Used Fiat Panda 100HP (2006-2010) review: a driver's supermini for under £3000

Preceding Abarth’s 2007 revival by a year, the Panda 100HP was launched as Fiat’s most focused road car, sitting at the top of the Mk2 Panda range. A host of design changes, a dynamic overhaul and the adoption of the Punto’s 1.4-litre, overhead-cam, 16-valve ‘FIRE’ engine turned Fiat’s high-volume everyday offering into one of the most engaging superminis of its time.

The 100HP looks rather understated by today’s standards, but Fiat didn’t skimp on its makeover. New 15-inch wheels, a wider track and swollen arches gave it a stout, aggressive stance like nothing else in its class. At the front, a deeper grille upped the aggression, while at the rear a diffuser-esque insert in a new bumper had a similar effect. Fiat also made the decision to remove the Panda’s roof rails to create the illusion of a lower ride height, with a roof spoiler and tinted rear windows completing the exterior uplift. Just five colours were available to choose from – black, white, red, blue and grey – and customers could also opt for the Pandamonium pack, which added red brake calipers, red side stripes, darker alloys and silver door-mirror casings.

> Fiat Panda 100HP Fast Fleet test – living with a £2000 pocket rocket

Outputs of 99bhp and 97lb ft seem even more modest now than they did 18 years ago, but a kerb weight of just 975kg means a useful power-to-weight figure of 103bhp per ton. The engine thrives on revs, encouraging use of the short, snappy six-speed manual gearbox for spirited progress, while the car’s small dimensions help make it feel much quicker than it really is. 

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Further performance-enhancing changes included the standard Panda’s rear drum brakes being swapped for discs, and the fitment of modified springs, dampers and bushes that gave an entirely new dynamic character. Unfortunately, these chassis modifications did result in an uncompromising ride on trickier surfaces, but find the right road and it’s a riot, with plenty of grip, minimal body roll and darty steering combining for a pleasingly old-school feel.

The model’s strong reputation combined with the high cost of entry-level used cars means the Panda 100HP is slowly beginning to increase in price, but even so, there are great deals to be had. Just £2000 is enough for an unmodified example with six-figure miles, with double that sum securing the very best, c70,000-mile cars. Whichever way you look at it, it’s an absolute bargain.

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What to look out for

Contrary to the Italian car stereotype, the 100HP has proven to be reliable for the most part, with no drastic maintenance required to keep a good example on the road. Interior plastics, leather and trim can show their age, but replacement parts aren’t too difficult to find should you search in the right places.

When buying, look out for signs of power steering failure, and check for proper wheel alignment when on a test drive – the 100HP is particularly sensitive to improper tracking, which in turn will lead to premature tyre wear. Ensure the timing belt has been changed regularly too, and keep an eye on oil and coolant levels. Some owners are now beginning to turn to aftermarket springs and dampers to mitigate some of that harsh ride, so check that any suspension work suits your requirements.

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What it's like to drive

It was on the road where the 100HP shone however. Well, provided your chosen road was relatively smooth, as Fiat’s suspension tweaks delivered an uncompromising ride that could quite easily see wheels leaving the road surface when the going got tough. If the tyres remained in touch though it was great, with plenty of grip, minimal body roll and darty steering giving the Panda an old-school, chuckable feel. It was small too – smaller than the current Panda and that’s hardly a giant – which resulted in a feeling that your lane was twice as wide.

The engine played its part too. While the 6500rpm red line doesn’t seem that high you were inclined to keep it up there thanks to the 1.4’s revvy nature and the snappy, short ratios of the six-speed ‘box. For a car with only 99bhp, the 9.5sec 0-62mph sprint wasn’t so bad, and the tiny size helped play the usual small-car trick of making the Panda feel quicker than it actually was.

The £9995 entry price eventually crept up, but never by much, and the Panda continued to be one of the most fun and appealing small cars on sale until it was quietly dropped in 2010.

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What we said

evo 101, ‘Starter for Ten’, Richard Meaden

‘Like all the best front-wheel drive cars, the Panda 100HP works even when driven beyond the limit of its tyres. The attractive alloy rims may only be 15in in diameter, but they wear chunky 195/45 R15 Goodyear Eagle F1s that deliver prodigious grip, which eventually let go in a progressive fashion. It’s when these baby gumballs yield to lateral g that the Panda shines brightest, digging harder for purchase and continuing to deliver drive even when the nose begins to slide.

