Reply to Gofra, read before replying the information in front of you, saves people having to repeat themselves.
The Ignis had some minor mods, I didn't say it didn't, but it is debatable if they actually add anything to the Ignis, any mild gains are equalled out by much bigger heavier wheels, and the "re-mapped" ECU has been called into question and I know of more than one person who had there Ignis mapped at same owners day who is going to small claims court as it turns out the mapping is nothing more than a rip off and actually reduces power and increase fuel consumption. As I have said before there is very little you can do to a N/A car by tweaking the map, especially on a Jap car meant to run on 98RON fuel minimum. though it still managed to just beat the manufacturer figures. Read about what unsprung weight does to a car, it completely trashes the acceleration and handling.
The Ignis in UK trim weighs in at 945kgs, the Panda is quoted in UK at 975kgs, so 30kgs differance which is not even half a person. Also in UK Ignis is rated 107bhp@6400rpm and 103lb ft@4100rpm bhp/ton=115, Panda 99bhp@6000rpm 97lb ft@4250rpm bhp/ton=103, so you can see on paper not much between them. Ignis has more power higher up, and more torque lower down indicating a more flexible engine, but Fiat fitted a 6 speed box to overcome this.
EVO mag above just about all other mags loves the Panda 100HP, it even created a whole 6page article called "10K Heros" which was also shown on front cover all about what older cars you can buy for the same price as a new Panda 100HP. They couldn't get one from Fiat for article so bought one, and now run it as a long termer, which is not what is normally done, long term cars run by mags are normally owned by the manufacturer as they know they get all the free publicity from it and is only normally done when they are confident in there product. So to buy one takes a bit of commitment from them. It is also listed in there knowledge section as there favourite small hot hatch, what more endorsement do you need.
So to say that they would do anything to tarnish they car they like so much by making up slow performance figures is nonsense, they attached proper timing gear timed it at Bruntingthorpe a well know car track/testing facility and it recorded over 10.5sec 0-60, believe me, if it was faster they would have said so. This so happened to match the time from another magazine with a different 100HP.
PT mag when at Rockingham also used the infield section to test the handling, and did a slalom test both of which the Igins beat it hands down, it really was the star of the article getting 9 out of 10. The Panda was let down by under steering too much and scrubbing off speed on track and on slalom this meant taking it slower to ensure a clear path through, the brakes also wilted a bit quickly.
The virtues of the Panda are what the OP wanted to know in comparison to his old cars. I answered as honestly as I could, its slower and maybe not have as an involving chassis, but I stressed to point out both his former cars were made in small numbers to meet homologation rules of JWRC, so they are going to be less compromised as a quick cross country car, but less refined as a urban commuter.
The Panda is a great fun, well made good looking little car, handles with aplomb, has a nice weighted snappy gear change, rides reasonable well though can get confused and can feel harsh and bouncy which can feel a little unsettling. But most of all is cheap to buy and run and so far its residuals have stood up pretty well.