General Panda multijet vs twinair

[The Pretender]

I notice the Panda is available with a new colour - Venetian Blue

btw, it sound much better in Italian: AZZURRO CANALGRANDE (METALLIZZATO)

 

[DismasX]

Inspired by the conversation in this thread I decided to give the Eco a spin on my 500 TA today with startling results...

This was after 10 miles back from York! Having stopped (to take the pic) started again and covered a number of significant hills to make it home, the final reading was 62mph - still not bad in my books!!!

 

[DismasX]

PS my Panda 4x4 TA is ordered and apparently on route (see other thread) ;-)

 

[Super Uwe]

It's good that you were able to test a TwinAir with some miles under it - they're so much better when they've done some miles.

Our 500 TwinAir is doing 46-47 on 18,000 miles.

Unfortunately I can confirm that Cosy Brown has indeed been closed for ordering. Happened about 6 weeks ago. Venetian Blue has replaced it. Personally I preferred the brown but I've seen none at all on the roads so I can kinda see why Fiat pulled the plug.

The nicest colours in the metal are Sweet Dreams Turquoise, Sunset Red (suits Lounge trim best), Mediteranean Blue (only on Lounge trim) and Sicilian Orange (4x4/Trekking only). Most orders I've placed for customers have been for white, black & Cancan Red, but I agree with you - I prefer something that's a bit different. Infactuation Purple looks good (ordered a couple of them), but it's obviously more of a lady's colour!

If you can stretch to a Lounge trim i'd do that and get the Mediteranean Blue (not available on Easy) but if not have a look for a Sweet Dreams Turquoise one - this colour actually suits the Easy model better for some reason.

A fresh factory order ordered this week would probably arrive mid-March but if the dealer can catch one that's already been ordered but 'variable' (not yet fixed for production) then you could cut the order time to 8-9 weeks.

Liam

Thanks for the info about the colour changes. Good to have someone with inside knowledge!

Do you have any idea if your dealership will be getting any of the new Venetian Blue models in as demo cars? If you are, it'd be great if you could take a few pics to give us an idea (as The Pretender says, the colours often don't transfer all that well in the promotional material).

And yes, an Easy model in Sweet Dreams Turquoise is definitely the way to go...

 

[soupdragon]

According to the Fiat brochure (freshly downloaded from the UK website), the colours available are:

View attachment 128109

Sunset Red and Sweet Dreams Turquoise are my favourites, but I'm biassed - mine's Sunset Red.

I've actually enquired at the dealer and he said that the web site needs updating. The brown has been pulled

Cheers Tom

Edit..... How do you repost an attachment?
Sorry, how do you re-quote an attachment?

 

[soupdragon]

Tom, the Lounge also gives your the plastic door protection mouldings, colour coded wing mirrors and door handles.

Even though none of these are essential, they transform the look of the car entirely. Probably will help come resale too.

Looks like I'll be paying an extra visit to the dealer to check out the lounge spec, that's if anybody has got one

Cheers Tom

 

[soupdragon]

Inspired by the conversation in this thread I decided to give the Eco a spin on my 500 TA today with startling results...
This was after 10 miles back from York! Having stopped (to take the pic) started again and covered a number of significant hills to make it home, the final reading was 62mph - still not bad in my books!!!

Blimy :worship:

Cheers Tom

P.S. Still don't know how to get pictures to post when quoted

 

[triumph7]

I've actually enquired at the dealer and he said that the web site needs updating. The brown has been pulled

Cheers Tom

Edit..... How do you repost an attachment?
Sorry, how do you re-quote an attachment?

Not at all sure about that new blue colour ......

 

[soupdragon]

Not at all sure about that new blue colour ......

Not really that sure about any of them to be honest. I'll have to make a decision soon though...............

Cheers Tom

 

[millns84]

Inspired by the conversation in this thread I decided to give the Eco a spin on my 500 TA today with startling results...
View attachment 128146
This was after 10 miles back from York! Having stopped (to take the pic) started again and covered a number of significant hills to make it home, the final reading was 62mph - still not bad in my books!!!

That's very impressive!

I averaged 63.9mpg over 15 miles from Buxton to Hazel Grove yesterday. That includes some stop/starting from traffic lights.

Most impressive thing though is that this is a 1.2 we're talking about

 

[soupdragon]

Just out of interest, would my 14 ( ish ) mile journey, twice a day with stops and starts be a problem for a DPF? One way is 5am ish so not much traffic, the other way is 6pm and traffic is much heavier

Just keeping my options open........

