General *1.1 Active Eco*

[Caravadossi]

Panda proves the pick of the bunch.
The utimate smart, cheap car of the year so far? It’s the evergreen FIAT Panda. In 1.1 Active Eco guise it has an official price of £7,960. That’s not unreasonable, but FIAT is reducing it to £6,295 by paying the £1,243 VAT bill on behalf of consumers in a discount of £422.

And the Italians are doing all this with a rare sense of humour. “VAT, RIP. We’ll pay the gruesome 20 per cent. And we’ll even throw in a bit extra,” is the official line from the company.

The Panda has been overshadowed by its fresher, more desirable brother, the 500, which is almost the same size and much the same mechanically. But at a shade more than £6,000, the Panda is a far wiser buy than the trendier 500, which starts at £9,465.

Also, the 1.1 Active Eco Panda is an extremely rare beast in that it has a Group 1 insurance group rating. The 500 starts at Group 5. With that in mind, this version of the Panda isn’t just an ideal purchase for the newly qualified driver, young or old. It’s the best car for the first-time car buyer by some margin.

It also does 56.5mpg on the EU Combined fuel consumption cycle and should retain about 40 per cent of it’s original list price after three years. All things considered, it costs only about 27p per mile to run.

Honest, affordable, fun motoring at it’s best.

Mr Money(Mike RUTHERFORD): Telegraph/motoring 2011/01/29 p.M8

 

[Advanced Driver]

Rubbish. The price isn't great and I think they're stopping the 1.1 very soon.

For the same money you can get an Aygo/C1/107, which is faster, and more economical. I think these cars are much better than a 1.1 Panda, the only real drawback is that 5 doors costs a bit extra.

 

[Bri]

Easy to like and affordable to own, but it's not that well equipped and best when restricted to town duties Aygo review?
As for the 107 forget it my brother inlaw bought a brand new one two years ago its had three sets of tyres two exhausts and the tappets are forever noisey and the car feels cheap and nasty .He even says he should have bought a panda .When he gets in my car he always says that it feels better made than his pug. and my rear windows open with winders not like the pug a click and the window opens two inches.

 

[FullMetalPanda]

I dont rate the Aygo at all. I decided to buy my first Panda in 2008 over a Toyota Aygo. The seats were uncomfy, the gear changes were sloppy and the interior plastics were cheap. The engine on the Aygo was good though and it was nippy enough. But very poor colour options (chili red or metallic grey as a cost option) with the problems above meant I picked the Panda as it was a much better car.

 

[Bri]

Having drove thousands of cars (ex mechanic)and seen cars come and go i must say the newer fiats are pound for pound better than most small cars on the road today.And the build quality of the panda range is brilliant.these pandas have their faults but so have brand new mercs and BMWs etc. I used to own a lot of very large american muscle cars that cost me a fortune,but i must admit i get great pleasure from my new panda.It feels and drives like a quality car and cheap and easy to repair which is what people need in this day and age of expensive motoring.And most are cheap on insurance mine is group 1/2 insurance.....

 

[Advanced Driver]

Easy to like and affordable to own, but it's not that well equipped and best when restricted to town duties Aygo review?

The Panda Active isn't exactly well equiped either. You do lose out on a trip computer and temperature gauge, but you do get a locking fuel filler cap (I think you get that on the basic versions).

 

[Bri]

If you think that a trip computer is the be all and end all in "A well equipped car" you need to give up motoring.And a locking petrol cap isnt standard they have a anti syphon device fitted from the factory.Ive found that most trip meters are not reliable anyway.why complicate a car that is built for ecconomy .Fiats are great for working people rather than a fashion statement.

 

[Geddes]

Rubbish. The price isn't great and I think they're stopping the 1.1 very soon.

For the same money you can get an Aygo/C1/107, which is faster, and more economical. I think these cars are much better than a 1.1 Panda, the only real drawback is that 5 doors costs a bit extra.

Perry's will happily sell you a shiny new 1.2 Active at a price that starts with a '5'

The Aygo has a cracking little engine, but otherwise has little to recommend it.
Equipment is miserly. The Panda Active is spartan, but it's the base model. Top spec Aygos are no better.
You pay extra for four doors on an Aygo and you still only get a tiny tiny boot that doesn't actually open. On the three door models the seat tilting mechanism is a joke.
On the open road the Aygo has an aversion to crosswinds that leaves you sawing at the steering wheel to keep it straight. For such a tall car the Panda is surprisingly much better.

