Panda 2012+ Looking into getting a hybrid Panda

[Inter]

Well, here goes nothing.

Hello, i´m Thomas aka Inter from Austria. A mid-30s car parts seller at a VAG Car Dealer.
I am curently looking into purchasing a Panda Hybrid. Either a City Life or City Cross Version.

I´m here because the german fiat forum looks pretty dead to me, and i think my english is good enough for this forum.

My plan is to replace my current daily driver 2005 Ford Mondeo TDCi with a fresher, newer car.
The Mondeo now has 325.000 kilometers on the clock and the dual mass flywheel starts to make noises.
For fun, i also have a 2018 Mitsubishi Attrage, but i only drive it in the summer months because it´s so rare here.



Origanily, my plan was to get the cheap Dacia Sprig EV, but after driving it, i decided against it.
Not because it´s slow, i can live with that, but because it´s too cramped.
I dont want to drive 15k kilometers a year with my back hurting.

Why Panda?

It will not be my first Fiat. Many years ago, i´ve had a 1998 Bravo 182 TD75. A fun to drive car with
a bigger turbocharger, Audi 80 intercooler and 215/45/16 wheels and tires.
And my family had a 2005 Panda 169 1,1. A lovely little car, that i drove multiple times on long road trips.

That´s also why im looking into the Panda 319, i know i fit into a 169 Panda, so the 319 should also fit my physique.

Thats all for today, greetings.

 

[ben]

Hi Thomas and welcome to the forums!

Your English is indeed excellent, you'll have no troubles here!

I'm guessing you might have found it already, but if not, our Panda section is here > https://www.fiatforum.com/forums/panda-2012.225/

They'll be able to help you with anything you need

 

[Panda IIs]

Well, here goes nothing.

Hello, i´m Thomas aka Inter from Austria. A mid-30s car parts seller at a VAG Car Dealer.
I am curently looking into purchasing a Panda Hybrid. Either a City Life or City Cross Version.

I´m here because the german fiat forum looks pretty dead to me, and i think my english is good enough for this forum.

My plan is to replace my current daily driver 2005 Ford Mondeo TDCi with a fresher, newer car.
The Mondeo now has 325.000 kilometers on the clock and the dual mass flywheel starts to make noises.
For fun, i also have a 2018 Mitsubishi Attrage, but i only drive it in the summer months because it´s so rare here.

View attachment 400297View attachment 400298View attachment 400299

Origanily, my plan was to get the cheap Dacia Sprig EV, but after driving it, i decided against it.
Not because it´s slow, i can live with that, but because it´s too cramped.
I dont want to drive 15k kilometers a year with my back hurting.

Why Panda?

It will not be my first Fiat. Many years ago, i´ve had a 1998 Bravo 182 TD75. A fun to drive car with
a bigger turbocharger, Audi 80 intercooler and 215/45/16 wheels and tires.
And my family had a 2005 Panda 169 1,1. A lovely little car, that i drove multiple times on long road trips.

That´s also why im looking into the Panda 319, i know i fit into a 169 Panda, so the 319 should also fit my physique.

Thats all for today, greetings.

Hi Thomas, as @ben observes, your English is absolutely fine!

I am not sure we get the same versions here in the UK so I cannot offer much to the conversation. I have a 4x4 TwinAir 319 which is really fun to drive and "fits" my children too (at 1.8m + they are taller than me). I am not sure if the City Cross Hybrid version comes with 4WD (I would doubt this?) but I can highly recommend the TA version. There has been some discussions on this Forum regarding the hybrid (which here is a very mild version with an alternator that becomes an electric motor) and I think the view is that it has a blunted performance compared to the earlier cars but I also believe it has a "new" 3 cylinder engine.

What I can say is that the 4x4 TA is fun to drive and sits at (our) maximum motorway speeds quite happily with spare torque for overtaking; you do not arrive deafened!

Good luck with your research and let us know how you get on.

 

[Leroypanda]

Hi!
Do let us all know how you get on with the new Panda.

 

[Marcus Daly]

Welcome Thomas.

Make sure you get an extended test drive before you commit yourself. That Fiat faux-“hybrid” drivetrain has very limited appeal. I absolutely hated it.

TA 4x4 is your best bet, IMO.

 

[Inter]

Hello, thank you all for the nice greetings.
I have a testdrive later today and will post my experience when i´m back.

@Panda IIs:
The Hybrid Versions are all 2WD. 4x4 is only avaible with the 85hp TA motor in my country.
My problem is that the 4x4 TA is more expensive. Around 3000 € / 2500 GBP more to be precise.
I could buy one but i dont need the 4x4. And from what i read on spritmonitor,
a website where you can post what your car consumes and what milage the car gets out of it.
The 4x4 consumes around 1,3 liter more than the hybrid on 100 km.

