New FIAT Panda

Alfa Quadrifoglio

Saw the new FIAT Panda today for the first time, looks good and bigger than the last one. Does anyone on here have one and how are you finding it? Economical? Reliable? Easy to drive? What sort of deal did you get?

Lex Luthor

Heard they are bringing back the 4x4 with a 1.3 diesel

alias no.9

I'd worry about production having been shifted from Poland to Southern Italy where they used to make the Alfa Sud.

CianRyan

alias no.9 wrote: »

I'd worry about production having been shifted from Poland to Southern Italy where they used to make the Alfa Sud.

I doubt it's the same workforce to be fair.

colm_mcm

FSO Polonez anyone?

Ronnie Beck

Same factory? I used to drive a panda 4x4 when I lived in france. Great little cars. I was ****tin myself buying a FIAT to drive around mountain roads in -25 temperatures. Never knew it was built in poland. Would have felt better if I did. Makes sense now. Despite spending most of it's at altitude in subzero temperature it never let me down. Only took about 10 seconds to start at -25 2000 metres up and it 20 years old.

CiniO

colm_mcm wrote: »

FSO Polonez anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THalDYZuFNE

Alfa Quadrifoglio

All very interesting, so the New FIAT Panda is built in Italy and the old one was built in Poland. Does anyone one on here actually own a new Panda and if so how have you found it so far. By all accounts the old Panda was very reliable and well built.

Pottler

CiniO wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THalDYZuFNE

Walking<FSO Polonez. Get out and walk Jezzer, see which is better.

Alfa Quadrifoglio

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

Same factory? I used to drive a panda 4x4 when I lived in france. Great little cars. I was ****tin myself buying a FIAT to drive around mountain roads in -25 temperatures. Never knew it was built in poland. Would have felt better if I did. Makes sense now. Despite spending most of it's at altitude in subzero temperature it never let me down. Only took about 10 seconds to start at -25 2000 metres up and it 20 years old.

That's a MK 1 Panda 4x4 which was actually built in Italy, the MK 2 was built in Poland.

colm_mcm

I can't see that it'll make any difference where its built. They'll be using the same quality control as before, its so automated nowadays and workforces can be easily trained. It's not like back in the days of the Alfasud or like bmc in Liverpool where it was a government incentive to set up a factoy in areas of high unemployment and hope for the best,

It has been proven with the likes of Toyota, vw, peugeot etc, that the location of the factory has hardly any effect on quality of the finished product nowadays.

The new panda isn't radically different to the old panda, I can't see reliability being any different, in any case, its too early to tell.

road_high

I love Fiat, such a pity to see them go downhill so much in Ireland though. The Punto really needs to be replaced asap and the whole brand needs a major relaunch and back to basics as to what they were all about i.e. value for money and cheap motoring.
Would imagine they are as good if not better than any equivalent VW but I guess give a dog a bad name really rings true with cars.

colm_mcm

I used to love fiats too, around 12-13 years ago I bought 3 of them in a row, one new and 2 nearly new.
Reason was, at the time the competition was very conservative, equipment was huge compared to rivals, and they ad relatively powerful engines for their size.

Back then if you had a cd changer and alloys you were in a posh car, nowadays everything is pretty well specced and if it isn't you can up spec for smallish money, cars have gotten more alike, apart from the 500, all fiats range is quite dull. Their USP of cheap well specced cars is gone now.

166man

CiniO wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THalDYZuFNE

That was actually a good little video, Jezza was kind of good in it. Shame the newer top gear is a bit ****.

CiniO

From over 11 years ago when I bought my first car, I always had a FIAT. I was changing cars quite often, but they were always FIAT.
Recently I moved to different makes, but I still have a FIAT as second car in the family, and nothing looks like it's going to change soon.
So generally for the last 11 years, there wasn't even a single day in which I wouldn't own a FIAT.

And surprisingly, I never had any major problems with any of them

CiniO

Pottler wrote: »

Walking<FSO Polonez. Get out and walk Jezzer, see which is better.

Did you ever drive one?

Pottler

CiniO wrote: »

Did you ever drive one?

No. Is it worse than walking? I doubt it.:D I've a punto, everyone slates them, but I never look at it, everyone drives it and it just roars on and on. I've always had a Punto, not as the main car, just as a run around. I've found them to be grand.

CiniO

Pottler wrote: »

No. Is it worse than walking? I doubt it.:D I've a punto, everyone slates them, but I never look at it, everyone drives it and it just roars on and on. I've always had a Punto, not as the main car, just as a run around. I've found them to be grand.

No, not at all.
Driving one might be actually really funny.
As Clarkson said - one time there horrendous understeer, and then next time for no apparent reason the end is breaking away.

Driving FSO Polonez is full of surprises.
I'm sure every motor-head should try it just for fun

Alfa Quadrifoglio

Think I got my answer in this weeks Autocar, they have a new FIAT Panda on long term test and are very positive about the car with no faults todate and good comments all round. Changing the manufacturing from Poland to Italy doesnt seem so far to have effected the quality.

Mycroft H

Pottler wrote: »

Walking<FSO Polonez. Get out and walk Jezzer, see which is better.

Satire is wasted on you I see :P

Pottler

BX 19 wrote: »

Satire is wasted on you I see :P

Nah, JC is possibly my favorite person I am not related closely to!:D

Marcin_diy

I like an idea of a small car with all wheel drive. I don't like the price ouchh.
12000 for the cheapest version. The same car in Poland cost 7800 euro....
Rip off Ireland... 30% difference

Alfa Quadrifoglio

New FIAT Panda, a two wheel drive Twinair version, has broken the record for Cape town to London

http://www.italiaspeed.com/