gar074
Prominent member
I think you are overstating the reach of the FSA, tbh.
General Panda 4x4
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General
Panda 4x4
I think you are overstating the reach of the FSA, tbh.
Feel free to think what you want
Next you'll be telling me that the FSA can't fine companies for none compliance.
gar074
Prominent member
The issue is what insurance companies are required to do in order to comply, not whether they can be fined if they don't comply.
No it isn't, the issue is you saying they can do what they practically want and its not the FSA who they have to answer to.
gar074
Prominent member
Sorry, that's not what I'm saying at all. You miss my point. All I'm saying is that the regulatory regime operated by the FSA does not reach as far into the commercial decision-making process of insurance companies as you seem to think it does.
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But I'm saying it does, this I know from first hand experience.
I think on this one we are just going to have to agree to disagree.
Not a lot, if I'm honest with you - a couple of hundred. I squeezed a bit more on the p-ex, but the main discount (or the equivalent thereof) is the 0% finance.
I did try for more, but was not successful... Maybe if you pick your moment or play one dealer off against another then you could go further.
I do think though you get a lot of car for the money - even the basic car has pretty much everything you need - and they will never be a common sight on UK roads.
Even at this price though, all FIAT needs to do is get people out for a test drive: the car is so damn good that the salesman should not really have to do anything. And still no real competitors, which helps...
all the best
Steve Cropley has a brief review in Autocar:
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review...es/first-drive-review-fiat-panda-4x4-multijet
Recognises that there are no real competitors, but still a positive review.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review...es/first-drive-review-fiat-panda-4x4-multijet
Recognises that there are no real competitors, but still a positive review.
Just heard that Thames in Slough now have a Green and Orange one ready for viewing.
TBH I'm hoping the Sicilian Orange is as good as it looks in the photos, and that my Mum is brave enough to go for it. When I've seen it, I'll post my opinion for what it's worth!
The good news also is that the discounts are starting to ease up a little, making the Panda prices decent value.
TBH I'm hoping the Sicilian Orange is as good as it looks in the photos, and that my Mum is brave enough to go for it. When I've seen it, I'll post my opinion for what it's worth!
The good news also is that the discounts are starting to ease up a little, making the Panda prices decent value.
philboo
Member
Just heard that Thames in Slough now have a Green and Orange one ready for viewing.
TBH I'm hoping the Sicilian Orange is as good as it looks in the photos, and that my Mum is brave enough to go for it. When I've seen it, I'll post my opinion for what it's worth!
The good news also is that the discounts are starting to ease up a little, making the Panda prices decent value.
Please, please, please take lots of photos of the orange. I've ordered it and although I've looked at photos and videos online it'd be great to see more and hear your opinion.
Cheers
Phil
Good read that, but a little inacurate to say there has never been a competitor to the panda 4x4.Subaru Justy? Suzuki Ignis?
Both not available now, but the were.
gar074
Prominent member
The surprising thing is why, especially in this age of niche marketing, other manufacturers haven't spotted the potential for a small & relatively inexpensive 4x4.
I guess it's down to the development costs of the running-gear (there aren't the same opportunities for spreading the development costs as there might be with a 4x4 set-up designed for a larger platform, eg VAG's 4Motion system, which is widely used on all kinds of Audis, VWs and Skodas), and the fact that the headline figures (RRP, MPG, C02) for 4x4s, even small ones, are inevitably less attractive than for an equivalent-sized 4x2, which impacts on their "showroom appeal".
On that point, has anyone yet seen any press marketing for the 4x4/Trekking? You'd have thought that Fiat would be flooding the TV and newspapers with timely adverts for them at the moment, as we all (or rather, most of us!) slip & slide around in our 4x2s. Perhaps the advertising campaign is due to start in May?!
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I don't think they can make enough, the Continental market has to be satisfied first.
People are very cost conscious these days and fewer people seem to be buying new cars with their own money anyway. At work more and more people are going for lease Fiestas - which I find amazingly overrated by the way. The economy is depressed and getting worse, but I agree that these winters, even if they do only last a couple of weeks, will encourage sales.
But £14,000 + is one hell of an ask for what is still a very small car.
But no matter which make I look at, and it is practically all of them, I always find myself coming back to Fiat. For me they are just nicer inside and far more comfortable for my body type and crap back.