Average 4x4 TA: 7,3 L/100 km - 32 mpg
Average Hybrid: 6 L/100 km - 39 mpg

I´m sure i could get them both under the average.
Motorway speeds in Austria are mostly down to 100 kmh/60mph because of our IGL laws.
Wich means that when the air quality drops under a particular level, the speed limit goes down.
And that level is reached daily where i drive.

@Marcus Daly:
I have a testdrive today. I know it´s just a Mildhybrid with a startergenerator. But i´m sure it will be fine.
I drove a Dacia Spring EV last saturday, 44hp, and would have bought the car if i could sit in it.

 

[timmycm850]

Hi Inter.

We have the panda mild hybrid sport.
With winter pack. Split rear seats and other optional extras. Red with the 16 inch alloys and air con. Tinted rear windows and red calipers

The 3 cylinder engine is surprisingly quiet at motorway speeds and we get about 15% more mpg than the 1.2 petrol engine it replaces. Really carefully driven at 60mph it can get into the 70smpg. The hybrid system does work more when driving arround Town with the slowing down etc.

For the cost( half the cost of a similar size toyota) its likely to be the most fun you can have and it WILL likely be your last chance to buy a manual gearbox. Embrace the manual gearbox while you can!!!!.

Tim

 

[timmycm850]

ps.

E10 fuel will give less mpg by about 8% so remember to allow that in your calculations.

Tim

 

[timmycm850]

We are getting 48/49mpg with mixed driving from the 1.0 mhev sport.

Tim

 

[Inter]

We are getting 48/49mpg with mixed driving from the 1.0 mhev sport.

Tim

Thats great to hear. Thank you for the infos.

 

[Panda IIs]

Hello, thank you all for the nice greetings.
I have a testdrive later today and will post my experience when i´m back.

@Panda IIs:
The Hybrid Versions are all 2WD. 4x4 is only avaible with the 85hp TA motor in my country.
My problem is that the 4x4 TA is more expensive. Around 3000 € / 2500 GBP more to be precise.
I could buy one but i dont need the 4x4. And from what i read on spritmonitor,
a website where you can post what your car consumes and what milage the car gets out of it.
The 4x4 consumes around 1,3 liter more than the hybrid on 100 km.

Average 4x4 TA: 7,3 L/100 km - 32 mpg
Average Hybrid: 6 L/100 km - 39 mpg

I´m sure i could get them both under the average.
Motorway speeds in Austria are mostly down to 100 kmh/60mph because of our IGL laws.
Wich means that when the air quality drops under a particular level, the speed limit goes down.
And that level is reached daily where i drive.

@Marcus Daly:
I have a testdrive today. I know it´s just a Mildhybrid with a startergenerator. But i´m sure it will be fine.
I drove a Dacia Spring EV last saturday, 44hp, and would have bought the car if i could sit in it.

Well that is probably the most realistic estimate of the 4x4 TA economy I have seen! (Average 4x4 TA: 7,3 L/100 km - 32 mpg) Mine typically returns 38mpg around town and short commutes. I did take it up the motorway recently (300+ miles) and with "super" (E5) fuel the onboard computer was indicating 42mpg (at a "healthy" 70mph). This can be seriously improved at 60mph...

I think I would be disappointed if the hybrid only delivered 39mpg by comparison but as you say it's not impossible to make those numbers lower

You maybe right when you say you don't "need" the 4x4 but if you have driven one I suspect you might doubt your words... They are great fun and the grip on the (regular) road is immense! The Engineer in me wants to lower the suspension or maybe transfer the drive train to a 500 "just for fun" you understand. The reality is I think all the associated electronics would make the latter rather impractical.

"Back in the day" the holy grail was 100HP per litre when tuning engines; the turboed TA pretty much delivers that in production form...

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

ps.

E10 fuel will give less mpg by about 8% so remember to allow that in your calculations.

Tim

I think Austria has been using E10 for a while now (certainly longer than the UK) -- and even has 85% ethanol fuels available in some places (which can be only be used in 'flex fuel' cars)

 

[Inter]

The deed is done, i drove the Hybrid Panda



A nice little car with great looks. But it is reserved for another person.
At least i now know how this platform drives and behaves.

I still have some other cars on my "potential next car" list. But right now the Panda is my favourite.

 

[chris3234]

I think Austria has been using E10 for a while now (certainly longer than the UK) -- and even has 85% ethanol fuels available in some places (which can be only be used in 'flex fuel' cars)

The new 3cylider Firefly engines where designed as flex fuel cars as should run on them fine

 

[timmycm850]

just checked our recent mpg from Saturday morning. Buckinghamshire to Bournemouth and back in just over 4.5hrs. Rain all way there and half way back so add 10 to 15% for the water drag just over 200 miles in hybrid sport. Considering long distances dont really use the hybrid system much as its fairly constant speed.

See if you can track down a sport model to view. The 16 inch continental tyres are a bit hard but we've changed onto pirelli winter tyres for a few months and the fun potion goes up quite a bit on them.

Tim

 

[timmycm850]

UK spec from new delivered may 2020. 4k now covered so with it being a small Fiat engine it's not even loosened up yet.