Fiat Panda vs. Fiat Punto vs Alfa 147
 

We are trying to decide which one would work better. We are two adults and 2 kids (10 & 12). We pack fairly light (Our packing motto is, if you can't carry it on board it doesn't go.) We only have to carry our bags from Florence to Montelcino and then Montelcino to Rome. Aside from room, is there any power or are we going to get run over on the Autostrada?

I had a Fiat Panda last summer and for 4 people, there is NOT going to be enough room. I would hate to be the person or persons in the back seat even at 12. In fact, after a couple of hours, I did not want to be a person in the front seat either. Cramped area and hard seat in our model.

There probably will not be room for 4 suitcases in the trunk area unless they are small. We did not use our Panda to transport luggage, but there was not much room back there, period.

Also, the Panda is under powered. With that much of a load on it, accleration will be slower than normal, which was not great with two adults and almost zero luggage.

I think 125 kph was about all we wanted to do in that thing. Perhaps 130 in spurts. But it was laboring at 140 kph.

I would not want to be in it doing 150 kph which is not an uncommon speed at all on the Autostrada. In fact, isn't 150 a little slow?

I can recall doing 170 kph in a diesel Opel in Austria and I thought the darn thing was going to vibrate the engine out of its mount. I had to slow it down.

You do plan on driving one with a stick shift don't you? With an automatic, I think someone would have to get out and push to get it going.

Thanks, I suspected as much from looking at the picture at AutoEurope. And yes, we are driving stick.

I would agree - don't get a Panda. I drive a Punto all the time - I've had one for 4 years (I live in the UK) but I mainly use it for commuting. It's certainly comfortable to drive and the back seat offers a lot more room than the Panda. Don't know about the Alfa - might be more powerful though.

dacwi,
i wouldn't bother about the autostrada. when going from florence over montalcino to rome, there are so many beautiful roads, little towns and villages that i would avoid the autostrada.
as for the car, the one with 'family' character (2 adults and 2 kids) would be the punto. the panda is a bit 'basic' and the alfa is more 'sporty'.

The Alfa 147 come in a variety engines. The one with the lowest power is one version of the 1.9 Turbo Diesel, with ~100hp, top speed is 183km/h or 113mph.

The weakest gas engine is a 1.6 with ~105hp, top speed 185km/h or about 114mph.

The diesel should have higher torque for acceleration. Either one is adequate for a small car. And your rental may have one of the higher-rated gas or diesel engines.

Thanks everyone. The Punto it is.

Definitely not the Panda...I had it for a couple of days this summer, just for myself. I had a suitcase and a large backpack/carryon and they took all of the trunk area.

For me alone, it was great, but 4 people and luggage...NOOOOOO!