Hi guys!
I'm after a little advice from the far more experienced Fiat fanatics out there!
Had my Panda 100hp for 6 months now (I only know as I've just sent off the tax reminder form! ) and with just over 4500 miles on the clock I'm pretty happy with it! My prob is this - my job is now further away than I initially envisaged and my home town (Swindon) is choc full of speedbumps (the rock-hard axle-smashing types )
So a lot of my time is spent crashing over bumps or cruising at 70-80mph, the 100hp now seems a less sensible choice than I initially thought, while it can do the high-speeds it gets fairly noisy/bumpy and the lack of torque means more effort on the motorways than I thought (downchanging on inclines or for overtaking etc.). The hard suspension means the bumps around town are despatched at a learner-driver embarrassing 5-10mph and overall economy, while ok at about 35mpg means re-fuelling often with the tiny tank (and an embarrassing run-out-of-fuel moment to boot!).
So with all this in mind I'm thinking of changing up to a Grande Punto Sporting Diesel (the 130bhp 1.9). For a couple of years old one I shouldn't take too much of a hit on a trade-in (in theory!). Does anyone think this would be a good move? Anyone owned one? Are they built the same as the Panda? (by this I mean pretty well for an italian - aside from the bloody rattling airbag cover I've had since new!!! ) Reliable? Overall from what I've read they seem a decent choice - competition doesn't seem particularly any better for the money and they look pretty too!
Cheers for any advice!
Jim.
I'm after a little advice from the far more experienced Fiat fanatics out there!
Had my Panda 100hp for 6 months now (I only know as I've just sent off the tax reminder form! ) and with just over 4500 miles on the clock I'm pretty happy with it! My prob is this - my job is now further away than I initially envisaged and my home town (Swindon) is choc full of speedbumps (the rock-hard axle-smashing types )
So a lot of my time is spent crashing over bumps or cruising at 70-80mph, the 100hp now seems a less sensible choice than I initially thought, while it can do the high-speeds it gets fairly noisy/bumpy and the lack of torque means more effort on the motorways than I thought (downchanging on inclines or for overtaking etc.). The hard suspension means the bumps around town are despatched at a learner-driver embarrassing 5-10mph and overall economy, while ok at about 35mpg means re-fuelling often with the tiny tank (and an embarrassing run-out-of-fuel moment to boot!).
So with all this in mind I'm thinking of changing up to a Grande Punto Sporting Diesel (the 130bhp 1.9). For a couple of years old one I shouldn't take too much of a hit on a trade-in (in theory!). Does anyone think this would be a good move? Anyone owned one? Are they built the same as the Panda? (by this I mean pretty well for an italian - aside from the bloody rattling airbag cover I've had since new!!! ) Reliable? Overall from what I've read they seem a decent choice - competition doesn't seem particularly any better for the money and they look pretty too!
Cheers for any advice!
Jim.