Hi Guys, used to use these forums alot when I had my old Fabia, so not been on in some time.

In the next few months, I will possibly be in the market for a new car, and it has to be economical, cheap to buy and be a 5 door!!!

Using this criteria, I have narrowed it down to one of the VAG trio of cars, with the Citigo being my favourite - at the moment anyway!! Or the Fiat Panda.

Has anyone had experience of both? I would be really interested to hear your views!!

Chris

we had the same thing................

but as some forum members have said the current fabia is due a face lift!

the fiat ias got poor reliability issues and does really bad in the jd power results.........

the citigo would be new, not a face lift due for say 4 years and should be trouble free..................

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/jd-power-survey-2010/city-cars/250115

That looks like the Panda did really well, plus there's a new model out now which is a big step up in design.

It's well worth a test drive.

My mother is picking me up and taking me to view a Hyundai i10 with her this aft, the others in her thinking are the Panda, 500, Citigo (being and new model and her being a late adopter this may well go by the wayside this time) and the Kia Picanto.

If you're interested to know how she finds the i10 I'll post up a brief review when we're back.

Hi, I owned an i10 until recently and passe dit on to my Dad. Good little car for the money, but I personally found the real world economy a bit dissapointing. Also, it is a nice enough place to sit in, but the dashboard is a little cheap feeling and seems to scratch easily. The ride is a little more bouncy than I would have liked too. Saying that, it is dirt cheap to buy!! I was looking at the Citigo as I was hoping for a little more refinement, and quality. Would be interested to hear your thoughts.

My mother is picking me up and taking me to view a Hyundai i10 with her this aft, the others in her thinking are the Panda, 500, Citigo (being and new model and her being a late adopter this may well go by the wayside this time) and the Kia Picanto.

If you're interested to know how she finds the i10 I'll post up a brief review when we're back.

I would say that anyone thinking about buying an i10 would do well to spend half an hour scanning through the i10 forum on the Hyundai-Forum site. 1051 threads and 11,200 posts....all about the i10. I'm afraid a percentage of them are mine as I had a manual i10 from new and now own an auto. i10, also bought new. The fact that I had one and then bought another doesn't constitute grounds for thinking that I loved the first so much I bought another. Look and learn.

Edited 4 May, 201214 yr by oldstan

Cheers oldstan and apologies ctiltman for the mini thread hijack here, my mother really liked the i10. I however, would say no more than it was ok. I'll be doing the research on her behalf and will indeed be looking at the forum / s, thanks for the heads up

She loves the Fiat 500 but is afraid that the arthritis in her fingers would make lifting the collar on the gearstick to get in to reverse difficult.

Cheers oldstan and apologies ctiltman for the mini thread hijack here, my mother really liked the i10. I however, would say no more than it was ok. I'll be doing the research on her behalf and will indeed be looking at the forum / s, thanks for the heads up

She loves the Fiat 500 but is afraid that the arthritis in her fingers would make lifting the collar on the gearstick to get in to reverse difficult.

No problem at all, there is such a huge choice of small cars at the moment, so research is important. Personally, I think it's great fun.

I don't want to be disloyal to Skoda but i am attracted by the new Panda as it is a spacious 5 door car and still very good value for money. The turbocharged 875cc twinair is said to be a lot of fun too but the economy is said to be pretty disappointing. The Up and the Citygo remind me too much of the old Lupo/Arosa which I was not that keen on. Skoda are also pricing it at level pegging with the VW which puts me off too.

I'm not sure the Twin-Air is worth paying the extra for over the bog standard 1.2 which is pretty economical anyway, especially given the low mileages that most city cars do.

Reading comments from 500 Twin-Air owners on the Fiat Forum it seems some are managing to get close to the quoted figures and others are nowhere near, so I think it's one of those engines that you really do need to adjust your driving to get the best out of it.

I think I would still get the twinair for the added character and grunt it gives to be honest. I am a bit of an engine enthusiast and I like the sound of this parallel twin. I think the throaty noise is what encourages people to push it and get the poor economy. The old 1.2 Fire is a 30 year old design but very tough. I had the 999cc version as my first car in an Uno and it was unburstable.

I had a Panda with the same engine. 45bhp of italan engineering at its best.

I'm not sure the Twin-Air is worth paying the extra for over the bog standard 1.2 which is pretty economical anyway, especially given the low mileages that most city cars do.

Reading comments from 500 Twin-Air owners on the Fiat Forum it seems some are managing to get close to the quoted figures and others are nowhere near, so I think it's one of those engines that you really do need to adjust your driving to get the best out of it.

I've driven FIAT's TwinAir in the 500 and it is an absolute hoot to drive.

Bottom line of fuel economy is simply; how heavy is your right foot? If you drive it like a 'Granny' you out to get somewhere close to the official figures. If you drive it like it sounds, and begs to be driven, my guess will be around 40mpg.

What this car/engine has, which I doubt many others in the class/price have, is an abundance of character with the thumping two cyl engine (sounds like an old BSA) but at the same time it has useful performance & acceleration at Motorway speeds instead of the usual eco car wheeze and 'can't pull the skin off a rice pudding'.

I'll dismiss the Up ('cos its a VW and I prefer Skoda) and then would have to suggest its a split decision between the CityGo and Panda, probably dictated but criteria of size/space, dealership location etc.