Pandas and Fiats we'd had over the years, the Pop is my favourite, it's what a small cheap Italian hatchback should be. No flimflam, just enough of what you need and it's far better for it.

One thing I thought it did miss was 15" wheels. Our old Lounge rode much better on 15" than the 14" of the Pop, but now that we've no other Panda to compare it too, it's not as apparent.

Apart from a set of anti roll bar drop links and a dash rattle the dealer sorted under warranty, it's been trouble free.

It's due a service, well past due (need to pull my finger out), but it's cheap and simple to do yourself.

If you've £6k, you aren't far away from a deal on a new Pop.
At the minute you should be able to pick one up for £7800 with Fiat Affinity.

Other cars to consider would probably be either an i10 or Picanto.
You should get a decent chunk of the manufactures warranty still left on either, i10's have 5 year, Picanto 7 year warranties.
I keep reading Honest John and he rates the Picanto.
I've had a few i10's on hire and they have been quite surprising, I'm not a fan of the 3 cylinder engines, but theirs was decent enough, though I thought 4th and 5th were a little over geared.

Dealer group got my TA 4x4 from doing the Pop for £7400 think it is. Might be all year round deal too, hard to tell.