Little wonders

[Slow progress]

Hi All,

Quick question (s), thinking of that second toy, any views on the Smart Brabus Coupe or Fiat Panda 100hp.

Needs to be small to fit with the Clio in the garage.

I know the Fiat is meant to be fun but wonder if it’s a bit too similar to the Clio??

 

[photo_ed]

Just my twopenneth on the Panda 100HP, I personally think you'd find this monumentally underwhelming and unaccomplished compared to the Trophy.

I had one for an 'extended' test drive back when they were new after reading several enthusiastic articles in the usual magazine, however, after an afternoon driving in a 'hire car' sort of style, I'm afraid it was parked up and just trundled back to the dealership a few days later. It was admittedly 'fun' for a couple of hours, but not in the same league as any of the Renaultsport products of the era, even the Twingo 133 would feel much more accomplished. The main bugbear for myself was the Fiat's inability to keep it's chassis composed on any sort of bumpy b-road tarmac, the combination of overly stiff "Sporty" damping killing any sort of ride quality and with a lack of wheel travel at the rear meant that any sort of committed driving had the back end of the car regularly bouncing into the air at fairly modest speeds. Interestingly I found the 500 Abarth's set up the same, fine squirting round some smooth city streets, but show them a challenging b-road and they just seem to fall to pieces dynamically.

But it's all horses for courses really, perhaps my expectations of the 100HP were set too high by the magazine articles of the day, you never know, they may have improved with age.

 

[marrow]

I agree with you Ed, I was unimpressed when I drove the Panda back in the day. If I think further back, I remember driving a 306 GTi6 and thinking this was heaven!

 

[Slow progress]

I have to admit it’s these write ups that tempted me with the Panda, I know that a lot of folks have modified the rear bump stops and rear springs to eibach.


That leaves the Smart Brabus Coupe then, rear engine and rwd. However will need to get the remapping and clutch adjustment done to help with the gear change issues!

It’ll be a very different driving experience!

Anyone have any experience of them?

 

[Craig196]

Just my twopenneth on the Panda 100HP, I personally think you'd find this monumentally underwhelming and unaccomplished compared to the Trophy.

I had one for an 'extended' test drive back when they were new after reading several enthusiastic articles in the usual magazine, however, after an afternoon driving in a 'hire car' sort of style, I'm afraid it was parked up and just trundled back to the dealership a few days later. It was admittedly 'fun' for a couple of hours, but not in the same league as any of the Renaultsport products of the era, even the Twingo 133 would feel much more accomplished. The main bugbear for myself was the Fiat's inability to keep it's chassis composed on any sort of bumpy b-road tarmac, the combination of overly stiff "Sporty" damping killing any sort of ride quality and with a lack of wheel travel at the rear meant that any sort of committed driving had the back end of the car regularly bouncing into the air at fairly modest speeds. Interestingly I found the 500 Abarth's set up the same, fine squirting round some smooth city streets, but show them a challenging b-road and they just seem to fall to pieces dynamically.

But it's all horses for courses really, perhaps my expectations of the 100HP were set too high by the magazine articles of the day, you never know, they may have improved with age.

Very much this. The Panda is fun in the same way driving a golf buggy in a silly manner is. A precision machine it is not, but it will make you smile. @photo_ed I believe they are the same platform, just the Abarth weighs more and has much bigger alloys and tyres...more of the same, trading ride comfort for some modicum of body control