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General Why should I choose the Panda over the i10?

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General Why should I choose the Panda over the i10?

JD82 said:
Odd that you have all the bags and ESP etc in the Panda but you don't even have an airbag in your TV! I guess you just use your Panda a lot more.

I am only doing city driving so it may not be an major issue, if I was doing lots of higher speed driving then safety would be my main concern.
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Well I'd have ABS if TVR offered it, and probably 'bags too. However, the car is much stronger than most people think anyway. The T350 has a built in roll cage too (much better than my old Chimaera which was lovely but didn't even have door bars).

Of course most TVR accidents are single vehicle accidents (i.e. the owner runs out of talent). People see/hear them coming on the road and I find nobody pulls out on me for example.
 
Geddes said:
Depends what you mean by expensive. The i10 gets side bags as standard on the base model. They aren't even an option on the Panda Active so you need to pay ~£600/£900 extra to get the Dynamic in order to to spend another ~£200 to get the bags.
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Fair enough. The i10 seems like a great deal, but is a Piccanto perhaps a better deal still?

Of course the best deal is a used car. You can save a lot by buying nearly new. Sell your shed instead of scrapping it - there is a shortage of sheds on the market right now.
 
Trefor said:
Well I'd have ABS if TVR offered it, and probably 'bags too. However, the car is much stronger than most people think anyway. The T350 has a built in roll cage too (much better than my old Chimaera which was lovely but didn't even have door bars).
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Roll cage or spaceframe chassis? There's a difference.
 
Trefor said:
Fair enough. The i10 seems like a great deal, but is a Piccanto perhaps a better deal still?

Of course the best deal is a used car. You can save a lot by buying nearly new. Sell your shed instead of scrapping it - there is a shortage of sheds on the market right now.
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I've worked it all out and have very complex finance needs which means I am tired into dealer networks, a new car on the scrappage is cheaper or the same price as many used cars.

I would rather loose a few toys and get a brand car, it is a once in a life time sort of thing. Normalty I entirely agree with you though:)
 
Just before getting the Panda I had a look at the I10. Unfortunately I didnt have a license at that stage (I bought the Panda 3 days before I passed my test!) but sitting in the i10 i felt slightly more cramped and claustrophobic. I am by no means a large person (5'7) but perhaps it was the colours - swathes of black/dark grey everywhere.

I also prefered the layout of the Panda and its simplicity, its a good honest basic car and doesnt pretend to be anything else. As mentioned before, the Panda is an older design and most if not all problems will have been fixed. The basic engine design I believe is nearly as old as I am, although obviously fuel injection etc has been added. While the i10 looks great on paper, I just got the feeling when having a look at it that it was loaded with equipment to make up for other shortcomings - however perhaps this is a bit of brand snobbery creaping in.

As others have said, take a good test drive in both and choose which you prefer. I dont think Hyundais are as bad as people make out, but I have heard that the 5/7 year warranty covers less than you would expect. Whatever you decide to do, dont forget to let us know!
 
Have been out with my mate tonight, he has had a Panda for 8 months and all he can talk about his his next Fiat. He seems to have fallen in love with the brand and only three years ago he would laugh at FIAT for being unreliable. He bought the Panda because it was the third cheapest car on the market at the time but now he is talking about much more expensive FIATs.

I also look very fondly at the FIAT Punto my dad had.

Badge snobbery is coming into play again but FIAT is one of them brands, if anybody dares to say they rust etc I just laugh.

I need to test drive both cars but on face value the i10 is the most temping because I can have one tomorrow, where as it will be June until I get the FIAT but I have already fallen in love with the idea of owning a brand new FIAT, I can see it being my pride and joy, it would be a hot girl with a few faults, where as the Hyundai would be the ugly girl who is very easy to get on with but useless in bed.

FIAT makes my heart race, Hyundai makes my heart stop BUT I cannot ignore how good the i10 is on paper and if I prever driving the I10 I buy it. I am hoping the Panda is better to drive though :p
 
JD82 said:
I can see it being my pride and joy, it would be a hot girl with a few faults, where as the Hyundai would be the ugly girl who is very easy to get on with but useless in bed.
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Just to let you know....The 100hp is like the nice innocent looking girl, who turns out to be a kinky little masochist who likes inflicting pain on you, but you always leave with a smile on your face! :D
 
Almost a year ago i made exactly the same question in this forum...The kappa 1.2 80hp of the hyundai is very good and i did a test drive in a hi-spec one with AC, special alloys, a lot of airbags but no board computer!(its not possible in the i10!). The car is fine, relatively power, secure and fast but my heart didn't agree with my head. I had (and still have) a mkII punto and i admit that the badge is like a obsession to me so i test drove a mj panda and even my wife told me she never saw me so happy in months... i was like a child with the most incredible present in Christmas! but the mj is very expensive here in Portugal so i waited till find a good deal. Some months later i found a petrol one with ac completely new for 8500€ (in this country the i10 an panda costs near 12000€) and i decided it was the time to have one more fiat and bought it in the same day! Its not as much powerful as the diesel one but the engine noise is a lot more funny and the city driving is relaxed with a lot of torque at low revs. Since then I've traveled in all type of roads and i just can say i love the car!
 
Has she started the divorce proceedings yet? :p
 
no because she loves the car almost as much as i do:) And she nows that men and cars have a special connection that women will never understand:D Its a nice little car which worths every money you pay for it.
 
trackdayqueen said:
Sorry did you mean 'already'?

Well surely you can remember why.
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yes sir meant already.

it had an intermittent fault that no one could fix. i even gave in a took it to the main dealer and they couldn't find what was wrong either. some days it would just cut out for no reason an not restart until it cooled down.

also a lot of the rubbish i heard the service manager saying to his customers at the time also put me off, inc one customer who had exhaust manifold changed under warranty being told they had to drill out all the studs and replace them and because it was because of rust the work was not covered under warranty
 
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