General Panda 1.1 or 1.2

[Pandev]

Hello again,

As I said in the previous thread I am seriously thinking of buying Panda. I'v read lots of reviews, and they all seem to recommend the 1.2 engine. They say its slightly (0.1 liters) more economical and slightly more powerful (5hp).

I want to know is which one of these two little engines proved better in real life, which one has less breakdowns, which one requires less maintenance, which one is less noisy, which one is more refined and things like that.

Also can you share some basic information about the Panda. I know it is generally considered a quality product, but as every other car there must be things that go wrong with it. What are Panda's weak point, which parts seem to wear off the most?
Can you give me a few examples of a e.g 100.000km Panda or 200.000 km maintenance history?

Any Panda quality related talk is welcomed...

edit:
can the mods please move this to the Panda forum

 

[Scorg]

Think the best way I can put this is to ask what spec you want, Active or a Dynamic/Eleganza, as the 1.1 is fitted to the Active and the 1.2 fitted to the Dynamic and Eleganza.

We've got a 1.2 in the Eleganza here and have used the 1.1 in a mk1 Punto.
The engines both drive differently but in the end, with the 1.2 you are getting the same MPG, similar road tax pricing and a higher spec model, so I would really go with the 1.2 dynamic or eleganza.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I want to know is which one of these two little engines proved better in real life, which one has less breakdowns, which one requires less maintenance, which one is less noisy, which one is more refined and things like that.

They're both the same engine, just different Bore sizes resulting in different CC's.

So both equally reliable.

 

[Phil_]

We had a 2005 1.1 Active for a couple of years and it ran like clockwork. No major problems apart from a juddering which we got sorted for £100 at a garage but things like that can go wrong with any car. Unfortunately it ended up as a convertible...

 

[Helz]

Moved, feel free to use the report tool to bring things to our attention

 

[rossmanfiatfan]

I have a 1.2 and its very refined, at idle you can barely hear it. Thats one of the things I love about this car is its engine.

The fuel economy is excellent I'm doing 42 mpg at the moment and I only do urban driving ( max speed 35 mph in Guernsey ) so this figure is amazing !.

With a bit of motorway driving the mpg is even better.

Like someone else has said the 1.1 is only available in basic spec. So if you want goodies like remote C/L, air con etc you will have to go for the 1.2 anyway.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

We had a 2005 1.1 Active for a couple of years and it ran like clockwork. No major problems apart from a juddering which we got sorted for £100 at a garage but things like that can go wrong with any car. Unfortunately it ended up as a convertible...

OMG Phil. What happened? When was that?

 

[Phil_]

Just before Christmas in Bradwell. One of Yarmouth's finest policemen decided to go into the side of it on a roundabout. Funnily enough we got a call from the police a few days ago saying they won't be taking things any further and the blame lies 50/50.

On one hand we want to fight the bas***ds so they admit 100% responsibility but I don't fancy the idea of taking on the police.

The accident itself wasn't that bad, one side quite dented but possibly repairable as the car was only 4 years old with 17k on the clock. After the crash the copper told my wife to sit inside the car with the heater on until the ambulance arrived - good advice you might think?
She started to complain of back & neck ache so the firebrigade cut the roof off the car to get her out. Turned out to be whiplash.

 

[happypanda]

trim level is more important than the engine

active still doesnt have a cigar lighter, and so cannot power a satnav, this makes it an impossible choice for me and many like me

 

[Phil_]

Funny you should say that as when we bought our Active it was from a dealers 60 miles away. I knew roughly how to get there when I picked the car up but still took the sat nav just incase.

I handed over the keys to the Multipla and got inside the Panda, went to plug in the sat nav to help me find my way back to the main roads and it was only then I discovered there was no socket.

Luckily the battery still had some life left but it's strange in this day & age that there's no 12v socket plus our 2005 model came with a cassette headunit.

 

[trackdayqueen]

Both are fairly ancient engines, but they are reliable. Both are 8v's.

