Vehicle on test
Fiat Panda 100HP
Good:
Price, looks, fun factor
Not so Good:
Rock-hard ride
Overall:
Of all the cars in the Fiat Panda range, the one we really wanted to get our hands on was a little elusive; judging by all the rave reviews, the Panda 100HP was something a bit special and so we reckoned it more than deserved a place on our roadtest list. After all, the “cooking” version of the Panda and, in particular, the Panda 4x4 were cars we thoroughly enjoyed driving.
When the 100HP finally arrived, it certainly looked the part. Lowered suspension, together with a bodykit and 15” alloys meant it was impossible to confuse the range-topping Panda with any of its less-powerful siblings. Inside, however, it was a slightly different story, with no real hint of Fiat having spent any cash on a higher-spec dashboard. There is, it’s true, a “6” on the gearstick that protrudes from the centre console, and a “Sport” button on the dashboard that stiffens up the over-light power steering when pressed, but otherwise a leather-trimmed steering wheel and different cloth on the seats are the only signs that you’re sat in the most powerful Panda on offer.
Mechanically, the car has a 1.4 litre, 16 valve petrol engine under the bonnet, driving the front wheels through that 6 speed gearbox – not a giant, in terms of grunt, but enough to propel the 100HP to 62mph from rest in under 10 seconds and on to a top speed of 115 mph. The thing is, it’s the way that the little car gets there that’s the reason for all those rave reviews; with all the speed cameras around these days, it’s fantastic to find a car that handles like a go kart and yet doesn’t really put your licence at risk (and, before anyone says it, costs a lot less than a MINI). The Panda 100HP delivers huge doses of fun – I defy anyone to take it for a spin and not come back with a smile on their face.
The trouble comes when you do more than take it for a spin. Live with the car for more than a few hours and the stiff ride really starts to irritate. Crashing over every little imperfection in the road surface (we’re talking UK roads, after all) quickly starts to put your teeth on edge and you soon become tired of the over-hard ride. I suspect the low-profile tyres don’t help, but the biggest culprit is the suspension set-up – the same set-up responsible for the handling that was so much fun earlier in the day. Seriously, even the most hardened hot hatch addict will struggle to live with the 100HP every day.
That’s a huge shame, since I really liked the rest of the package – particularly the price. Officially, the 100HP is supposed to cost a little under £10,200 but if you type “Panda 100HP” into a search engine, as we did, you’ll find all sorts of deals on offer. The best we found – and we didn’t have to try that hard – was a choice of brand new cars for just under £7,700. That’s a saving of around £2,500 – in other words, a quarter off!
For the record, the car performs best on long motorway trips where road surfaces tend to be a cut above the average and where the fuel economy can creep up towards the claimed 43.5mpg. The Panda’s tiny boot means you won’t be carrying much luggage, although it will seat four adults in reasonable comfort.
We reckon the typical Panda 100HP buyer will probably be young-ish, equally likely to be male or female and someone for whom the decent economy, cheap insurance, chunky good looks and the silly asking price will be more important than how it drives. As you’ll hear from the video, however, there are rumours of a relatively easy fix for the hard ride and, if that’s the case, the 100HP will instantly become our favourite supermini, let alone our favourite Panda.
Report by Mark James
