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Paddy O'Brien & Sons Motors Ltd. Dalton Street Claremorris Co. Mayo Ireland Tel: 094 9362600 Fax: 094 9362162 |
O'BRIENS FIAT
The New Panda
Italy has long been a country of large, densely populated cities and Fiat Auto has been making cars there for over a century. When you remember that traffic congestion has been a fact of life in the major urban areas like Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin since the earliest days of the 20th century it’s hardly surprising that some of the most famous, most successful Fiats are small city cars- practical, manoeuvrable and easily-parked superminis. Now Fiat has produced its first city car for the 21st Century, the New Panda, and the newcomer packs in every bit of technology and expertise the Company has learned over these last 104 years.
The New Fiat Panda looks quite different to any city car you have seen before, because it has quite literally ‘grown up’ and become a tall car. That is because drivers’ expectations have also grown and drivers expect a city car to be more than just a basic, compact car. Today’s customer expects a form of transport that can slip easily through urban traffic-jams and park in tiny spaces but will also offer comfort, safety, style and versatility in a very compact body. So the New Panda ‘grew up’ and that is one of the great secrets of how it offers so much comfort and space within such an apparently short body.
This New Panda breaks many of the rules designers of the past had imposed on themselves and with access to the very latest technology, Fiat’s engineers have produced a five door supermini city car that will happily challenge many larger, more expensive cars for comfort, safety and usable space.
The engines…
There are two 8 valve petrol engines, a 54 bhp 1.1litre and a 60 bhp 1.2 litre, both members of the famous ‘FIRE’ engine family that boasts more than ten million units produced to date. The third engine, due in 2004, is the 70 bhp 16v Multijet engine, the new benchmark in the small turbo diesel field.
This engine line-up meets a range of application and mileage requirements and the growing awareness of the need for environmental respect. All the New Panda power units meet Euro 3 emission limits.
The 1.1 engines use just 5.7 litres per 100 km –that’s 49.5mpg- over a combined route (city and open roads), an absolutely outstanding result. The engine also ensures all-round low fuel consumption- 7.2-litres/100 km in the urban cycle (39.2 mpg) and 4.8 litres out of town (58.8mpg).
The tried and tested 1.2 Fire power unit makes its arrival on the New Panda after undergoing a whole series of refinements to make it a paragon of thrift without affecting performance. The New Panda equipped with the 1.2 8v engine excels in two areas. Firstly, the 5.6 litres of fuel it consumes per one hundred kilometres over a combined route (50.4mpg) is one of the best results in its category. And its pick-up time over 1 km is also outstanding: 36 seconds.
This result - remarkable when you consider that it is achieved by a car offering such low fuel consumption- is due to the way the power unit is configured, i.e. for high torque at low rpm for a more satisfying, flexible drive and ratios selected to ensure good fuel economy. Hence a torque of 102 Nm (10.4 kgm) at 2500 rpm with fuel consumption of 7.1 l/100 km (39.7 mpg) in the urban cycle, 4.8 l/100 km (58.8mpg) on the open road and 5.6 l/100 km (50.4mpg) in the combined urban-open road cycle.
Active & passive safety.
The New Panda’s braking system features two independent crossover hydraulic circuits to assure responsive, gradual braking and shorter stopping distances. Pedal travel is short so that brake servo specifications may be exploited to the full.
The ABS system, which is standard on the Panda 1.2, offers four active sensors, four channels, an electronic control unit and eight solenoids. It is completed by an Electronic Brake Distribution system (EBD) that ensures that a wheel at the point of locking can brake as effectively as possible. In emergency situations it also allows full directional control of the car by means of the steering wheel. The system also adapts system operation to wheel grip conditions and pad efficiency. It also reduces front brake temperatures and the brake servo thrust requirement. ABS comes as standard on versions equipped with 1.2 and 1.3 16v Multijet engines.
The 1.1 8v Active versions are equipped with a dual valve in-line system (VIL) on the brake pump. The valves distribute brake force correctly to the rear axle under all load conditions, so reducing stopping distances. The load-proportioning valve is, of course, electronic on versions with ABS.
The strength of the system lies in the active sensors that process the wheel speeds (without the intervention of the control unit). They can also read values close to zero (passive sensors cannot record speeds lower than 2.5 km/h) and are less sensitive to interference caused by electromagnetic fields.
All versions of the New Panda are equipped with driver and front passenger airbags (the latter can be de-activated to facilitate the fitting of a baby-seat), side airbags are optional with the 1.2litre versions.
Equipment for great comfort
The New Panda is exceptionally well equipped. As they developed the model, the engineers and designers set themselves the task of surrounding the driver and passengers with engineering that assures the greatest safety coupled with great in-car well being.
They started with the features that customers now consider essential due to changing habits and lifestyles. For example Dualdrive power steering, which has finally overcome the age-old compromise between achieving the necessary stiffness at speed and desirable ease of manoeuvre while parking. The new system adjusts to car speed and offers a choice between two completely different power steering strategies, one for town driving and the other for out-of-town trips.
There’s a control panel with analogue and digital instruments and controls that are right under the driver’s eyes so that all attention can be focused on the road. The array of available information is more numerous, varied and detailed than ever before.
On the New Panda, every last detail speaks of comfort standards worthy of a higher category car, including follow-me-home headlights (lights that turn themselves off after a brief delay) , smart windscreen wipers, tinted windows, height adjustable steering wheel, electric front windows, central locking, 12v power socket and cabin air re-circulation system. Last but not least, the component assembly is meticulous so outstanding soundproofing is achieved by reducing noise at source.
On the Panda 1.2, standard equipment extends to electric door-mirrors with demister, boot light, height-adjustable driver’s seat/seatbelt and even climate control on the Emotion version for a comfortable ambience, whatever the weather.
So, while the New Panda is a city car in its dimensions, it treats the occupants to an on-board life style usually found only in a much larger and more expensive saloon.
The New Panda range.
Initially there will be three versions of New Panda: 1.1 Active, 1.2 Dynamic and 1.2 Emotion. Shortly the line-up will be joined both by the Multijet turbodiesel and1.2 version with Dualogic Automatic transmission.
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