I've had half an eye on a Panda 4x4 for a couple of months now, but yesterday hubby and I bit the bullet and bought a Trekking.

Technically it's my hubby's car as I don't actually drive, but I chose it with a view to learning (and about time too, I'm 33yrs old!). We have a 3yr old and a new baby due next month, so I really need to be the one doing the school run.

The reason we picked the Trekking over the regular Panda is because we live out in the sticks and want something that will comfortably handle poorly maintained back roads, a bit of mud, gravel and sometimes snow, plus the occasional small flood that hampers our lanes. I loved the 4X4, but ultimately didn't feel it was worth the extra - we live in the flats and rolling hills of Suffolk, not Wales!

Being that this is the first time we've ever bought a brand new car, I was going to splash out on some extras, particularly the flex pack with the sliding rear seat. However, the dealer dropped a bit of a bombshell by telling us the sliding seat wasn't currently available, so we decided to scrub that option. I also wanted the winter pack and the height adjustable seat (I'm a short arse lol) but after sitting in it, I realised I didn't need the latter. The dealer told us there was a Trekking in the colour we wanted (orange!) already in the country, but with no other extras. After a bit of hmming and haaaing, plus the rather appealing lower cost of little more than base spec, we decided to go for it.

So, in a couple of weeks we should be the proud owners of a sexy orange Panda! Does anyone have any advice on what to expect while we wait to receive it?

Oh, I do want to say how happy we were with the service from Glyn Hopkins in Ipswich. Maybe I'm just used to used car salesmen, but this was an extremely pleasant experience and we weren't pressured into anything at all (even the GAP insurance and the special coating they offered to put on the paint and interior fabrics). I've heard all sorts of horror stories about bad dealerships, so I relived we seem to have a good local one. Of course, the proof will be in the after sales service if we ever need to use it, but I'm feeling confident at this stage that we'll be well looked after.

Sorry for the novel by the way, just don't think my facebook friends will be quite so enthused about outer new car purchase lol.

Looking forward to sharing a few photos when it arrives, though I see some members here already have the orange and have uploaded pics - many thanks to you, as they've proven invaluable in helping us choose such a funky colour.

Congratulations from a Trekking owner on the new car. Petrol or diesel?

busman683 said:

Congratulations from a Trekking owner on the new car. Petrol or diesel?

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How did I forget to mention the engine in that mammoth post lol, we're going for the TwinAir petrol. We test drove the diesel as it was all they had, but always intended to get the TA.

Are you enjoying your Trekking? What kind of roads do you use it on?

I have a twinair too. I live in a rural area, so use it mainly on "smaller" roads but I have done a forty or so mile trek on the M1 a couple of times and found it quite capable at speeds up to the legal limit. I've had it for almost 10 months and it still makes me smile!

busman683 said:

I have a twinair too. I live in a rural area, so use it mainly on "smaller" roads but I have done a forty or so mile trek on the M1 a couple of times and found it quite capable at speeds up to the legal limit. I've had it for almost 10 months and it still makes me smile!

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Pleased to hear you are so happy with it and sounds just like the kind of use we will be getting out of it too. What colour did you go for and have you added any pics to the forum?

Tuscany Green with olive interior - I still need the wellies to match!
I've tried uploading a picture but it seems to have disappeared into the system.

busman683 said:

Tuscany Green with olive interior - I still need the wellies to match!
I've tried uploading a picture but it seems to have disappeared into the system.

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Ooh, that's a nice choice! I must admit I looked at the green a few times myself, but ultimately we like more garish, stand-out colours on our car lol! We've had yellow and gold before, orange is the most "out there" we've done yet (though the white skoda felicia with pink playboy stickers and fluffy pink seat covers and matching dice certainly attracted some looks - don't ask lol!).

The clips I've seen on YouTube of the Trekking show it to be capable enough for most situations.

I look forward to seeing the piccies.

Great choice of car, from a fellow trekking owner!

Sounds great!

We just have a regular Panda rather than a Trekking/4x4 (it's a 1.2 Easy). Funnily enough we have a 2 and a half year old plus one more on the way in the next few weeks

I am sure the car will be 100% what you are after though, even with two young kids and the added gubbins they entail. The Panda has tonnes of space and even though you haven't got the extras that you might have wanted to start with, I really don't think it will make much difference.

All the best!

Edit: Oh yeah, great colour by the way! My wife wouldn't be seen dead in an orange/green/yellow car, but I think it is a class colour.

Thanks guys!

Congrats on the impending birth Super Uwe. Glad to hear another Panda owner is happy with it as a small family car.

