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[Sir Tigger KC]

My Uncle has a house somewhere near Alicante and they used to take an old UK Mondeo down there in the spring and bring it back in the winter.

As far as I know, he now has a Spanish Zafira/Galaxy, something like that, which lives at a storage place near the airport and when they or anyone else goes there, the storage people collect them from the airport, take them to the storage place where the car is waiting all checked over, valeted and ready to go. 

[Rangie]

My Uncle has a house somewhere near Alicante and they used to take an old UK Mondeo down there in the spring and bring it back in the winter.

As far as I know, he now has a Spanish Zafira/Galaxy, something like that, which lives at a storage place near the airport and when they or anyone else goes there, the storage people collect them from the airport, take them to the storage place where the car is waiting all checked over, valeted and ready to go. 

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Exactly what our friends do 👍

[biggriffin]

I have a friend who owns a property in Spain, and he has done all the maths, and said unless you are going out their for months or permanent, as a holiday let it's cheaper to rent a car.

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We intend spending as much time as possible out there, we've had dealings with car rentals over there, best avoided is my opinion.

 You've obviously not found a decent one, I've used the same one for 10 years no issues. Also depends on the area of Spain...
Also be careful of the 180 day rule,as we're no longer in the 1000 year Reich

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Could possibly be tempted by the 595 Abarth version[why they called it a 595 I have no idea]bit of a pocket rocket those.
Yes Opti I remember the Mini Moke.Supposedly designed with sales to the British army in mind,but that idea failed and became most famous for its role in The Prisoner[an offshoot of Danger Man]with Patrick McGoohan.

Don't forget the Lotus Super Seven.

[Jim82]

You are correct, based on the Panda. Steer clear of the 2cly ones as gutless.

Are they the ones that wouldn't take off on an incline?

I think maybe we are getting our 2 cylinder engines confused? The original 500 had an air cooled twin which found its way into the later 126, which was then given a water cooled 2 cylinder engine. This engine then found its way into some Italian domestic market Fiats such as the Cinquecento. All of these are painfully slow and underpowered.

However the new 500/Panda (and various other Fiat group superminis) were offered with the Twinair 2 cylinder engine. Although a naturally aspirated version of this exists most are turbocharged and produce 85bhp. Far superior to the 1.2 4 cylinder engine that most standard 500s and Pandas tend to come with.

In my current fleet I have a 2012 Chrysler (Lancia) Ypsilon Twinair. It's brilliant - when in town you can put it in "eco" mode and it'll do about 50mpg, when you need a bit more power you turn off Eco and it'll give you the full 85bhp, and still do about 45mpg. I saw it described as going "like a stabbed rat" when you put your foot down and that sums it up nicely. The best bit is due to the design you get a lot of low down torque, and a weird "putt-putt" sort of sound but when you rev it you get a fantastic thrum.

Not sure if I've made my point clearly, but my recommendation is if you want to get any small Fiat, get a Twinair! Brilliant bit of engineering! 

[Doctor Gollum]

Having had a lhd Panda for the day, the driving position is utter shite. My right knee has spent the day wedged between the centre console and dash because of the typical Fiat pedal offset.

Utterly gutless on a proper hill.

It's served its purpose for the day, but I wouldn't spend my own money buying one.

[Jim82]

Having had a lhd Panda for the day, the driving position is utter shite. My right knee has spent the day wedged between the centre console and dash because of the typical Fiat pedal offset.

Utterly gutless on a proper hill.

It's served its purpose for the day, but I wouldn't spend my own money buying one.

Interestingly, the guy I bought my Omega from picked me up from the station went I went to collect it - in a Panda 100HP.  That was quite fun, but probably still suffers from the same issues of dodgy pedal position in LHD form.

Rangie: The Abarth 500 is a fantastic choice, but will also have the Panda issue of having the gearstick sprouting out of the dashboard, so well worth both of you test driving to make sure you're happy with the driving position.  Another option for a small, fun, sporty Italian motor is the Alfa MiTo - you can get the Twinair engine in those or if you want something nippier they do a 1.4 turbo with 170bhp 

[Rangie]

Having had a lhd Panda for the day, the driving position is utter shite. My right knee has spent the day wedged between the centre console and dash because of the typical Fiat pedal offset.

