Fiat Panda reviews

I have owned my Panda for 7 years and dread the day I have to trade it in. It is the only car I have had which I feel totally confident and comfortable to drive. It's manoeuvrability, reliability, minimal running costs and comfort make it a hard act to follow.

+ 65 mpg even around town, can park it anywhere, nippy through traffic. Still going well at almost 120K miles.

Fiat panda 4x4 The panda 4x4 ideas has been around for a while now having started on the original panda back many decades ago. The idea was simple a small cheap car that could go anywhere and it worked. In most vineyards in Italy there will be a old panda 4x4 one knocking around.As it happens the alpine police liked them to because of the light weight good ground clearance and much more. So the panda 4x4 was the car of choice. So then how good is it now? The panda is now in its third generation and has had some drastic changes made to it. Gone is the cheap simple design instead a rather odd cubed themed car every thing from the wing mirrors to the dials is in the shape of a cube. You may be thinking ahh excellent gone are the scratch plastics the useless heater buttons. In place of this is a pleasant interior. However a basic normal panda costs £500 more than a up! Exclamation mark indeed. Nearly £2000 more then the previous model ouch. The 4x4 models start at almost £15,000 that's as more that a top spec Dacia duster. So then the big question the one you have been waiting for is it available in horrible brown? No it is not. However it it available in an excellent green is that good enough to for you? Another small question people who are buying this car may ask is it any good? Well in short yes. Yes the panda may cost a lot for how big it is but I think it is worth that amount of money especially with the 0.9 twinair engine which at 6,500 rpm sounds like a herd of angry wasps or a really annoying motorcycle engine depending nag on your hearing. The panda 4x4 rides well over bumps and attempts to remaining composed through bends however the body role and the soft suspension don't make it a drivers car. However the panda more that makes up for this s by being very characterful all the floors suddenly turn in to positives. So in short this is a cheap to run characterful car and it is the only very small off-road car. So if you want a very narrow small 4x4 you have one choice. The Fiat Panda 4x4.

It is the best first car you van get. Value for money. Smooth and roomy.

Living in the lakes a 4x4 can be necessary if you need to be somewhere when the winter weather turns nasty. Although a large Land Rover type vehicle is ideal for these occasions as a practical daily drive they are both expensive and somewhat cumbersome. The Panda however is both cheep to run and yet still more than capable of dealing with 99% of winter weather. Inside its nicely laid out with a simple uncluttered dash, and ample space for two adults. Naturally bring powered by a small 1200 cc engine it's performance for motorway travel is limited but it is more than adequate for my needs. Its comfortable enough to make the 65 mile commute to and from work a breeze, although extra time has to be added in comparison to my summer choice of vehicle (A 1200cc BMW motorbike. Over all I highly recommend the Panda 4x4 as an alternative to a large 4x4 Chelsea tractor if all you need one for is road use in rural winter conditions.

just bought a fiat panda 2005 , been driving for a week so far so good , cons - there are almost no space in the back seats for a tall person as me 6.4 and the boot is very small . good - very economic car and it runs and drives good . very happy with the purchases. recommend if you want a small car and economic.

This is the third Fiat I have had and find them reliable, cost effective and fuel friendly

The Panda is great fun to drive and very practical. Despite its small footprint its plenty big enough to fit 2 adults, 2 dogs, a baby in a car seat and a pushchair.

Fiat panda sport nice running car if a little basic however because it has a sport button it is the full road tax. Plenty room in boot for weekly shop and fuel economy good for travelling to and from work and socialising £20 usually does me for two weeks

This has been totally reliable and economical . For a small car, the space is excellently designed, with no wastage.. The boot carries more than many larger cars.

I have owned three of this particular model over the past 10 years, none of them have ever let me down, running costs are low, performance good even on German motorways, petrol consumption overall 56.8 mpg over 90,000 miles, can get up to 68 mpg on long run with savvy driving. No complaints, would buy it again. If you are a boy racer or need to have a flash set of wheels to boost your self-esteem, get the chip off your shoulder, or compensate for phallic under-achievement, buy something else and pay 3 times as much.

running costs very good very comfortable space and practicality excellent for our needs overall performance again excellent for our needs and type of mileage we do.

Very reliable and always starts however long it is left. Not very exciting to look at though and looks a bit dated I think now

For a small car my Panda has lots of power and acceleration. I love driving it as it's not too big and it's not too small. If you drive it on the motorway at a steady speed, between 60 and 70 you get 73 miles to the gallon! Obviously you don't get that if just driving short journeys round town. Cheap on car tax and insurance too.

I have had my Fiat Panda from new & (touch wood) it has been brilliant. It is an Eco Version so the tax is only £30 per annum. It runs very smoothy and for travelling around a busy city centre, it is ideal. MOT & service history is fine so far. Actually there are a lot of us runing around in the West country. Wouldn't be without it.!!!

Honestly much better than I was expecting when it was first passed down to me in the family! Definite plus points for me is that it has low running costs, it's fairly economical (usually average around the 45mpg mark) and also relatively cheap to insure, which has been a huge bonus given my age when I got it. For a small 'city' car I've found it handles well, is fun to drive and it's been fairly robust despite me hammering it on motorways and spending a lot of time on country lanes! Given it's size, I always manage to cram loads into the car - I find it's a bit of a tardis in that respect. Not great for passenger leg-room though! It's nippy enough around and about, and dead easy to park due to its size and light steering (extra light with 'city function' if you're in a really tight spot!). Not great on hills or cruising/top speed, but then you can't expect too much from a 1.1 litre engine! I haven't had any major issues in the 4 years I've had mine, but the brake discs/liners do seem to be a bit of a weak point. Interior is not the best - cheap looking, flimsy and not very hard-wearing. But again, for the cost of the car and what it is ideally designed for, it's good enough. Overall I've been pleasantly surprised with the Panda and although it's maybe not the most stylish car to be seen in, it has been a very good little run around.

Sensible little car with reasonable running costs ideal for to/from work driving. Has good size load space when back is flattened out. Not ideal on motorways as tends not to be seen and limited engine size doesn't have much extra pulling power. Seats can be uncomfortable on longer journeys (after an hour my back starts to hurt due to lack of lumber support). It's never let me down in 5 years of use and is just about to reach 50k miles only reason to get rid would be if a repair cost more than the car is worth.

I bought my car when it was 9 months old in 2006 from a fiat dealer it had low mileage and had been well looked after by a fiat employee. It has been very economical and reliable and suited my job as a community health worker. It is starting to wear out a bit as its getting on and I've done a heck of a lot of miles in it. For its size it has a lot of room due to the high roof and boxy shape. It has a comfortable driving position being quite high. The four doors are really useful and as there are four they are not very wide and this makes it easier to get in and out of when parked in a tight space in the supermarket. Other people cut me up and try and overtake me due to the rather 'granny car' appearance of the panda. I am a confident driver and do not drive like a granny! Having said that I think the Fiat Panda is the perfect car for the elderly driver due to its design and fuel efficiency. I plan to change the car soon as I am starting my own gardening business and need something larger for my equipment.

Great little workhorse, Takes anything that I throw at it including carrying logs, cement mixer and a full size wheelbarrow. Averages 10miles to the litre. Cheap as chips, and is watertight unlike the old ones from the 80's.

First car in this range we have bought. We have found it to be very comfortable for older people and so far having only had the car for 6 weeks we have found it extremely economical. With the added advantage of a service, every two years, which also helps to reduce overall costs.