General Have Gone to the Dark Side

[R1NGA]

Evening All. Quick courtesy note to say that despite attending to every possible potential issue with my Panda almost before it appeared, having it serviced at the best place I know every year and replacing all the things that have ever needed it, the little fella decided to save 4 really big issues up and throw them at mine at once. Over the last 3 months the following have shown signs of rapidly approaching failure;

1. Exhaust - broken flexi-joint, blowing badly, but interestingly hard to even hear due to the unique sound of our engines, just maybe a bit TwinAiry than usual. Could have had it removed, welded and replaced, but….

2. Prop-shaft Centre bush fractured and centre bearing now had significant play and rumble-age. Horrified at the cost of a new one-piece unit from Fiat (£1000+) , I brought an identical, new-but-old-stock complete assembly ready to fit. It currently sits on my garage floor and I only paid £300 for it….

3. Clutch/DMF looking like it’s beginning to fail - lots of vibration at about 2000rpm, where before it would pull strongly and just get on with it. Now much vibration (hard to see out of the rear view mirror) through the gear lever and body shell and very unpleasant. Clutch pedal becoming increasingly heavy. Suspect impending DMF failure (7 years old, 55,000 miles)….

4. Classic exhaust wastegate actuator issue, inconsistent boost and 3 or 4 occasions of Limp Home mode. Cleared codes and all was well again, occurring mostly under high load when it was very hot outside and with A/C running.

So all of these issues convinced me that it was not wise to throw lots of money at repairs and I needed to change it. Didn’t want to sell it to an innocent party, so sold it go WeStealAnyCar.com and got £3,800 for it. This was £800 more than I was offer in part exchange for my new….

Suzuki Ignis SZ5 AllGrip mild hybrid, in Tough Khaki with a black roof and orange mirrors. Car is fab, feel less substantial than the Panda, but weighs nearly 160kg less. Not as torquey as the TA by a mile, but does rev well and although only rated at 82bhp, its Power:Weight is better than the Panda.

Time will tell, but I have fitted some of the same, excellent ContiWinterContact TS860’s (185/60R16’s) and a tow bar comes in 2 weeks. Very happy.

So if anyone is after a brand new, complete replacement prop-shaft, do let me know!

Thank you to everyone on here for being one of the most civilized and helpful Forums in Forum-world and for helping through my 15 or so years with you all and my journey with super-chargers and the like.

 

[gar074]

We'll miss your knowledge, and your wisdom.

Do come back & visit (not least because the Ignis 4x4 is on my (very short) short-list of Panda replacements )

 

[The Panda Nut]

Thank you to everyone on here for being one of the most civilized and helpful Forums in Forum-world and for helping through my 15 or so years with you all and my journey with super-chargers and the like.

Sorry to see you go, but I too will probably follow this route when Panda gets unreliable. Hopefully a long while off at just 8000 miles. Do let us know how you get on with the Ignis. Whatever else you should use less fuel and that's going to save you a pile soon!

Im sure a friendly Panda 4x4 will tow you when you get stuck in a snow drift.... LOL Happy Ignising!

 

[R1NGA]

Thanks folks. I shall certainly stick around and report back on the Ignis. Only 600 miles in so far (car had 9 miles on it when I collected it last month) and so far it’s doing 54.3mpg overall. Tech count is massive by comparison to the Panda, and engine very smooth and far more ‘revvy’ of course. So far so good however.

 

[gar074]

Love that Tough Khaki colour. All it needs to finish it off is some mud spattered around the wheel arches :devil:

 

[jrkitching]

despite attending to every possible potential issue with my Panda almost before it appeared, having it serviced at the best place I know every year and replacing all the things that have ever needed it, the little fella decided to save 4 really big issues up and throw them at mine at once.

This is exactly why I'd not want to keep a TA beyond 50k. I think you've done the right thing.

 

[AB100]

This is exactly why I'd not want to keep a TA beyond 50k. I think you've done the right thing.