Except the new 500L unfortunately
People are very cost conscious these days and fewer people seem to be buying new cars with their own money anyway. At work more and more people are going for lease Fiestas - which I find amazingly overrated by the way. The economy is depressed and getting worse, but I agree that these winters, even if they do only last a couple of weeks, will encourage sales.
But £14,000 + is one hell of an ask for what is still a very small car.
But no matter which make I look at, and it is practically all of them, I always find myself coming back to Fiat. For me they are just nicer inside and far more comfortable for my body type and crap back.
Except the new 500L unfortunately
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babbo_umbro
Established member
I don't see why the price of a car would be directly related to its size, surely price should be related to how closely the car matches your requirements - which may or may not include being large. Some of the current Porsches are relatively small - and very small compared with many other cars costing the same - but their small size is not looked on as a disadvantage, and may even be thought of as a benefit. Does a really competent 4x4 with the performance and equipment/specification of the Panda justify a price of 14,000 pounds? If not, it doesn't matter how big/small it is. If so, size is just one of the parameters governing your choice and - purely personally - the smaller, the better.
What car test of trekking and 4x4
click
Auto express test here
Not surprisingly, both articles have inaccuracies.
Auto express say spec is the same as lounge with stop/start and blue and me.
Lounge doesn't come standard with these.
They also say trekking is £2000 cheaper. It's £1500 in reality :bang:
click
Auto express test here
Not surprisingly, both articles have inaccuracies.
Auto express say spec is the same as lounge with stop/start and blue and me.
Lounge doesn't come standard with these.
They also say trekking is £2000 cheaper. It's £1500 in reality :bang:
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Hi Phil & everyone,
Been to view the 2 new Panda colours today, and the good news is both look superb!
I have put a few photos below, but there are some more in my album. Sorry for the odd angles of the orange one - it was a little cramped taking pics in the showroom.
I'll start with the green. This is a classy colour and everything looks well co-ordinated and suitably upmarket. If you like green, you'll not be disappointed choosing this.
The orange looks really smart and suits the Panda perfectly. This one was in the showroom so the lighting was a little tricky. It's not a really bright in your face orange, which is good. In the showroom it looked a little darker than I think it will be outside (almost a burnt orange) - at the back where it got better light from outside it looked more like the lighter photo (I think it was a bit lighter in reality than the photos). I think it would be a bit brighter in the sunlight (none of that today!!
), but again I don't think it would ever get too much.The interior is nicely done, and NOT quite as dark an orange as the photos look. It's all just the right side of subtle and definitely not an interior which you'd hate with a hangover! The dashboard is silver on this one, while the green one got a green dash.
Don't forget the orange one is a Trekking so it doesn't have the alloy look front and back guard bits under the bumpers - this definitely lifts the look of the 4x4 imo.
Overall I think the orange photos are a reasonable reflection of what it actually looks like in the metal. Do I like it - yes
Which do I prefer, can't make my mind up, and neither can my Mum at the moment Hope this helps anyone with the colour choices.
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I totally agree with you. It's just that sometimes you want just that bit more space, and the Panda doesn't have it. All cars are compromises and the steel contained in them is a very small part of the overall cost. The rest; the electronics, the engines and gearboxes etc. - which cost a fortune to develop - are common to all cars, regardless of size. But the Panda might be too small for the universality of many people's needs, and if this is the case the size of the car begins to notice and suddenly the size/price equation is visible again. Sports cars need to be small, as do city cars, but ...
Of course, for people with the means to buy a number of cars none of this matters, but most people are not in that position so everything has to be weighed in the balance. I've been driving around in two coats, one reflective, boots, and a cap recently, and taking up an enormous amount of space in my car. In a Panda I think I'd be crushed against the door and the person next to me. No real matter for a few weeks, but it all gets weighed when choosing.
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gar074
Prominent member
Sure, but a 4x4 Panda is still a Panda, which is (and is generally perceived to be) a "cheap" car. A Porsche, however small, is not (and is unlikely to be perceived to be) a "cheap" car.
I think the 4x4 has crossed the line and is not just seen as a variant on a perceived cheap car. I also think it will find space on the drives of folk with several cars and the little FIAT is likely to be the least expensive to buy of the lot and possibly seen as a (relative) bargain... The 500 can be eye watering expensive in its various Abarth and 'Ferrari' guises and they don't seem to have any problem finding buyers... After all, FIAT is able to pull of the trick of being classless and yet classy and desirable better than most when they stick to what they do best which is building small cars.
Just IMHO of course!
Just IMHO of course!
