Micro Panda

[PINTO]

I am planning to buy a Micro Panda, a recenetly registered vehicle,please let me know the usage of the vehicle in fuel consumption and other spares.what could be the average price of a recently registered vehicle.

[Supra_Natural]

This topic has been discussed many times before, use the search function.

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/12551-micro-panda/page__hl__%2Bmicro+%2Bpanda

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/12012-micro-panda-fuel-consumption/page__hl__%2Bmicro+%2Bpanda

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/10925-micro-panda/page__hl__%2Bmicro+%2Bpanda

http://forum.autolanka.com/topic/10691-micro-panda-geely-lc-13/page__hl__%2Bmicro+%2Bpanda

[Schiffer]

Edit - oops, supra already gave the links

Edited September 27, 2012 by Schiffer

[MIL]

This topic has been discussed many times before, use the search function.

http://forum.autolan...__+micro +panda

http://forum.autolan...__+micro +panda

http://forum.autolan...__+micro +panda

http://forum.autolan...__+micro +panda

I perceive this as responsible moderating

[Nilantha]

I am planning to buy a Micro Panda, a recenetly registered vehicle,please let me know the usage of the vehicle in fuel consumption and other spares.what could be the average price of a recently registered vehicle.

simple advice is, don't buy

Edited September 28, 2012 by Supra_Natural

[Supra_Natural]

simple advice is, don't buy

The simple advice regarding Nilantha's advice is: Ignore, he has no idea what he is talking about.

The Panda is a good car, much better built and better to drive than the indian offerings and now much cheaper to buy brand new as well. No automatic option though.

The threads linked to will give you any other info you need.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Supra_Natural

[Magnum357]

I am planning to buy a Micro Panda, a recenetly registered vehicle,please let me know the usage of the vehicle in fuel consumption and other spares.what could be the average price of a recently registered vehicle.

Slightly larger than an Alto but seems the fuel consumption of this 1.3 is on par with a 2.0 Cefiro A31 (8-10km/l city running - going by what users say) which is not the ideal for a pocket sized car.

Spares ought not to be a problem for the moment as MICRO is a local company. Build and trim quality however would leave much to be desired compared to any Jap car.

Anyway here's a full review and road test at this link

http://www.#####.com/2011/05/29/micro-trend-panda-2011-road-test/

Hope it helps.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Magnum357

[maheshw]

The simple advice regarding Nilantha's advice is: Ignore, he has no idea what he is talking about.

The Panda is a good car, much better built and better to drive than the indian offerings and now much cheaper to buy brand new as well. No automatic option though.

The threads linked to will give you any other info you need.

+1 Comparing to the 800 Maruti & Alto yes it in good class. no idea about K10 since i have not used any one.

[Schiffer]

The only critisism i would give for the panda is, it has minor electrical problems. mainly on the tail light and the rear leg space.. well it depends on the owners imagination

i once talk to a micro salesmen and he said, the major reason the panda gets low fuel economy is that people

ignore 40kmph speed limit until it reach 5000km

compared to a indian maruti dustbin. the panda is at least good to look at. u honestly could live with it

[Magnum357]

compared to a indian maruti dustbin. the panda is at least good to look at. u honestly could live with it

The 1996 "maruti dustbin" which I had returned 22km/l on long runs out of Colombo. Of course I didn't sit around looking whether it looked nice or not!

Edited September 29, 2012 by Magnum357

[Schiffer]

The 1996 "maruti dustbin" which I had returned 22km/l on long runs out of Colombo. Of course I didn't sit around looking whether it looked nice or not!

wow.. congratz. that must have return everything you want from a car good for you

[Clark's son]

The 1996 "maruti dustbin" which I had returned 22km/l on long runs out of Colombo. Of course I didn't sit around looking whether it looked nice or not!

It might be a reasonable looking car in 1996, for it's price, but it hasn't changed enough till today and in today's market it looks damn ugly to look at.

I would avoid looking at shop windows if i had to drive one, considering if I could squeeze into one

Edited September 29, 2012 by Clark's son

[Magnum357]

It might be a reasonable looking car in 1996, for it's price, but it hasn't changed enough till today and in today's market it looks damn ugly to look at.