We're trading in our massive Honda 4x4 as part exchange to get the Panda. It's a great car and it's served us well over the last 3 years, but I don't want to learn to drive in it lol. Plus I can't say I'm upset that we no longer have to pay over £200 a year in road tax and get 20-ish mpg!

When we test drove the Panda, I took my son along with his rather bulky car seat (he is extended rear-facing) and although it was tight, there were no issues with it fitting comfortably and safely. The smaller group 0 car seat for baby will have no difficulty going in. I have a fairly bulky pushchair, but it folds quite compactly and that will go in the boot with the parcel shelf off and still leave a bit of room at the side for shopping. One of the reasons I wanted the sliding seats was so the kids car seats would have plenty of space, but that's not an issue it seems and it would have compromised too much boot space.

Yeah you're quite right, the standard configuration is actually pretty damn good for people with younger children. The sliding seat would certainly come into its own if you are carrying two older children/adults in the back, but for young kids it really isn't a prob.

The passenger table on the other hand does nick quite a bit of space, and I think we would probably ditch it next time around if we bought another Panda. It has been great for folding the front seat down and loading flatpack items in, but for everyday use with a toddler in a chunky car seat directly behind it, I would not recommend this option.

The boot is a great shape, and as you say you can just take the parcel shelf off for bulky items. When we go on holiday this year, I will do the same and will probably put all three of the rear headrests up too, and then squeeze a couple of holdalls on top of the other stuff in the boot. Will still have the top third of the rear window in view, plus the holdalls will fit it snugly between the window and the headrests...at least that's the plan!

Super Uwe said:

Yeah you're quite right, the standard configuration is actually pretty damn good for people with younger children. The sliding seat would certainly come into its own if you are carrying two older children/adults in the back, but for young kids it really isn't a prob.



The passenger table on the other hand does nick quite a bit of space, and I think we would probably ditch it next time around if we bought another Panda. It has been great for folding the front seat down and loading flatpack items in, but for everyday use with a toddler in a chunky car seat directly behind it, I would not recommend this option.



The boot is a great shape, and as you say you can just take the parcel shelf off for bulky items. When we go on holiday this year, I will do the same and will probably put all three of the rear headrests up too, and then squeeze a couple of holdalls on top of the other stuff in the boot. Will still have the top third of the rear window in view, plus the holdalls will fit it snugly between the window and the headrests...at least that's the plan!

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Sounds like you've got it worked out nicely!

May I ask what car seat you're using with your toddler? We currently have a Besafe Izi Combi X3 Isofix and have been keeping it rear-facing up until last week. As soon as he hits 15kg, I'll be putting my son in a group 2 seat so we can continue to use isofix (the current seat uses only the seatbelt in forward-facing mode).

Hopefully by the time we need more space we'll be trading in the car for something a bit roomier - maybe a 500L if I'm lucky!

It's arrived at the dealership! Should be ready to come home on Friday or Saturday and I can't wait!

We went and had a quick peek this morning, the orange looks absolutely fantastic! I'll upload some pics in a new thread when it's finally ours, but I snapped this one for now.

Best colour I m o!

triumph7 said:

Best colour I m o!

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I like the Trekking in that colour too, but my cars are always red-
so I went for Cancan Red

However, I feel green suits the 4x4 Panda well, in homage to the
original Land Rover, whose off-road capabilities it matches so closely



Chris

I guess I agree. But I didn't like the green interior.....

I rather like the green myself, but I prefer colours that easily catch the eye. I think someone said on here once that green is the least safe colour for a car because it blends in with surrounding vegetation.

Looks like we're picking up the car tomorrow anyway. The leather steering wheel is being fitted at a later date as it's not come in yet. Bit annoyed at how long it's taken, I thought it would be waiting at the dealership before the car itself arrived. If we want to wait to have the wheel fitted first, we're not going to have the car until next Wednesday, assuming it comes in tomorrow. Blasted bank holidays keep delaying things....

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures!

I'd say that it's a good thing that the leather wheel is being fitted later. You can get to feel how truly horrible the standard one is, so that you'll appreciate the leather one even more!

TwinAir Newbie said:

I'm looking forward to seeing pictures!



I'd say that it's a good thing that the leather wheel is being fitted later. You can get to feel how truly horrible the standard one is, so that you'll appreciate the leather one even more!

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That's a good way of looking at it!

Will have pictures up ASAP, just hoping it's not piddling down like it has been here today. Don't want her to get splattered in muddy puddles on her maiden voyage!