Good evening all. From the title you may have noticed that i am a newbie!!!

Sorry, but i currently own a Ford Fiesta, and i fancy a change of motor!
Now i have always fancied a Alfa Romeo and i am going to test drive a 147 when it becomes available, but i have always fancied a Panda 100hp.

Bit of a daft question i know, especially on a Fiat forum, but which should i choose? Or should i get a test drive of a 100hp?

Do many peeps on this forum have a 100hp, and if so can you recommend one?

Thanks for all of your help, Clarkie28

Test drive both

Test driving both is a good thing, and you're doing the right thing by checking out forums. I don't know a great deal about the 147 but there will be information out there that'll give you some background on what they're like to own.

For me nothing beats the 100hp in terms of affordability balanced with driving enjoyment.

And don't apologise for owning a Fiesta. I've had three in my time and all have been great, especially my last one which was a Zetec-S. It offered the same as the 100hp does currently - affordable & versatile fun!

That seems a bit strange, isn't a 147 a completely different car. Different price, and different size?

Am i not allowed to fancy buying 2 different styles of car then?

clarkie28 said:

Am i not allowed to fancy buying 2 different styles of car then?

Click to expand...

You can, but need to make sure your 100% sure what you want before you buy one. You don't want to regret your purchase

Jon.

I can only go from a friend of mine who owned a 147 2.0 TwinSpark

If you need a good, fun, cheap, reliable car that is not the smoothest ride then go for the Panda

147 is a great car, more confortable on a longer journey but is just not as much fun.

If you do want to be an Alfa owner then the 147 is a great car with the 2.0 Twinspark engine. But my Panda is nearly just as quick !!

So take into account costs of insurance/tax and fuel and Panda seems a better deal

If you want an Alfa and want fun it would have to be the GTA version

Well, i have just booked a test drive in a 100hp next week!

08 reg, 8500 miles, in new orleans blue!

Is there anything i should be looking out for specific to this car, other than the usual bits to check?

Quite excited actually. I reckon if i end up buying it then i will get ribbed something chronic by friends and family etc though! Has anyone else found this?

Read a article in EVO magazine some time ago about the 100hp so i dug that out and had butchers through. It is actually held in quite high regard in the motoring press isnt it!

Oh and do all of the 100hp come with the sport button or was that an optional extra?

Many thanks

Clarkie28

clarkie28 said:

Well, i have just booked a test drive in a 100hp next week!

08 reg, 8500 miles, in new orleans blue!

Is there anything i should be looking out for specific to this car, other than the usual bits to check?

Quite excited actually. I reckon if i end up buying it then i will get ribbed something chronic by friends and family etc though! Has anyone else found this?

Read a article in EVO magazine some time ago about the 100hp so i dug that out and had butchers through. It is actually held in quite high regard in the motoring press isnt it!

Oh and do all of the 100hp come with the sport button or was that an optional extra?

Many thanks

Clarkie28

Click to expand...

All 100hp's come with a sport button

clarkie28 said:

Well, i have just booked a test drive in a 100hp next week!

08 reg, 8500 miles, in new orleans blue!

Is there anything i should be looking out for specific to this car, other than the usual bits to check?

Quite excited actually. I reckon if i end up buying it then i will get ribbed something chronic by friends and family etc though! Has anyone else found this?

Read a article in EVO magazine some time ago about the 100hp so i dug that out and had butchers through. It is actually held in quite high regard in the motoring press isnt it!

Oh and do all of the 100hp come with the sport button or was that an optional extra?

Many thanks

Clarkie28

Click to expand...

Some of my friends rib me about the panda, but of those that do, I don't value their opinion anyway. On the flip side there are those friends of mine who think it's pretty cool. Interesting when I dropped in on a trackday and just took it out for a few laps, a guy came over and said, 'I hear these are supposed to be pretty good aren't they?'.

Then again I got stopped in the car park at work last week and a woman came up to me and quite liked the look of it and said she was looking for a new car.

So you get some fairly mixed reactions which can be fun in itself. See if your friends rib you as much once they've had a drive of it.

clarkie28 said:

Well, i have just booked a test drive in a 100hp next week!

08 reg, 8500 miles, in new orleans blue!

Is there anything i should be looking out for specific to this car, other than the usual bits to check?

Quite excited actually. I reckon if i end up buying it then i will get ribbed something chronic by friends and family etc though! Has anyone else found this?

Read a article in EVO magazine some time ago about the 100hp so i dug that out and had butchers through. It is actually held in quite high regard in the motoring press isnt it!

Oh and do all of the 100hp come with the sport button or was that an optional extra?

Many thanks

Clarkie28

Click to expand...

I think a ribbing will occur! I know I get one from friends. However, the ribbing soon stops as soon as they see the car, and see what the car can do.

When people think of a panda, they definitely do not picture the 100HP, so when they do see it they realise it isn't what they thought. I have also had comments from friends (who previously ribbed it) about how quick it is, and that they really weren't expecting it to be. Which made me laugh. That made my day! Now most of the ribbing has stopped.

I feel nothing but smug driving a 100HP. Understated, and brilliant fun. I couldn't recommend it enough.

Had a great 15 mile B-Road blast with a 2.0 147 a couple of weeks ago....

We were both pushing along quite hard but he didn't shake the 100hp....

He eventually did a bit of a crazy overtake which saw me back right off, but it was fun while it lasted....

Hey peeps!

Test drove the 100hp today and im afraid to say i didnt think it was that good. Engine sounded rough, and pulling away in 1st in slow traffic then backing off of the accelerator was jerky, and found the engine jerky overall really. And the gear change wasnt very smooth.
Also the driving position wasnt very comfy!

Its a real shame as it looked the business!!!

clarkie28 said:

Test drove the 100hp today and im afraid to say i didnt think it was that good. Engine sounded rough, and pulling away in 1st in slow traffic then backing off of the accelerator was jerky, and found the engine jerky overall really. And the gear change wasnt very smooth.
Also the driving position wasnt very comfy!

Click to expand...

Backing off the accelerator is jerky in most cars, having the 100HP in sport mode makes it more prone to being a bit jerky due to the increased pedal sensitivity.

I've found the Panda gearboxes to be pretty good, both the 6-speed and the 5-speed. They're not super slick like the ones you get in BMWs, but I've found them very nice to use, especially when warmed up a bit. They can be a bit notchy when cold, but that's definitely not unusual.

I'd test drive another 100HP, it sounds like the one you drove has been mistreated, especially if the gear change had problems.

As for the driving position, that's just a matter of individual taste. I really like it, but I generally like more upright driving positions than most.

Try setting the seat so that you can press the clutch in completely without stretching your leg fully out, it should have a slight angle to it. The tilt of the seat back should be just so that you can sit back in the seat and still rest your wrists on top of the steering wheel without stretching. I've done this for all the cars I've driven and it's always been comfortable. Seat height and steering wheel tilt to individual taste.

For the record, I'm 178cm tall, 5'10".