Hi Panda peeps !

Been looking at the new Panda, and seriously considering trading in my '12 Punto GBT for a Panda TwinAir - just not sure whether I'd want the 4x4 or the Trekking.

I go hill walking and outdoorsy stuff a lot and can often be found driving up hills and farm tracks - often with poor road surfaces. As you can imagine, my Punto just LOVES me for that - and quite often I'll park elsewhere, or take a different route because of that.

But, I don't go green-laning or anything like that or have the need for any REAL off roading. So, I'm torn. Do I go for a Trekking, or go the whole hog and get a 4x4 ?

Has anyone experienced both of them ? What are their main differences / pros/cons ?

Cheers,
Chris.

I think your title should have been "Trekking or 4x4"

My only experience of the 4x4 Panda was a 15 mile test drive, I subsequently bought a Trekking
TwinAir, for the same reasoning as you (occasional trips along rough tracks)

I was surprised (and relieved) to find the 5rekking's 5th gear is much higher than the
TA 4x4's 6th, making the Trekking a decent motorway cruiser

Fuel economy also benefits- mine's averaging 55MPG so far.

As I've not yet ventured off-road, I can't comment on this aspect!



Chris

I can't personally give a 'rational' reason to absolutely need the 4x4 - the Trekking seems to be a great choice. However my heart said "4x4, there is no substitute" and with small cars heart wins over head every time (for me at least).

Yeah, thats what I meant to type - trekking or 4x4. Oops. I'd go for the petrol TwinAir version either way, I don't do enough miles to justify the extra £1k for the diesel.

I've been considering getting a proper off-roader, like a baby landrover or something... so I'm swaying towards the 4x4... but I just don't really kow whether I actually need it, or just like the idea of it !

Can't see my dealer giving me an off-road test drive, somehow :bang:

Did you find the 4x4 struggled a bit in 6th at higher speeds then ?

Trekking should be fine as long as you can keep at least oneof the front wheels on a good surface.

BUT, do you often need to turn round on a narrow track whereverges are slippery/muddy/icy? This manoeuvrecan be a simple 3 point turn with 4wd, or a 23 point turn if you have a 2wd car andneed to keep the driven wheels on the hard surface.

cjdl said:

Did you find the 4x4 struggled a bit in 6th at higher speeds then ?

Click to expand...

The 4x4 is fine in 6th, it's lower geared so accelerates fine.

I think the only time you'd regret not having 4x4 is when the snow settles on the ground.For the rest of the year the trekking makes more sense.
I ordered a trekking, but changed it to 4x4. I don't regret it, but it's not the sensible choice.

Indeed, things to think about !

I have, many times, had to do a 29 point turn , whereas a 4x4 would likely have been able to just do a u-turn or 3 pointer.

As for snow, we do get quite a lot of it up this way (Scotland), so it would definitely be handy for that.

I read something in one of the reviews about the 'Panda 4x4 care package', which seemed to insinuate you get 4 years warranty, servicing, AA assurance, and a set of winter tyres ! Does that all come as standard, or is it an optional extra. Couldn't see it in the brochure, but I did see the mud & snow tyres come as standard - so are these the 'winter' tyres they talk about, or do you get 2 sets ?

Edit: This link seems to suggest its a £1k option; http://www.autoevolution.com/news/m...slers-european-customer-care-brand-50721.html

This doesn't mention cost: http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/fiat/panda/4x4/review

Dealer never mentioned anything about Mopar to me when ordered my 4x4 or since? Maybe its mainland Europe only??

I’ve never heard of the 'Panda 4x4 care package'.

Tyres on our previous car, a Panda Cross, were Continental 4x4 Winter Contact, marked as M+S and with the snowflake symbol. The ones on the new 4x4 look pretty much the same, but this time they are marked Continental Cross Contact Winter, again with the snowflake marking.

Up here in darkest Peeblesshire we can have cold weather in almost any month, so we keep the same tyres on all year round. The car does about 14k miles per year, and it would hard to justify a second set of wheels with summer tyres.

Grip is generally excellent, although the tread will of course fill up if travelling through really slimy mud. I don’t think there are any “blocky” tread tyres available in this size, and for serious off-road driving in a small car you would probably choose a Suzuki Jimny. The Panda suits us because we make regular 350 mile trips, sometimes with rear seat passengers, and my ageing skeleton would not like to try that in a Jimny.

When I ordered my 'normal' panda the 4x4 wasnt in the equation, or even the trekking. I often find myself into the wilds of Wales. go into forests. There are lanes/tracks into the woods that are 4x4 tracks, wouldnt dream of taking a newish car down some of those tracks. Body panels would be scratched and dented in no time.
If I lived in Scotland I would buy a 4x4 Panda in a heart beat. The only thing which would make me buy a 4x4 is months of snow blockages round our way, luckily live on the edge of the A40 so ploughs and gritters are close by.

deeyup said:

The 4x4 is fine in 6th, it's lower geared so accelerates fine.

Click to expand...

