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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

Panda 100Hp


chrislane

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I think I can remember someone saying they had owned one of these previously but I can't remember who it was, sorry.

 

I am thinking about getting a high miler (ie cheap) one as a runabout if I get rid of my evora, so keen to know what to look out for / hear any experiences.

 

Cheers

Chris

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Chris,

 

Yes I had one. It was a little cracker of a car, and if I hadn't set myself the mantra of "don't go back", I'd have another. It was really chuckable like an old Mini, but rode better (just). The rear suspension was a bit boingy (technical huh?!?), and the centre console was a bit intrusive to my left knee, but you get used to it. I owned mine for 2 years (a record for a daily drive with me), and had no issues. If yo'd like to know anything specific, ask away....

 

Kurt

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He read a thread on seloc...

 

Ha ha. I must admit i still haven't checked my lights are the correct way round.

 

It is a very good question though Paul! The Evora is a fantastic car, the best car i have owned by a long way. But........

 

Its looking like im not going to be driving it to work every day any more as i can no longer guarantee i can get a space in the office car park. Therefore it is likely to become far more of a weekend car. And for that purpose i can change it for a s1 elise + a cheap (but still fun, hence the panda) runaround that i wont mind leaving in a public car park and i can use to ferry the kids around in. Advantages of this over keeping the evora are:

- i really miss my fun car being a convertible

- trackdays in the evora are significantly more expensive (insurance alone is £150-200 a go), and i really want to do a few more a year

- i can free up the best part of £20k

 

But i would really miss the evora!

 

I'm in a bit of a quandary

Chris,

 

Yes I had one. It was a little cracker of a car, and if I hadn't set myself the mantra of "don't go back", I'd have another. It was really chuckable like an old Mini, but rode better (just). The rear suspension was a bit boingy (technical huh?!?), and the centre console was a bit intrusive to my left knee, but you get used to it. I owned mine for 2 years (a record for a daily drive with me), and had no issues. If yo'd like to know anything specific, ask away....

 

Kurt

Cheers kurt, i'm just doing a bit of research as we speak. The ride comes in for a bit of stick, but i'm kind of thinking that is compared to "normal" cars, where as i'm used to avoiding potholes since entering into lotus ownership. Although i have got out of that habit a bit since owning the evora, it just soaks everything up so well!

 

I'm a bit nervous about spending a couple of grand on a leggy one, and it the costing a fortune in required maintenance. But surely it must all be pretty cheap being a fiat.

 

They also seem to have a bit of a reputation for hgf. Would be a good combo alongside a k series s1!

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Ive got one.......well I bought my Mrs one.....

its great......she uses it round town........baby seat in the back....boot is big enough for pram/pushchair

its quick and nippy......service is cheap.....tax is cheap.......insurance is cheap

shes been driving it for a couple of years now and loves it......and yes you can feel the difference in sport mode......lol

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Ive got one.......well I bought my Mrs one.....

its great......she uses it round town........baby seat in the back....boot is big enough for pram/pushchair

its quick and nippy......service is cheap.....tax is cheap.......insurance is cheap

shes been driving it for a couple of years now and loves it......and yes you can feel the difference in sport mode......lol

This is absolutely spot on. Switches to Autotrader...

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Ive got one.......well I bought my Mrs one.....

its great......she uses it round town........baby seat in the back....boot is big enough for pram/pushchair

its quick and nippy......service is cheap.....tax is cheap.......insurance is cheap

shes been driving it for a couple of years now and loves it......and yes you can feel the difference in sport mode......lol

We bought one in March for exactly this reason and everything above holds true for us. Had the cambelt + waterpump done as precautionary (£60 labour!), and that's it. Parts are cheap as chips from http://www.shop4parts.co.uk who appear to specialise in them. Seems to be OK on fuel and insurance is much much cheaper than her previous mx5.

 

Rear suspension is poor, it pretty much rides on the bumpstops, I fitted 500 versions which are slightly smaller and improve things (most cars you view will have them snapped off and bouncing around in the bottom of the spring anyway!) Having driven one since with the cheap koni str.t rear dampers they are a huge improvement and will pick some up for ours at some point. Turning circle is also very poor - first few attempts at pulling into parking spaces will take 2 bites of the cherry!!

 

Cars do run a lot of front camber so they supposedly knock through front tyres quickly if you don't rotate them, I've not seen this on ours but am keeping an eye on it. Car came with some ditchfinders on it so fitted some 195/50/15s re002s (standard is 195/45 but the 50s do improve the ride) and its now basically a gokart, really has no right to go round corners like it does.

 

Engine loves to rev and the 'sports mode' does seem to throw a lot more fuel into the mix and improve the throttle response, steering also weights up too. The dash mounted short ratio 6 speed box is great and allows you to keep it fizzing along in the revs nicely.

 

Seats are OK for short trips, climate control as standard is nice, the one I drive with the konis had the posh sunroof which was lovely and an option id go for if I had my pick again. There was a 'pandemonium pack' which from memory adds darker wheels and some trim tweaks but nothing else.

 

It's a cheap car built with cheap bits by fiat so its always going to have little flaws, but its very hard not to be very fond of the little bugger :) For trips into town and any shorter trips where some b road blasting can be incorporated its my go to car - much to the wife's displeasure!

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.......

 

Thanks Luke (and everyone else).  These comments all pretty much reaffirm what i was thinking.

 

I have now also started looking at the bottom end of the clio 172 market, but suspect i would be opening myself up to potentially bigger maintenance bills at a similar price point to the panda.

 

Cheers

Chris

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I think Luke nailed it there, I'd forgotten about the turning circle and damping options.

 

I've also owned a Clio 172, I just didn't get what the fuss was about. They desperately need the seats lowering, I never got comfortable in mine and sold it after a few months.

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Thanks Luke (and everyone else).  These comments all pretty much reaffirm what i was thinking.

 

I have now also started looking at the bottom end of the clio 172 market, but suspect i would be opening myself up to potentially bigger maintenance bills at a similar price point to the panda.

 

Cheers

Chris

Chris i run a 172 clio as a daily. Its not a bad car, but the electrics can be funny and you NEED to do cam belt and dephasor pulley every 4-5 years which costs around £500

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Chris i run a 172 clio as a daily. Its not a bad car, but the electrics can be funny and you NEED to do cam belt and dephasor pulley every 4-5 years which costs around £500

I loved my 182 Cup and to tell the truth I've been toying with the idea of getting another one. I ran it daily for a good 5 or 6 years with no problems despite being tracked several times as well. Lift off oversteer was great fun :-)

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