"...who is ever away from a plug socket for longer than two hours?"
a) Someone on a journey of more than two hours in a mode of transport without a power socket?
b) Or somebody who works a full day "on the road"?
c) Or one of the other demographics I can't be bothered to spend the time recalling.
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Re: Panda vs Fiesta pedantry... - You missed the point entirely. But to indulge you...
Fiat Panda (EEE701) - Functional city car of limited use. Good in the city, but wouldn't fancy driving the length of the UK in it though.
Fiat Punto (EEE901) - When all's said and done, if we're honest, it's a cheapo machine that's entirely capable of many key driving tasks. But it's by no means perfect and most folk wil prefer to spend more money on a more capable machine.
Fiat Bravo (EEE1000) - Small step up in the model range, slightly roomier, but doesn't bring anything drastic to the table compared to the Punto.
Ford Ka (AA1) - Entry level stuff. Spec for spec improves a little on the Panda in some key areas. But still some severe shortcomings for folk, who'll perhaps be more interested in the Fiesta (Acer's coming 10.2 SCC).
VW Golf (HP) - Premium brand. More of a machine. Premium price.
Fiat 500 (S101) - Fancy packaging, but under the hood, it's largely comparable to a cheaper stablemate.
MINI (Sony) - One for those able and willing to spend top dollar on a dead nice machine from a premium brand. But you've gotta admit that you're paying a decent wedge on the branding.
Renault Clio (Tosh) - Not a bestseller. Capable. Big bum (battery) at the back. Otherwise quite tempting.
Corsa (Wind) - Fairly bog standard all-round stuff. Reliable enough. Nowt particularly wrong with it, but I'd spend my money elsewhere.
Nissan (Dell) / Micra (Mini9) - Not for everyone, but most criticism will be borne of ignorance. It's a solid performer from a respected brand.
Toyota Yaris (NC10) - Doesn't always get the headlines, but quietly goes about it's business being undeniably one of the best in class.
Although there will always be folk willing to use (and pay for) a sledgehammer (4x4) just to crack a nut (the school run). Nothing wrong with nuts or sledgehammers, but it's a bit of a mismatch.
If you want to start moving house then none of the above will be up to scratch. You'll want to get your hands on a LWB van (or larger) for a short while. But for the commute/karting a couple of kids around/going to the shops, they offer a fairly cost effective alternative to larger machines.
You just want to cart yourself to the supermarket for a modest shop once a week? Fine, a Panda is the right choice. But most folk will rightly wish to pay more for more of a machine. Which is why Fiestas sell extremely well. Pandas less so.
Just admit that there's a multitude of machines for the multitude of different requirements that folk may have, and very few of these machines are actually bad machines or a massive rip-off when you consider what they can do.
Otherwise I'll break out the dog analogies. ;-)