General Panda drivability problems.

[pandavic]

Hello, new here and just wanting some opinions from seasoned Panda drivers.

Due to problems with the new Panda order (we are waiting for a delivery of a twin air) I have now driven two courtesy cars...both easy's same 1.2 engine.

One was a dream, smooth, responsive, felt absolutely perfect, like everything was tuned...you could almost feel the car smiling : ).but the one I have now is a completely different feel...sluggish start in first, slightly flat for a second...then jumps in which isn't great...the suspension is irritating...the engine isn't exactly hunting on idle but almost...nothing feels smooth...I get out of the car feeling nauseous...eek...not good.

And now I'm wondering if these differences are normal, to be expected, and it's luck what you get, because I felt that they should all be standard.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Mercky]

What was the difference in age and mileage?

 

[David Bliss]

Hello, new here and just wanting some opinions from seasoned Panda drivers.

And now I'm wondering if these differences are normal, to be expected, and it's luck what you get, because I felt that they should all be standard.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.


Due to problems with the new Panda order (we are waiting for a delivery of a twin air) I have now driven two courtesy cars...both easy's same 1.2 engine.

One was a dream, smooth, responsive, felt absolutely perfect, like everything was tuned...you could almost feel the car smiling : ).but the one I have now is a completely different feel...sluggish start in first, slightly flat for a second...then jumps in which isn't great...the suspension is irritating...the engine isn't exactly hunting on idle but almost...nothing feels smooth...I get out of the car feeling nauseous...eek...not good.

We have had a Panda for five years and its only fault was that the suspension was rather harsh. On a rough road the back end would skip out sometimes. The four cylinder engine was very torquey and never missed a beat all the time we had it. The new one has greatly improved handling and some other nice features that the older model lacked but I do not like the new style handbrake and the revamped 4 cylinder engine lacks torque although the hp has gone up at the top end. It has no guts to pull away for hill starts, at roundabouts and junctions and can leave you in a dodgy situation sometimes. It seems that some of the twin air versions are affected too and the problem has been going on for some time. Why Fiat haven't managed to produce a fix for the problem yet I don't know, in the last conversation I had with Customer Services they changed their tune from 'We're working to find a fix' to 'You will just have to change your driving style'. I am still wondering how I am supposed to change my driving style to cope with it losing all power just as I have pulled out from a junction into traffic - it doesn't tell me in the manual!

Despite its 'low emission' status and zero road tax it is not very green, it uses more petrol than the older car.

 

[David Bliss]

Hello, new here and just wanting some opinions from seasoned Panda drivers.

And now I'm wondering if these differences are normal, to be expected, and it's luck what you get, because I felt that they should all be standard.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Due to problems with the new Panda order (we are waiting for a delivery of a twin air) I have now driven two courtesy cars...both easy's same 1.2 engine.

One was a dream, smooth, responsive, felt absolutely perfect, like everything was tuned...you could almost feel the car smiling : ).but the one I have now is a completely different feel...sluggish start in first, slightly flat for a second...then jumps in which isn't great...the suspension is irritating...the engine isn't exactly hunting on idle but almost...nothing feels smooth...I get out of the car feeling nauseous...eek...not good.

We have had a Panda for five years and its only fault was that the suspension was rather harsh. On a rough road the back end would skip out sometimes. The four cylinder engine was very torquey and never missed a beat all the time we had it. The new one has greatly improved handling and some other nice features that the older model lacked but I do not like the new style handbrake and the revamped 4 cylinder engine lacks torque although the hp has gone up at the top end. It has no guts to pull away for hill starts, at roundabouts and junctions and can leave you in a dodgy situation sometimes. It seems that some of the twin air versions are affected too and the problem has been going on for some time. Why Fiat haven't managed to produce a fix for the problem yet I don't know, in the last conversation I had with Customer Services they changed their tune from 'We're working to find a fix' to 'You will just have to change your driving style'. I am still wondering how I am supposed to change my driving style to cope with it losing all power just as I have pulled out from a junction into traffic - it doesn't tell me in the manual!

Despite its 'low emission' status and zero road tax it is not very green, it uses more petrol than the older car.

 

[pandavic]

Both practically identical....maybe 200 mile difference...both under 1000. And the same year.

 

[pandavic]

I really sympathise...that sounds awful....i hope they can resolve it soon, it should be an absolute pleasure.

 

[auditt]

Sounds like the problem with some recent 1.2 engines.