I would avoid looking at shop windows if i had to drive one, considering if I could squeeze into one

Actually even in 1996 the Indian Maruti 800 was a 1984 Jap design which the Japs had ditched by then. Even in 1996 it was not in the least modern looking or hi tech. As you say it was virtually a "dustbin" or rather in the "dustbin".

However the Indians did a bit of tinkering around and came up with a few face lifts and rear re-designs over the years which kind of made it better looking though not an eye turner. But who buys/bought Maruti's for its looks?????

Its the economy and re-sale value ( fuel consumption, maintanence and initial cost) that the Maruti 800 attracts and for that IMO there is hardly a car to beat it even today!!!

With a little bit of sprucing up with boku alloys, tints, tail gate wing, fogs and pin stripes on the sides there have been instances when the Maruti 800 does turn eyes!

Edited September 29, 2012 by Magnum357

[Schiffer]

Actually even in 1996 the Indian Maruti 800 was a 1984 Jap design which the Japs had ditched by then. Even in 1996 it was not in the least modern looking or hi tech. As you say it was virtually a "dustbin" or rather in the "dustbin".

However the Indians did a bit of tinkering around and came up with a few face lifts and rear re-designs over the years which kind of made it better looking though not an eye turner. But who buys/bought Maruti's for its looks?????

Its the economy and re-sale value ( fuel consumption, maintanence and initial cost) that the Maruti 800 attracts and for that IMO there is hardly a car to beat it even today!!!

With a little bit of sprucing up with boku alloys, tints, tail gate wing, fogs and pin stripes on the sides there have been instances when the Maruti 800 does turn eyes!

are you serious?

is it me or, did you use to drive a three wheeler or something?

to get attracted by the gode riced jobs?

[Crosswind]

BTW Micro has the 1000CC Panda out now. I don't know if OP is talking about that.

[GTAm]

I can believe the story about the electrics on the Panda. I see many with their tail-lamps not working or the reverse lamps on when the car is going forward.

[Schiffer]

I can believe the story about the electrics on the Panda. I see many with their tail-lamps not working or the reverse lamps on when the car is going forward.

also, when i went to check few cars, 2 out of 3 cars that were there, the rear fog lamps were not working.

also as a plus point. compared to a indian car, i loved the gearbox of the panda.

[terrabytetango]

Just FYI; I saw this morning a Micro Panda with a hole in it's bonnet. Yes, a _hole_. The guy had taped a poly bag over it, but the hole was clearly visible, just a large chunk missing from the inside of the lower right quadrant when viewing from the front.

[terrabytetango]

With a little bit of sprucing up with boku alloys, tints, tail gate wing, fogs and pin stripes on the sides there have been instances when the Maruti 800 does turn eyes!

Is this you? I photographed this back in 2009 I think.

[Magnum357]

Is this you? I photographed this back in 2009 I think

No way! I sold my 1996 Maruti way back in 2000 and was not even in the country till the beginning of this year.

[Amila G]

I went to micro showroom check a panda for a friend a couple of months ago and it had the flimsiest interior I have ever seen.

Every plastic bit was rattling and moving when touched (may be coz everyone has fiddled with the the showroom car, I don't know) . And the plastic edges had spikes on them like they were cut using a hack saw. Rear leg room non existing, actually one guy got his shoes stuck in the rear foot well. Even the body panels moved a bit (ones that covers the wheel arch area). And the edges of the windscreen (about 1.5 inch around the edge)had a severe distortion that the metal pillars of the showroom looked curved like a "C" .

If it was say a 5 year old car, I would have accepted the rattling interior parts, but for a brand new showroom car ??

I don't know about the driving dynamics or mechanical things, but seeing the rest we did not even bother to start it.

Until then I was thinking the Maruti 800 is the crappiest car ever, but the panda set the bar to a whole new low to me. A maruti has the same quality inside and out, (like a layland bus if you know what I mean). At least they look somewhat rugged. But the panda looks beautiful from the outside and on paper (abs/ebd etc...) But when you look closer it's even crappier.

[Supra_Natural]

I went to micro showroom check a panda for a friend a couple of months ago and it had the flimsiest interior I have ever seen.

