Panda 100hp

Anyone got or had one?

Thinking of getting one as a second car. Seems to tick all the right boxes for me:

Economical
Fun to drive
Good looking (Although the interior is a bit of a let down)
Practical

I would be interested to know your thoughts.

I drove a cooking one and it had a good vibe. Good choice IMHO

I Had One For Nearly Six Years. Probably The Best Car I've Owned. A Great Drive And Always Put A Big Smile On My Face. I Guarantee You'll Love It. Apart From Brakes And A Set Of TYres, Nothing Went Wrong In 98000 Miles!

A Strange Use Of Title Case There Fella!

Although for someone with dyslexia, it actually made it easier to read. Interesting.

Another big "Yes" vote from me.

Great fun - even with the extra ESP(ASR) fitted - which I was thankful for on a few cold wet/icy mornings.

To give you some idea of running costs, Roger at PowerItalia supplied and fitted cambelt and waterpump kit for £200.

I got an indicated 38/39mpg daily (20/25 mile cross country round trip) without trying, and got mid 40s a couple of times on longer runs. Drive her hard all the time (which is easily done) and you'll drop down to early 30s and then the tiny tank (holds less than 8 gallons) means more regular refills.

Mine was a little notchy in and out of third when I got her, but a quick gearbox oil change sorted that.

The only real pain I had with mine (which was like it when I purchased it) was the blistering steering wheel. I think mine must have been in a batch FIAT used spray on leatherette - the covering was so thin it came away like skin when the suntan peels! Apparently a common trait, I managed to sort mine with an unmarked one from a breakers for virtually no money - and the replacements much better and has not marked or peeled.

You can play around with the airfilter/exhaust etc., but the ECU appears to be locked down as none of the recognised remappers claim any success, and could not find anyone who had been successful in that area on the FIAT Forum either. My toying only extended to a Ragazzon rear box I got in the deal with the steering wheel.

One other thing to note regarding the exhaust - if you do look at one with an iffy back box, be aware that a standard one from FIAT is £210 and the only "aftermarket" standard mild steel box available is £300!

My ownership actually ended earlier this month - when I passed her down to my Son as his first car - although part of the deal was he has to leave the FCCUK sticker in the back window - it illuminates beautifully when the third brake lights up

We also had to change the exhaust (hence why I know the cost above) to get his premium down (utter madness) - so if you find one, you now know someone who has a Ragazzon rear box available

Excellent cheers folks. Funnily enough the ragazzon is the first thing on my list

Will me being 6' 3" be a problem?

I shouldn't think your height will be a problem Mark, they are quite high inside. Unless you have put on a lot of weight the relatively narrow width inside shouldn't be a problem for you either.

Just jump in an ordinary one on a used car lot to find out, any difference in the seats won't be much.

Mark, go for it. We had one and loved every second driving it.
My sister now owns it, and she thinks it's great.
Very reliable, Well screwed together, and I liked the interior.
Great cars, great fun

I might be tempted with one of these one day as a second car.I like the idea of a car that is fast enough to be fun, but not so fast that you loose your licence as soon as you give it a thrashing.

I am not sure I would want a red one though as it would look like Postman Pat's van.

Keep thinking of one of these if the coupe does become expensive as she gets older. Evo raved about these lil warm hatches. Mrs not keen but then she doesnt like the ccoop so she may be slighty 'speshul'

Also been thinking of one of these, the bigest let down is the trim and the dash inside. its just in no way in keeping with the rest of the car.

Another warm hatch that I have considered is the Citroen C2 VTS. A bit faster, a bit better looking IMO. The only problem is that it is French.

My experience with French cars so far hasn't been good.

I've had one for a year. I love it, fun to drive and reasonably economical. Puts a smile on your face!
Cheap to buy, easy to service, etc.
I put a good set of tyres on mine shortly after buying it and it transformed the handling. Cheap front tyres (by previous owner) = scary in wet!
Nice gear change from the 6 speed box.
I got a white one with an electric panoramic roof and extra subwoofer under the drivers seat. It's well equipped with remote locking, electric windows, climate control.
I've clocked up just over 14,000 miles in it so far which keeps the miles of the coupe and saves me a few ££ each month at the pumps. The computer's reading an avg 41.2mpg and I always drive it in 'Sport'!

Well I went and got me one. It is in my dads garage waiting for me to pick it up as it needed a rear wheel bearing.

The drive hone was so much fun and I had a grin from ear to ear.

Will post something up when I have some piccies.