‘Composed and predictable, not only does the Panda carry great speed into the heart of a corner, but it also has enough in reserve to enable you to get back on the power good and early, which keeps the eager 1.4-litre engine simmering away nicely… the polished way in which the Panda makes use of what it has is clear for even the most blinkered car-snob to see.’

evo 120, ‘eco, The Thrill of Driving?’, John Barker

‘The Panda 100HP feels as though it has been built light for speed, its little engine has character, and it revs up to and beyond a natural peak. But, boy, you have to throw plenty of gearshifts at it to keep it on the boil and maintain a decent pace. Small, narrow and upright, and occasionally bouncy over big bumps, it’s fun to hustle the little Fiat along, clinging to the wheel and preserving momentum wherever possible.’

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Living with a Fiat Panda 100HP

The other month I said to a mate that I had developed a sudden craving for a Panda 100HP. Unfortunately, the mate was Jonny Smith with whom I make the Smith and Sniff podcast and we were recording our show at the time. As a result, my idle remark went quite a lot further than if I’d muttered it quietly in a pub.

Soon after that episode went live, the messages started to arrive, mostly from Panda 100HP owners uniformly raving about their cars. Not that I needed telling. I loved the 100HP when it was new and seriously considered buying one. I can’t remember why I didn’t. I do remember being quite jealous of Richard Meaden who ran one as his long-termer back in 2007. So that was it. With a bit of podcast peer pressure on my back and a healthy, perhaps rose-tinted memory of this car in my mind, I went looking online and discovered that Panda prices cover a pretty broad span.

At the top end, one garage offered a pair of immaculate low-mileage 100HPs for over seven grand apiece, clearly hoping to get in early on the car’s modern classic vibe. At the other end of the spectrum, MOT-failure cars can go for well under a grand. In terms of condition, I wanted somewhere in between and, mindful that this was a car I wanted rather than needed, I aimed to go as low as practical while not buying a total basket case.

And then I was introduced to a man called Jai. You see, when you mention a car craving in a public arena, people don’t just encourage you to act on it; sometimes they offer up the very thing that will satisfy it. There were a number of things that attracted me to Jai’s 100HP, one of them being Jai himself, who is such a Fiathead he owns a Tipo Sedicivalvole. He also sees himself as some sort of Panda rescuer, so when he spotted this car for sale, artlessly covered in stickers, sitting on cackhanded aftermarket suspension, and limping because of a crunchy gearbox and a duff coolant pipe, he decided to save it, mending the pipework, replacing the ’box, and returning it as much as possible to factory spec. The other thing that attracted me to this car in particular was the price, which went from reasonable to very reasonable after a short bit of negotiating.

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Personally, I feel a Panda 100HP is two grand well spent. But we’ve recently moved house and my wife would probably prefer that money go towards some curtains or a new kitchen, so I dodged this issue by buying and collecting the car when she was out of the country on business. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission and all that. Her mood on discovering the car, a few days after her return, was best described as ‘unamused’. Still, at least one of us was pleased with our new car.

In fact, I was delighted, because the Panda proved to be just as fun as I remembered. Better yet, my recollection of the punishing ride quality was actually wide of the mark. Sometimes it actually feels quite sophisticated, padding over minor ruts and blips with the firm but well-damped bearing of a BMW M car. Conversely, in some circumstances it’s comically bouncy, but there are things you can do about that, which I’ll investigate in due course.

The real star of the show, however, is the naturally aspirated 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine, which comes on strong with an almost turbo-like surge at 2000rpm and then keeps on pulling, encouraging you to thrash it just because. Also in the plus column, the brakes feel strong, and the gearchange is pretty good too.

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Of course, you can’t expect everything to be peachy with a two-grand Panda. Jai warned me one of the wheel bearings wasn’t in great health and a rumble from the front confirms it. Possibly related to this, the car pulls to the right under acceleration and darts to the left if you then lift off. So that needs looking at. Also, the radio doesn’t work.

Cosmetically, it’s a good 10-foot car but closer inspection reveals dings, scratches and swirls plus evidence of kerbing that stands out because a previous owner painted the wheels grey. I don’t mind the look, but the scuffing is annoying and hard to fix while matching to the unknown colour of the alloys. I’ll look into a solution, while remembering not to get giddy and blow half the car’s value on making it look perfect. The aim here, initially at least, is to prioritise mechanical heartiness and the pursuit of cheap thrills. On the basis of how it drives, I think the Panda has got that second part well covered. – Richard Porter, evo 306

What to pay

Fiat Panda 100HP specs

This story was first featured in evo issue 320.