Fiat Panda or Peugeot 107 for mountaineous driving
 

Hi all,

I will be renting a car with my wife on our trip to Crete this summer, and I wanted to know what opinions are regarding small rental cars. We are considering either a Fiat Panda or a Peugeot 107. Our main focuses are safety, handling, and performance. Can anyone suggest which of the two would be a better fit? Google seems to be divided...

Thanks!

My take is that the skill of the driver driving a standard shift car makes more difference than the differences in the cars themselves, and I assume that the cars have a manual transmission.

I had a Fiat Panda when I was on Mykonos last summer. It was fine although it did have to work hard to get up the mountain roads sometimes. Lots of people had jeeps or even quad bikes. Some people might prefer a more powerful car but smaller means more economical and they get you around just fine.

Are both cars in the same car group?
I don't think that you can book a certain type of car, you book a category, and you will have to ask on the spot what is available.....

How many cc and PS has each car?
I find Pandas to be more spacious than the Peugeot 107 :)

Each has several different versions and engine sizes, so it is difficult to compare without knowing what they are. Why don't you go on http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/ and look up them up? :-)

i did the high atlas in a 650 panda. the modern car will be fine

Contrary to what I just wrote, the Peugeot 107 comes with only a 1.0 litre 3-cyclinder engine. I'm not sure how well that would cope with mountain roads. As clausar said, you may not get a choice anyway, but I would consider going up one group to a slightly larger car.

Fiat 650? Now that is small! Even my Mini 850 was bigger than that! ;-)

Just back from La Palma - serious mountain driving there with lots of switchbacks and the like. Our party had a Hyundai i10, a Hyundai i20 (as they had two kids with them, a Fiat Panda and a Chevrolet Aveo. They all coped well with the roads. Most hire cars there are small ones like those, and most inhabitants seemed to drive either similar small cars or pick-ups.

The 3 cylinder engine won't be a problem. We saw lots of Peugeot 107 there, and even Ford Focuses, which have a 3 cylincer engine too.

<i>Contrary to what I just wrote, the Peugeot 107 comes with only a 1.0 litre 3-cyclinder engine.</i>

I think that it also comes with a 1400cc diesel engine.

Michael
In Greece it is very unlikely that they will have a Peugeot with a 1400 cc diesel engine....

When i was living in Crete i had a Seat Marbella with only 750 cc.... never had a problem to drive 30.000 in one year with it... and i have seen almost any corner of Crete :)

But a higher category would be better as Heimdall said.
But always remember they may have totally different cars than the ones on their website....
You can email them and ask what they have in each category...

Hi all,

Thank you for your posts.

The Fiat Panda is Group B with 1200cc
The Peugeot 107 is Group C, also with 1200cc

That's all the information I have, unfortunately.

And let me clarify something I said earlier: when I said "mountainous" roads, I mean paved (or relatively paved, maybe a bit of gravel) roads that are in the mountains (we will be in Crete, and I'm concerned about the drive from Chania to Elafonisi).

Thanks again!

I was looking at this review, which shows only 1.0L versions of the Peugeot 107:
http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/p...rsions/25486-5

These are cars imported to the UK. Of course specification can vary from country to country, so perhaps you can get a 1200cc in Greece. Nevertheless, the reviews in What Car may be helpful in making your decision. :-)

eagermike

Can you tell me the name of the company, and when and where you will pick up the car?
I can call them and ask what they have.

From the official website of Peugeot Greece i see only one Peugeot 107 and this has 1000 cc ( in 3 doors and 5 doors edition)

Keep in mind that these car types are indicative and if you are going to arrive in Crete during the high season the choice between different cars may be very very limited....

Also add as an extra remark in your booking, that you only want a white car... to avoid getting a dark blue or black one, that will feel like a sauna in the hot Cretan sun.....

Clausar, here is the website: http://www.eurotours.gr/cars.php
I also sent an email to the owner, and he said that the Peugeot would be available.
This is the problem with smaller, local companies... The info on their websites may not be completely accurate. Thanks!

Heimdall, thanks for the link!

Hi. We are arriving May 4 and pick up a rental car for 2 weeks.
Your deal sounds good - very similar to one I'm thinking about with europeocars there. Europeocars have been getting good reviews on Tripadvisor. the Chev Matiz has been popular too.
It is good to check that insurance reads "no excess" and they don't try to sell you other cover on delivery...

Oh and there are age limits for renting cars that need observing.....

Has anyone had experience dealing with this company?

http://www.rent-a-car-crete-greece.com

I had good luck with alianthos cars in crete.