Collection thread - OMG IT'S PANDAMONIUM!

[GeordieInExile]

Had to move very quickly on this but I'm delighted with what I'm collecting. 

If it's as good as it looks to be. 

Just sold my Volvo so I guess I'll be buying it either way..!

ETA 7PM.

Poo count: zero.

[Schaefft]

Chodspeed!

[320touring]

Good luck, we're all counting on you for our evening's entertainment 🤣

[GeordieInExile]

Just now, 320touring said:

Good luck, we're all counting on you for our evening's entertainment 🤣

I hope to provide as little 'entertainment' as possible. If this thing is a nail my wife will kill me. 

[Schaefft]

It cannot possibly beat owning a Citroen C6 with faulty parking brake.

[GeordieInExile]

For added jeopardy I hopped the Metro as one was pulling up just as I got into the station.

[GeordieInExile]

Nearly there, just got to wait for the next Metro after this one so I can go one stop to where the car is. 

...I bought a ticket, because I couldn't take the guilt any longer. 

[GeordieInExile]

HERE WE GO.

[loserone]

*bites nails*

[GeordieInExile]

Just now, loserone said:

*bites nails*

You're gonna feel vindicated by this...

[GeordieInExile]

Hurry up, I'm bursting for a pish!

[GeordieInExile]

First impressions:-

The aftermarket exhaust is LOUD and needs to go.

But it looks like a very clean example. Drives spot on. And it was a total bargain!

[High Jetter]

Safe home, let's see it in the daylight.

[GeordieInExile]

Full tank as well!

[loserone]

100hp? Brave lad, well done.  I'd like to have a go plz.

 

Twixfest December?

[GeordieInExile]

Sorry, you'll all have to speak up. The sports exhaust that's on it has given me tinnitus.

That'll be coming off pronto...!

[Aston Martin]

The worst decision anyone has ever made.

[stuboy]

looks smart, what exhaust is fitted to it?

[GeordieInExile]

1 minute ago, stuboy said:

looks smart, what exhaust is fitted to it?

Good question. A loud one. Might just be the silencer that needs swapping out to get it back to stock.

[GeordieInExile]

It just gets better and better! Someone's installed an aftermarket aux in for my tunes.

It also has added Abarth badges, which I think are worth an extra 25bhp.

[wesacosa]

well bought.  I really fancy one of these so interesting to see how you get on

[GeordieInExile]

ISOFIX and base secured. Buggy in the boot. Two adults inside. What a fantastically well packaged little car!

[320touring]

4 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

It just gets better and better! Someone's installed an aftermarket aux in for my tunes.

It also has added Abarth badges, which I think are worth an extra 25bhp.

It really feels like you looked at @cort16's car history and said "THAT MISERY IS FOR ME"

hope this works well for you and I look forward to your 320Si🤣

[Aston Martin]

How collapsed is the drivers bolster?

Has bad the steering wheel delaminated?

[GeordieInExile]

Just now, Aston Martin said:

How collapsed is the drivers bolster?

Has bad the steering wheel delaminated?

Zero on both counts, amazingly!

[cort16]

As much as mine was a major PITA they are great fun to drive. I mean you've owned a Citroen C6 so anything short of a Lagonda is going to be easier to live with. 

[GeordieInExile]

I really think people who complain about the ride are just being soft. I can't just crash over speed bumps without slowing down like in the XC70, but for a short wheelbase with low profile tyres I think it's fine. No worse than any other smoll car I've driven - would certainly say it's no worse than a Mini Cooper or a Twingo GT. 

[cort16]

47 minutes ago, GeordieInExile said:

I really think people who complain about the ride are just being soft. I can't just crash over speed bumps without slowing down like in the XC70, but for a short wheelbase with low profile tyres I think it's fine. No worse than any other smoll car I've driven - would certainly say it's no worse than a Mini Cooper or a Twingo GT. 

I never found the ride a problem although mine got a bit bouncy on the motorway .

[adw1977]

3 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

ISOFIX and base secured. Buggy in the boot. Two adults inside. What a fantastically well packaged little car!

Fake news!  It's impossible to transport a child and their equipment in anything smaller than a 2.5 tonne wankpanzer.

[GeordieInExile]

I've brought the Panda down to Leicester today as I'm speaking at a conference down here tomorrow. It's acquitted itself really, really well. I'm impressed with how composed it feels at motorway speeds, I feared the worst but the ride feels fine to me and it's a comfy place to sit. 

The radio sounds like shit at the moment but a quick Google tells me that fiddling with the EQ will get it sounding less boomy, so I'll do that tomorrow morning. Having it up so loud probably did the sound no favours on the way down but it needs to be loud to compete with that *fucking* exhaust. 

The gearbox in this is possibly the most fun one I've ever had in a car, even more so than the 306 GTi-6. Lovely short throw, hilariously close ratios.

The climate control is better behaved than the XC70 it replaced. Generally the interior feels really well put together. The seats are comfy and surprisingly adjustable. I general it feels like Fiat put a good amount of thought into the packaging of this little car.

Sport mode feels a bit pointless, it firms up the steering at very low speeds but it's firm enough once you're moving and I'm not sure I need even quicker shifts up - especially not as it lops 5MPG off. Gonna need those MPGs given it has a 35 litre fuel tank. I went to top it up earlier so I had a full tank before departing... and it took just £8 worth of petrol!

On the whole, my early impression of this little thing is hugely positive. At under £10k new these must have been an incredible bargain. I think the Twingo GT was the same price, I've had one of those previously as well and the Panda is just a far better car - better handling and steering, far more feel in the gearshift, two extra doors, better equipped and more Italian. To my eye the Panda is better looking as well, with its cheerful little plastic body kit and lowered suspension. I love it!