I think it just makes sense to go for the 1.2 as the spec level is higher which will make things a bit more pleasant in terms of ownership.

I've not driven the 1.1 (though I admit I've no incentive to do so) but I have driven the 1.2 in a 500 courtesy car. It was fine, yes it's a bit slow and it's an engine where the powerband is lower down the rev range so there isn't much at the top end, but it's perfectly adequate.

 

[Geddes]

trim level is more important than the engine

active still doesnt have a cigar lighter, and so cannot power a satnav, this makes it an impossible choice for me and many like me

Order it with the £30 'smoker's kit' to get the socket.
I wish I'd done that. It didn't occur to me that they leave out the socket on the standard car.

*edit*
Of course now I see the OP mentions those funny kilometre things any discussion of UK spec levels is irrelevant.

 

[Advanced Driver]

I've never driven the 1.1 although I would expect it to be very similar to the 1.2 but a bit slower because they are both 'FIRE' engines. Looking at the torque, the 1.2 has 102Nm @ 2500rpm and the 1.1 has 88Nm @ 2750rpm. So you would probably need to rev the 1.1 more than the 1.2.

I wouldn't worry about the refinement of the engines though. When I drove the 1.2 I didn't like the fact that I couldn't hear the engine, it's almost silent!

I would go for the because you get lots of extras and it'll be easier to sell.

 

[English Gent]

My pocket made the choice for me, if the Landy hadn't died I would've ended up with a 1.2, if only for the rev counter if I'm honest.

However my 1.1 does have a power socket down near the handbrake, which should presumably power my satnav. I'm assuming that the original buyer wanted that specially. They subsequently backed out leaving the dealer with a car to move on. Right time and right place for a change

 

[udtrev]

I only did a few miles in the 1.1 but there isn't a mountain of difference between the two.
However, as some here (hi Jon :wave: ) will tell you I do go easy on my engine and it's not revved hard.


Trev

 

[happypanda]

is the smokers pack a dealer fit or factory fit option?

if its dealer fit i guess there must be parts that could be fitted to a 1.1 without cigar lighter?

 

[Geddes]

is the smokers pack a dealer fit or factory fit option?

if its dealer fit i guess there must be parts that could be fitted to a 1.1 without cigar lighter?

It's factory order only. There have been a few threads on this subject. The wiring is in place for the socket but the relay and associated terminals are missing from the fuse box so it's not a simple retro-fit.

 

[Pandev]

Thank you all for your responses. This thread seemed to be dead until it got moved to the Panda forum. Perhaps some of you can answer my other question about the LPG conversion which is also situated in the 'Lets talk Fiat' forum.

-Are the 1.1 and 1.2 engine suitable for LPG conversion? Do you have any experience with this, do the head gasket blow away, do the valves start knocking...any kind of info is welcomed.

The mechanics told me that the 1.1 is not suitable for LPG and that the 1.2 is OK. What is the deciding factor whether a specific engine is LPG compliant or not?

 

[trackdayqueen]

I'm not convinced it's worth the expense of an LPG conversion given the good economy to start with. What you need to think of is how many miles you'd need to do to recoup the cost of the conversion. As both do around 45mpg is it worth it really? Also consider what your annual mileage is.

I would guess that unless you are doing a stupid amount of mileage each year it's probably not worth it.

 

[Pandev]

I'm not convinced it's worth the expense of an LPG conversion given the good economy to start with. What you need to think of is how many miles you'd need to do to recoup the cost of the conversion. As both do around 45mpg is it worth it really? Also consider what your annual mileage is.

I would guess that unless you are doing a stupid amount of mileage each year it's probably not worth it.

I live in slightly different country and 1.1 Euro/Liter is extremely expensive for me considering that the average monthly pay here is 250 Euro. I live in Macedonia, its is a 3rd world country struggling to enter the EU. The pay is miserable, the prices are European. It sucks to be eastern European ;-)

The thing is one of the Pandas I am considering to buy has LPG installed and I want to know if this engine (1.1) is LPG ready, I dont want the engine to die on me in a couple of years of exploitation