Every plastic bit was rattling and moving when touched (may be coz everyone has fiddled with the the showroom car, I don't know) . And the plastic edges had spikes on them like they were cut using a hack saw. Rear leg room non existing, actually one guy got his shoes stuck in the rear foot well. Even the body panels moved a bit (ones that covers the wheel arch area). And the edges of the windscreen (about 1.5 inch around the edge)had a severe distortion that the metal pillars of the showroom looked curved like a "C" .

If it was say a 5 year old car, I would have accepted the rattling interior parts, but for a brand new showroom car ??

I don't know about the driving dynamics or mechanical things, but seeing the rest we did not even bother to start it.

Until then I was thinking the Maruti 800 is the crappiest car ever, but the panda set the bar to a whole new low to me. A maruti has the same quality inside and out, (like a layland bus if you know what I mean). At least they look somewhat rugged. But the panda looks beautiful from the outside and on paper (abs/ebd etc...) But when you look closer it's even crappier.

Clearly you've never looked closely at a Maruti then. Do Maruti products of comparable dimensions have more legroom? No, they do not.

Micro do have problems with the consistency of their assembly at times, but I've driven several Pandas and none of them were as bad as you describe. Drove a 1 litre just a couple of weeks back and it was quite solid, much more so than any Maruti.

[Amila G]

Clearly you've never looked closely at a Maruti then. Do Maruti products of comparable dimensions have more legroom? No, they do not.

Micro do have problems with the consistency of their assembly at times, but I've driven several Pandas and none of them were as bad as you describe. Drove a 1 litre just a couple of weeks back and it was quite solid, much more so than any Maruti.

Yes I know Maruti s aren't spacious than pandas. But I was referring to the way that the bits & pieces were put together. In a maruti, an arm rest can be crooked but at least it's fixed in way that it won't fall off before leaving the showroom.

I don't know how it drives as we gave up the idea seeing the interior quality. But the thing I wanted point out was that it looked fantastic in a distance and crappy when closer. At least the maruti's looks the same when you see and touch. (But still crappy I agree. but for me it's better than a panda)

I checked the red car that was in the showroom back in January. May be they are better now, I don't know.

One more thing I once traveled in a maruti 800 and I feel safer when traveling in the foot board of a private bus. But the alto was somewhat ok.

Edited October 3, 2012 by Amila G

[Pericles]

Interesting feedback. I remember the initial MX7 I saw having an interior finish like you described, but that was the Chinese made car (Geely, I think?). When I saw the Micro assembled one much later, it was a lot more decently put together. Haven't actually checked out a Panda, but I'm surprised with that feedback, generally hear positive things about it. Well, except on that holy grail of SL motoring, the fuel efficiency. Apparently the 1.3l consumes more fuel than the competing 1.0l cars in that class. Shocker.

[Schiffer]

when i went to inspect one, i never found any rattles or sharp edges or anything.

but then again, it can be like that since its assembled in sri lanka and it depends on how they assemble every part.

[GTAm]

Interesting feedback. I remember the initial MX7 I saw having an interior finish like you described, but that was the Chinese made car (Geely, I think?). When I saw the Micro assembled one much later, it was a lot more decently put together. Haven't actually checked out a Panda, but I'm surprised with that feedback, generally hear positive things about it. Well, except on that holy grail of SL motoring, the fuel efficiency. Apparently the 1.3l consumes more fuel than the competing 1.0l cars in that class. Shocker.

A bit of controversy here as I thought it was a given that everyone knows this. All are Chinese made and nothing is "assembled" here according to what I've heard (and seen). The cars come with body protective stickers, minus fluids and wheels off. Assembly amounts to removing stickers, filling up fluids, fitting wheels, oh and pasting the badges in place. The Sssangyongs have leather done here if opted. All this hardly gets close to 35% local content to qualify for even partial duty free status. Unfair advantage as "you know who" are now supposedly the major shareholders. The person who created the enterprise no longer has a say. They get to sell Diesel SUVs lower than competitors petrol ones. All other importers need to establish LCs for permit holders but they have them in stock at bonded warehouses in the port - quicker delivery.They have the whole country fooled.

Why else has no one seen this state of the art factory? Should not this have been a show piece of the miracle of Asia? I think I better stop now as I see a couple of white vans outside.