In other news.......I saw a Honda e the other day. Pulled out of a junction and pelted away like a stabbed rat but with the same noise as a skateboard. Nice and compact car indeed. Not much more than a leccy FIAT 500 so the new Panda will need to be somewhat cheaper. Mind you, £26k for a small car.......

 

[The Pretender]

To expensive over here, 1.2 STYLE SMART HYBRID ALLGRIP € 23.700,- starting price, with options close to € 27K.

 

[R1NGA]

To expensive over here, 1.2 STYLE SMART HYBRID ALLGRIP € 23.700,- starting price, with options close to € 27K.

Crikey, that's keen! With CarWow discount, 16 bags on the nose over here. Still very happy, particularly with the new ContiWinterContact TS860's now fitted. Much quieter and better riding than the eco Bridgestones. |Those would have been hopeless in the snow for sure....

 

[The Pretender]

I'm very interested in the all new 2022 Toyota Aygo with apparently a 1.5 Hybrid engine.

 

[Officina red]

I'm very interested in the all new 2022 Toyota Aygo with apparently a 1.5 Hybrid engine.

I hope your right about the 1.5, I’ve only read about the 1 litre engine being fitted.

 

[The Pretender]

I hope your right about the 1.5, I’ve only read about the 1 litre engine being fitted.

The 1 litre engine is a joke.

 

[Officina red]

The 1 litre engine is a joke.

It’s the only engine that I have found anyone mentioning, did you find any info about the 1.5 being fitted, or like myself it’s wishful thinking ?

 

[The Pretender]

It’s the only engine that I have found anyone mentioning, did you find any info about the 1.5 being fitted, or like myself it’s wishful thinking ?

No, only suggestions that it could get the 1.5 Hybrid, because it's based on the Yaris platform.
91 hp would be better then 70 hp, IMHO

 

[Officina red]

No, only suggestions that it could get the 1.5 Hybrid, because it's based on the Yaris platform.
91 hp would be better then 70 hp, IMHO

You could well be right, in the uk we only get the hybrid Yaris, not the 1.5 petrol only version that’s available everywhere else in Europe, a 1.0 litre base model and a 1.5 for the higher/top range versions, damn that could be my next car sorted.

 

[Marcus Daly]

The 1.5 HSD engine dates right back to the second generation Prius.

 

[Goudrons]

The 1.5 HSD engine dates right back to the second generation Prius.

And it's legendary.

It does make a bit of a fuss when accelerating hard, but that's due to the planetary CVT gearbox.

Mini cabbers have been piling mega miles on these Prius with the same drivetrain many due to the engine being pretty much unstressed and the planetary CVT gearbox/electric motor/generator being bomb proof.

The ICE part doesn't run an Otto cycle but an Atkinson cycle.
Though it's a simulated Atkinson cycle as it holds the intake valves open longer allowing reverse flow and close to atmospheric pressure at the end of the power stroke.
This gets the most energy out of the fuel but with reduced power density, which is then made up for with the electric motor.

It's pretty clever, the ICE runs as efficiently as it can, even when demand out strips it, like accelerating, which is when the electric motor kicks in and helps out,

On a steady cruise electric isn't really that efficient so the ICE powers the car in it's efficient Atkinson cycle as the power demand isn't that high.
Take your foot off the gas and the electric motor now turns into a generator and harvests waste engery back to the battery to use again when you accelerate.

My colleague runs a 2016 Yaris Hybrid. She bought it new and has stuck on over 100,000 pretty much faultless miles in that time. The car has averaged mid 80's mpg in that time.

She reckons she'll keep it until it goes bang, I did point out at 61, she's likely to go bang before it does and looked up some ex cabbed Prius with 450,000 miles on them for sale.

 

[gar074]

Will be interesting to see whether Toyota's 1.5 3-cylinder hybrid will prove to be as reliable.

 

[Marcus Daly]

I ran four Toyota/Lexus hybrids over the last 16 years and if I hadn’t needed 4x4 due to a change in circumstances, I’d have had another. Since I bought the Panda, my circumstances have changed again and I no longer need it. So I’ll be back to another Toyota hybrid in due course, probably a Yaris Cross. I bloody love them.