Absolutely no performance issues with the 4x4 in 6th, I was simply concerned that
the revs were quite high at 70MPH. I was relieved to find the Trwekking's 5th
(top) gear gives considerably lower revs! No lack of acceleration because the TA's
little turbo responds very promptly above 2000rpm


Chris

Ah, sorry misunderstood that part. Got ya now... and yeah, the TwinAir does rev pretty high

Think I'll ask my dealer about that care package, and if they don't know anything about it, a wee email to fiat UK might be in order

Hi Chris,

We have owned the 4x4 twinair for a couple of months now and live in rural North Yorkshire where it's off road capabilities come into its own. It is very assured when you venture off road and do not worry about its on road capabilities either - it's excellent! However it is £1500 more than the trekking and a little thirstier - we average around 40 - 45mpg on road but that figure drops rapidly off-road. For me though it has to be the 4x4. The traction control on the trekking only works below 19mph, which is fine if you are beetling up a remote track, but wait until winter kicks in and you need to get somewhere on road. The 4x4 is wonderfully assured both on and off road and if you can justify the higher price tag and accept the lower mpg, for me it's a no brainer!

cjdl said:

Hi Panda peeps !

Been looking at the new Panda, and seriously considering trading in my '12 Punto GBT for a Panda TwinAir - just not sure whether I'd want the 4x4 or the Trekking.

I go hill walking and outdoorsy stuff a lot and can often be found driving up hills and farm tracks - often with poor road surfaces. As you can imagine, my Punto just LOVES me for that - and quite often I'll park elsewhere, or take a different route because of that.

But, I don't go green-laning or anything like that or have the need for any REAL off roading. So, I'm torn. Do I go for a Trekking, or go the whole hog and get a 4x4 ?

Has anyone experienced both of them ? What are their main differences / pros/cons ?

Cheers,
Chris.

Click to expand...

My first car was my Mums Punto M reg failed mot but I managed to get £2000 scrappaged sceam that was going then ,Bought my first Panda 59 Mk 3 Multijet change that early this year for Mk4 4x4 twinair altought the fuel comp is not as good as my diesel Mj panda its a lot better than my Punto SX70 which was between 35-40 Mpg also the road tax is only £30 ,if you go for the Diesel 4x4 panda you will pay a lot higher £100 or more and if you drive the twinair steady you could see 40-45 mpg maybe more ,also the TwinAir seams to have instant Power at hand where the diesel has to wait to catch up ,however if your driving on long journeys a lot of the time then the diesel might suite your needs

Well, I went and had a test-drive of a brand spanking new 4x4 TA yesterday, it still had the "Do not open" stickers on the doors, so think they had literally just taken delivery of it

I liked it, the engine was very torquey (is that even a word ?), and provided plenty of power in all gears. Didn't really find much difference between 4th & 5th though. Got a good motorway run, under 3k revs in 6th @ 70mph - and the twinair engine seemed a lot more refined than the last TA I tested (Punto).

I found the cabin a bit cramped - particularly the footwell (I'm 6'2", with long leggies). The foot rest for the cluch is off to the left, but it seems like it's almost underneath the centre console area, so was a bit awkward to use. I was wearing big chunky trainers, but I'd likely be wearing big chunky hiking boots when away out up the hills, so I'm a bit unsure about that.

On the plus side, I had the 'product genius' with me on the test drive, so he was able to give me loads of wee bits of info and tips about how it behaves etc, and the 4WD system, ELD, etc.

Fairly basic spec though, really wanted to see the sliding bench seat, etc, so I think I'll have a look around at other variants before committing.

Also, I think, I'll be looking at other dealers - they weren't really doing a 'good deal' on it - just bog standard finance, no Fiat deposit contribution, and a pretty poor trade in value on my ~13 month old Punto.

Overall...

cjdl said:

Well, I went and had a test-drive of a brand spanking new 4x4 TA yesterday, it still had the "Do not open" stickers on the doors, so think they had literally just taken delivery of it

I liked it, the engine was very torquey (is that even a word ?), and provided plenty of power in all gears. Didn't really find much difference between 4th & 5th though. Got a good motorway run, under 3k revs in 6th @ 70mph - and the twinair engine seemed a lot more refined than the last TA I tested (Punto).

Click to expand...

I found the same with the twin air. I owned a TA 500 for 10 months and my panda ta is much much smoother.
I have noticed that in the panda in higher gears (5th and 6th) the ecu will not let the revs drop below 1400. It adds fuel.
This didn't happen with the 500. You could drop to say 1000 revs and the motor really doesn't like it

cjdl said:

Fairly basic spec though, really wanted to see the sliding bench seat, etc, so I think I'll have a look around at other variants before committing.

Click to expand...

Best of luck in finding a dealer with a Panda featuring the sliding rear seat-
after ordering mine back in late January, I visited many Fiat dealerships
without ever seeing a single example

I think they're only ever supplied as special orders- cars ordered as dealer
stock seem to have either the standard rear bench or 60/40 split

Was extra annoying for me as mine was delayed in production, but I'm
glad I persevered as the sliding seat has already been really useful-
giving the choice of extra legroom, or extra boot space



Chris

Just remember snow is not a reason for buying a 4wd

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/winter-tyres-vs-4x4

However, if you like the way it drives over the trekking, genuinely stray from a made surface, simply want it and can afford it, all fine. But snow in itself is not a good enough excuse!!

4x4Fun said:

Just remember snow is not a reason for buying a 4wd

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-video/winter-tyres-vs-4x4

However, if you like the way it drives over the trekking, genuinely stray from a made surface, simply want it and can afford it, all fine. But snow in itself is not a good enough excuse!!

Click to expand...

Both the trekking and 4x4 come with continental cross contact winter tyres as standard.
What they should have done in that video is had a 3rd yeti, a 4x4 with winter tyres.
That would have made a difference again in acceleration tests.