Cheers Tom

 

[Alsatian1]

Just out of interest, would my 14 ( ish ) mile journey, twice a day with stops and starts be a problem for a DPF? One way is 5am ish so not much traffic, the other way is 6pm and traffic is much heavier

Just keeping my options open........

Cheers Tom

I do 16 miles twice daily in my mk3 panda multijet and haven't had any problems. Saying that I am moving to the twinair because I feel like I don't do enough miles to justify the higher price of a new multijet and subsequent higher diesel pricing.

 

[jrkitching]

Just out of interest, would my 14 ( ish ) mile journey, twice a day with stops and starts be a problem for a DPF? One way is 5am ish so not much traffic, the other way is 6pm and traffic is much heavier

Just keeping my options open........

Cheers Tom

You might want to read this thread from the 500 section. It's rather long, but worth reading in its entirety as there's lots of relevant posts in there.

IMO anyone buying a small diesel city car needs therapy.

 

[varesecrazy]

IMO anyone buying a small diesel city car needs therapy.

your Wallet could get a good going over..not what you meant

 

[soupdragon]

I don't do enough miles to justify the higher price of a new multijet and subsequent higher diesel pricing.

That's one of the things I keep going back to after I've swung towards the multijet. The price gap won't be getting any smaller any time soon

Cheers Tom

 

[babbo_umbro]

btw, it sound much better in Italian: AZZURRO CANALGRANDE (METALLIZZATO)

Yes and no - it's literally the blue of the Grand Canal - which can be an appealing blue on a sparkling sunny day but can be a rather unattractive muddy yuck colour on dingy days - if the colour of the car follows the same pattern, it might not be too appealing in our greyer northern climate.

 

[millns84]

That's one of the thinks I keep going back to after I've swung towards the multijet. The price gap won't be getting any smaller any time soon

Cheers Tom

It sounds to me like you want the multijet anyway

You'll never justify the price difference unless you did some serious mileage, but if you want to go for it then why not? It's your cash. Some people just like the way diesels drive with the low down torque (myself included) but I couldn't justify the price of the diesel or even the TA so I went for a 1.2 and it's more economical than what I think I'd get out of the TA

For the record, our second car (Kia Sedona 2.2 diesel) is a low mileage car (18k in 3 years - bought new) and we've never had DPF problems. Same goes for the car it replaced (2009 V70 2.0 diesel) but I suppose these are different DPF's to the GM unit which I can't specifically comment on.

At the end of the day, just go for what you want. 14 miles twice a day isn't that bad, not as if you're doing a mile and a half trip so you might never have any DPF issues. You could even just do a weekly motorway blast if it's that much of a concern.

 

[soupdragon]

You might want to read this thread from the 500 section. It's rather long, but worth reading in its entirety as there's lots of relevant posts in there.

IMO anyone buying a small diesel city car needs therapy.

Well that was an interesting read, although it turned into a debate about removal of the filter towards the end.

From it I have come to the conclusion that my daily drive to and from work would give me issues with the dpf if I bought the multijet. I might cover enough miles but there are too many sets of lights and speed limits of 30-40 so would be unable to maintain an unbroken 15 min run at speed. And as I'm not prepared to make an extra regeneration run every couple of weeks I think I'll forget about the diesel version. Pity as my current Panda is rather frugal yet still fun to drive ( 2007 engine without filter ).

Cheers Tom

 

[soupdragon]

It sounds to me like you want the multijet anyway

You'll never justify the price difference unless you did some serious mileage, but if you want to go for it then why not? It's your cash. Some people just like the way diesels drive with the low down torque (myself included) but I couldn't justify the price of the diesel or even the TA so I went for a 1.2 and it's more economical than what I think I'd get out of the TA

For the record, our second car (Kia Sedona 2.2 diesel) is a low mileage car (18k in 3 years - bought new) and we've never had DPF problems. Same goes for the car it replaced (2009 V70 2.0 diesel) but I suppose these are different DPF's to the GM unit which I can't specifically comment on.

At the end of the day, just go for what you want. 14 miles twice a day isn't that bad, not as if you're doing a mile and a half trip so you might never have any DPF issues. You could even just do a weekly motorway blast if it's that much of a concern.

Had one for almost 6 years now, brilliant to drive. As I'm not prepared to make an extra trip out to regenerate the filter I'm afraid I'll have to return to the petrol camp. At least tha TwinAir should still be a hoot to drive and when needed can still return acceptable mpg

Cheers Tom

 

[jrkitching]

Good call.

DPF's are a complete game changer. Buying a current Mjet on the basis of what a 2007 Panda is capable of could lead you into making a serious mistake.