Utterly gutless on a proper hill.

It's served its purpose for the day, but I wouldn't spend my own money buying one.

Interestingly, the guy I bought my Omega from picked me up from the station went I went to collect it - in a Panda 100HP.  That was quite fun, but probably still suffers from the same issues of dodgy pedal position in LHD form.

Rangie: The Abarth 500 is a fantastic choice, but will also have the Panda issue of having the gearstick sprouting out of the dashboard, so well worth both of you test driving to make sure you're happy with the driving position.  Another option for a small, fun, sporty Italian motor is the Alfa MiTo - you can get the Twinair engine in those or if you want something nippier they do a 1.4 turbo with 170bhp 

. 

Collected the Abarth yesterday , I'm impressed with it & she loves it got a really great deal as well  ,we went  for the auto 1.4 T so no issues.👍

[Jim82]

Having had a lhd Panda for the day, the driving position is utter shite. My right knee has spent the day wedged between the centre console and dash because of the typical Fiat pedal offset.

Utterly gutless on a proper hill.

It's served its purpose for the day, but I wouldn't spend my own money buying one.

Interestingly, the guy I bought my Omega from picked me up from the station went I went to collect it - in a Panda 100HP.  That was quite fun, but probably still suffers from the same issues of dodgy pedal position in LHD form.

Rangie: The Abarth 500 is a fantastic choice, but will also have the Panda issue of having the gearstick sprouting out of the dashboard, so well worth both of you test driving to make sure you're happy with the driving position.  Another option for a small, fun, sporty Italian motor is the Alfa MiTo - you can get the Twinair engine in those or if you want something nippier they do a 1.4 turbo with 170bhp 

. 

Collected the Abarth yesterday , I'm impressed with it & she loves it got a really great deal as well  ,we went  for the auto 1.4 T so no issues.👍

Happy days, glad you like it  I've always been a fan of small Fiats, they always put a smile on my face (apart from when they break of course )

[ronnyd]

My eldest had a Uno while he still lived at home. That was a bit of fun to drive too.

[Rangie]

My eldest had a Uno while he still lived at home. That was a bit of fun to drive too.

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Drove it for the first time yesterday it really is superb handles like its on rails & for a small car it's surprisingly comfortable can't compare it to the Panda she had a few years ago I hated that car with a vengeance, she had a new MX5 last year and couldn't get on with it but this little car she absolutely loves so money well spent..👍

[Sir Tigger KC]

My eldest had a Uno while he still lived at home. That was a bit of fun to drive too.

I had a Uno SX 1300cc many moons ago when I lived in Londinium and you could actually drive around the city without having to pay charges and have your every movement monitored by Big Brother cameras.  It was very nippy and a great city car! 

[Doctor Gollum]

My eldest had a Uno while he still lived at home. That was a bit of fun to drive too.

I had a Uno SX 1300cc many moons ago when I lived in Londinium and you could actually drive around the city without having to pay charges and have your every movement monitored by Big Brother cameras.  It was very nippy and a great city car! 

I recall such a time and it's quite possibly the last time I enjoyed going there.

[Sir Tigger KC]

My eldest had a Uno while he still lived at home. That was a bit of fun to drive too.

I had a Uno SX 1300cc many moons ago when I lived in Londinium and you could actually drive around the city without having to pay charges and have your every movement monitored by Big Brother cameras.  It was very nippy and a great city car! 

I recall such a time and it's quite possibly the last time I enjoyed going there.

Many a late night trip to the Brick Lane Bagel shop, which always included a quick zip through The City, through the West End, round Trafalgar Square and down the Mall to say Hi to Her Maj, before heading saaff of the river to head home.  Happy days! 

[Doctor Gollum]

Spent a happy week during the '96 Euros driving between Morden and Kensington for the Proms with a bunch of mates. Halcyon days.@

Oh too young, stupid and carefree again... Still one out of three ain't all bad