I do support these little cars and they are tough and cool and whatever. But safer than a merc of any other modern car with proper crumple zones? Not likely. 5 stars for Smart are not the same 5 stars for SUV or a limousine.
Originally you said that the merc driver would have died and the smart driver would just walk away - no he wouldn't walk away, he'd fly away.
Well... I did a little window shopping/test driving.
First I went to the Fiat dealer - who unfortunately could not be bothered to sell me a car - and I was the only customer in the showroom. After grudgingly conceding that yes, Fiat does make an (semi)automatic Panda, he remained adamant that it would not be possible to test drive one; if I really wanted such an unusual thing I would have to buy it sight unseen.
Too bad - I really like what I've read about the Panda, like the look of the car, think it would fit my needs perfectly. But if the dealer can't be *rsed to help a customer before the sale, how bad will it get after?
Quite disappointing.
So I stopped at the Suzuki/Toyota dealer. Very much liked the look of the Swift, the Splash was kind interesting, as was the SX4 - a bit larger and more expensive than I want, but an automatic 4x4 - which is a pretty rare thing, I'm finding.
I also found the Toyota iQ intriguing - quite a bit more roomy than my Smart, far more pep to it, very comfortable to drive. Hmmmmm.... I could squeeze a collie and two shelties in there, or two collies... but not three. An adult would be hard-pressed to squeeze into the back seats, though. (Not that I anticipate more than one human passenger very often.) Felt like a very solid little (tiny!) car - and I certainly could park it anywhere.
I drove the Splash as well - not quite as comfortable inside as the iQ, handled a little more stiffly. But not bad. I couldn't test drive the Swift and SX4 today, as they didn't have an automatic on the lot, but they'll arrange to have one for me to try. The dealer certainly scored points for salesmanship...
So - do any of you know anything about the iQ, pro or con? And what about this whole Toyota gas pedal/brake problem? Should I be worried about the new model cars? Any thoughts would be most appreciated.
So, all in all an interesting first excursion. Lots more research to do.
you mean the goats don't mind Fiat styling at all ....
I wouldn't be worried about the Toyota gas/brakes at this point. Knowing Toyota, from now on their gas pedal and brakes will be bulletproof. I don't want to minimize the problem but I feel it is partially schadenfreude from the part of a lot of people and companies that are envious of Toyota's success.
I work with Japanese camera companies (I am a supplier of some of the IP) and let me tell you their quality process is second to none even compared to reputable European companies. They drive us nuts but at the end they deliver great products.
Have you considered the Toyota Aygo. I rented one and I loved it. It has a great little engine.
To be fair to the dealer, an automatic Panda is quite an exotic car and unless it was a really big, main Fiat dealer i can understand why the dealer didn't want to order one. If you decided against it, he would probably have it in stock for a while and have to sell it at a discountwhich would result in a loss as there really isn't much margin on a small car.
If you really want to try one, look on autoscount and find a second hand one. If you do take an Auto 4 wheel drive one, just make sure it's diesel as the gasoline engine is not powerful enough.
The Suzuiki Swift has a good reputation, even Top Gear didn't trash it too much.
Toyota iQ, very expensive for a small car and very quirky, think about resale value...
pretty much the same experiance we had, the fiat dealer was pretty hopeless, didn't even see a salesman, but subaru where the worst, completely ignored us, lots of salesmen milling around doing nothing, we tried to talk to them but they where just not interested!?!?!?! We where looking at there small 4x4 (justy is it still?) but to be honest it wouldn't have taken them any work at all to sell me an impreza. Don't know what you have to do to be taken seriously at dealers here.
Fiat Panda? I have to shake them out of the air intake on my Cherokee every now and then before it clogs up.
Don't forget to try the Renault Twingo before you decide !
Car shopping is supposed to be fun, try out as many as you can
I just got back from the Netherlands, where my father in law has a Nissan micra. I was really impressed with how big it is inside. My husband and his father are 1.9 meters+, and sitting in the back seat, my knees didn't even touch the front seat (I'm 1.63 meters). It comes in automatic (he got one), but Holland is a flat place, engine might not do it for you. At any rate, I don't know if it's something to look at or not, I just suggest it because of the size - pretty small on the outside, big inside. I don't know a lot about the reliability though.
Who says you can't look cool driving a Fiat
I used to own an older Nissan Micra (K11, manufactured until 2003) and that was a great little car. Would take any amount of punishment and not skip a beat. Never had a single issue with it. The 1.3i 16V DOHC engine could rev. like crazy and was never lacking in power.
This was however an older generation car before Nissan joined up with Renault.
The K12 generation Micra based on a Renault Clio wheelbase and had more issues (plus was as ugly as a Renault).
I don't know much about the newest K13 version of the Micra, but it doesn't seem to get good reviews.