It seemed appropriate to take the latest test car to my local teenaged style guru and motoring enthusiast to see what she thought of it. 15-year old Sarah's response, I have to say, was not encouraging. "Ewww!" she said. "It looks like a Fiat Panda!"Assuring her that that was exactly what it was took no more than about five seconds. I must say, though, that I had been expecting something a bit more positive. With its 15" alloy wheels, low-profile tyres, bodykit and - in this particular case - red paint, the Panda 100HP struck me as a bit of a looker, but it clearly left this particular representative of the youth market cold and unimpressed.Oh, well. The fact remains that this is the flagship model of the Panda range. It has the biggest engine (1368cc), the most gears (six) and the highest power output (100bhp, as the name suggests) of any current model, and is effectively the hot hatch in a line-up not noted for its high performance. It's also the most expensive, but it still comes in at just under £10,000.For that you get quite a tempting package. This is one of the better-equipped Pandas, certainly the fastest, arguably the best-looking, and although it's one of the least economical - only the 4x4 is thirstier - it can nonetheless claim a combined fuel economy figure of 43.5mpg.It should also be the most fun to drive. Sporty hatchbacks don't have to be exceptionally powerful in order to provide a good driving experience; indeed, one of the best ever was the Peugeot 205 XSi, which had almost exactly the same size of engine as the Panda 100HP does, and was more delightful than almost any of its contemporaries, or indeed than nearly anything that has been created since.The 100HP, alas, does not meet the target set by the 205 so many years ago. Good turn-in and admirable grip levels mean that it's nice and nippy at normal speeds (in town as well as in the country), but if you try to push it on it quickly becomes uncomfortable.Its biggest problem is that it is incredibly bouncy. Fiat has increased the spring rates by 25%, uprated the anti-roll bars and firmed up the dampers, but somewhere in that process something has gone badly wrong. Even at 30mph the front end bobs up and down, and as the speeds increase the effect becomes more serious, until eventually you're thudding into the suspension's bump stops every few yards.This is as good an incentive to slow down as any I've ever come across - and that might be a good thing, because there are occasional hints that the Panda's layout (it's very tall for its length and width) could eventually make enthusiastic cornering quite a messy business.I found it rather difficult to drive in any case. Fiat points out that the seats were designed with posture and lateral support very much in mind, following the principles developed by Professor Antonio Dal Monte, head of the Biometric Department at the Italian National Olympic Committee's Sport Medicine Institute.I'm sure Professor Dal Monte doesn't need any validation from me, but for the record he clearly knows what he's talking about, and Fiat has listened to him. I have no complaint about the seats. What I do complain about is the fact that a decent seating position is impossible for anyone who doesn't have long arms and short legs. Since the steering wheel is not adjustable for reach, I could not avoid being both too far away from it and too close to the pedals at the same time.The pedal issue meant that it was very difficult to avoid braking sharply even when I didn't want to, and while this was going on I also wished I had the upper limbs of a baboon so that I could get a proper grip on the wheel.The bounciness and the uncomfortable seating position were exacerbated still further by the startling amount of road noise. I can happily say that, with a few obvious exceptions including various Mitsubishi Evos and what not, I have not driven a louder car than the Panda 100HP for years and years - not because of the engine (which you have to rev hard if you want to hear it perform) but because every last ripple on the road surface boomed through the cabin to the point where I thought my ears were going to start bleeding.Add all that together and you end up with a car which is quite astonishingly tiring to drive. Even my usual 18-mile round trip to the nearest supermarket and back was enough to leave me wanting to have little lie down afterwards. And I couldn't help feeling that was a shame, considering that the whole point of the 100HP is that it should be fun to drive.It is undoubtedly a practical, roomy little car. The standard 206 litres of luggage space can be increased to 236 litres by sliding the rear seats forward, and to 860 litres by folding them down. There isn't much rear legroom to speak of, but it would be a grossly oversized passenger who could complain about hitting their head against the roof. In fact, I'm not sure this could be done by anyone who wasn't actually standing up.But this applies to all Pandas. The 100HP should be more than a practical runaround - the range is full of those already. It should be a joy to own, a delight to drive, an entertaining hot hatch for people who can't yet afford a proper grown-up one, and I'm afraid it just isn't.Second opinion: On the plus side, the car looks quite funky and it zips along nicely, but on the downside it is one of the only cars I've been in where I've felt carsick actually driving. It's fiendishly bouncy and extremely noisy - to the point where conversation is near impossible - which takes away from the pleasure an owner should have with the Panda 100HP. Claire Lumb. Engine 1368 cc, 4 cylinders Power 100 bhp @6000 rpm Torque 97 ib/ft @4250 rpm Transmission 6 speed manual Fuel/CO2 43.5 mpg / 154 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.5sec Top speed 115 mph Price From £11037.00 approx Release date 01/12/2006
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