The Aygo feels built down to a price which wouldn't be so bad if it was that price you pay. The fact that it's so much more expensive than a Panda is absurd.

 

[udtrev]

The Panda Active isn't exactly well equiped either. You do lose out on a trip computer and temperature gauge, but you do get a locking fuel filler cap (I think you get that on the basic versions).

Ahem

The Active DOES have a temperature guage and it certainly has a trip computer


Trev

 

[Advanced Driver]

The Active DOES have a temperature guage and it certainly has a trip computer

Maybe I wasn't clear. The Aygo/C1/107 doesn't have a temperature gauge or trip computer, they Panda does. These are nice to have, but it's not the end of the world without them.

 

[JD82]

Lets think £7000 for a 107 which is not as well built and you won't get central locking or electric windows, or £6k for the Panda which has five doors, central locking, electric windows as is better built.

What makes the Panda really good for the price is the built quality is better in my opinion than its rivals.

In fact the only car good enough to rival the Panda is the Hyundai i10. It was a very close call to me which one to go for, but the slightly lower purchase price and lower insurance premiums made me decide on the Panda.

I bought my Panda 1.1 expecting to keep it for four years, now I am telling people I am keeping it until at least ten years and I am the kind that changes cars all the time, I've owned five cars since 2007.

 

[udtrev]

Maybe I wasn't clear. The Aygo/C1/107 doesn't have a temperature gauge or trip computer, they Panda does. These are nice to have, but it's not the end of the world without them.

Hmmmm a toyota without a temp guage, well that won't make much difference, the Surf's guage seemed to have a very narrow range (speaking from BITTER experience :bang: ). you can tell the average long term Toyota driver, he has one eye on the bleeding temp !

 

[babbo_umbro]

We've just take delivery of a Panda 1.2 Eco Dynamic from Perrys - Euro 4 model, pre-reg on 31/12/2010 with 20 miles on the clock; air con etc - for 6845.

 

[Advanced Driver]

Lets think £7000 for a 107 which is not as well built and you won't get central locking or electric windows, or £6k for the Panda which has five doors, central locking, electric windows as is better built.

What makes the Panda really good for the price is the built quality is better in my opinion than its rivals.

In fact the only car good enough to rival the Panda is the Hyundai i10. It was a very close call to me which one to go for, but the slightly lower purchase price and lower insurance premiums made me decide on the Panda.

I bought my Panda 1.1 expecting to keep it for four years, now I am telling people I am keeping it until at least ten years and I am the kind that changes cars all the time, I've owned five cars since 2007.

I quite like the interior in my C1. It may not cost as much to build, but it feels quite robust. For a 107 without electric windows and central locking you'll be looking at £6000.

IMO the i10 doesn't come close to the Panda or C1 in terms of build quality.

 

[JD82]

I quite like the interior in my C1. It may not cost as much to build, but it feels quite robust. For a 107 without electric windows and central locking you'll be looking at £6000.

IMO the i10 doesn't come close to the Panda or C1 in terms of build quality.

Yoyu mean the i10 is not as well built?

 

[Advanced Driver]

Yoyu mean the i10 is not as well built?

It feels VERY cheap!

 

[paul100hp]

It feels VERY cheap!

Really, ive looked at just about every small car as looking for a new one, the i10 is about the only one ive seen that hasnt got a bad review.

 

[Geddes]

Really, ive looked at just about every small car as looking for a new one, the i10 is about the only one ive seen that hasnt got a bad review.

Got an i20 last year for the missus and while the plastics used for the interior are a bit iffy, build quality is fine and the warranty is epic. Thought about an i10 but went for the bigger one.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

Can't knock the i10's standard spec also.

 

[paul100hp]

Can't knock the i10's standard spec also.

No you cant, £8500 for pretty much everything you need, including low tax, good economy, 5 year warranty, 3 years free servcing etc. For the same spec 500 it a was coming out at around £11500, it's a no brainer really. Similar spec panda was £9500 but you dont get the 5 year warranty or servicing

Ive not driven one yet though, but i see plenty around so they cant be that bad.