Pleasantly surprising Fiat Panda (Fiat Panda 1.1 Active)

Member Name: Foxy1212

Product:	Fiat Panda 1.1 Active
Date:	14/11/08 (135 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Runs cheaply, reliable

Disadvantages: image

I must admit I wasn't exactly overwhelmed with excitement as my Mum came to collect me from university in her new Fiat Panda. Looking in my opinion a like a car cut in half, i was immediately thinking that as we shared a car at the time I was going to look a little silly driving this vehicle.

Now, 3 years later, and having driven the panda on regular occasions, i still feel the same, it does look a little odd, is unusually high with a strangely placed gearstick, but it is undoubtably a nice car to drive. Now I am 22, try to keep up with fashion, enjoy sports, and would not ideally drive such a small car, but I have learnt to look past the exterior and appreciate the smooth running, the reliability and general high quality of the Fiat. My friends have ironically (and affectionately) labelled it the 'Beast', and where this may not be the perfect car for a young man to be driving, if you are not worried about the loo of a car, the Fiat Panda is certainly great value for money.

I have been driving a very basic model, complete with cassette player, (not very useful in a car built in 2005 in my opinion), and without air conditioning and other such amenities. For the money my mum paid though, (under £5000 on a finance deal) this was a great choice for her, and 3 years later we are yet to have a major problem with the vehicle. The Panda is fairly nimble for a small engined vehicle, you wont be able to do 150mph along the motorway, but you will be able to move around town swiftly and comfortably.

My mum has recently started a new deal on a Renault Clio, (which I must also say I am impressed by so far), and rather than sell the Fiat I have decided to buy it from her for a short period at least, so happy am I with it. It is pretty embarrasing pulling up to football alongside the chairman's mercedes, but rather than risk buying a second hand car which could explode on me at any moment, I am happy to use the Fiat as a run around whilst my budget is low after university. On the whole I have been pleasantly surprised, and would reccomend the Fiat Panda strongly to someone looking for a cheap, effecient and reliable run around. As for me, I will overlook the occasional odd look, continue my driving, and try and dig out a half decent casette tape to listen to!

Summary: Even though slightly embarrasing for a young man, this is clearly a good value car

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