panda skydome

hi guys. i'm presently driving around in a ford fiesta. Ok , you can stop laughing now. the new panda just looks fab. i intend to get one with the skydome. anyone care to share info or experiences or pros/cons or just anything to shed light on this most attractive feature ?

No experiences myself, but saw a Panda 4x4 with it at Stanford yesterday - it looked really cool!
H

Ford Fiestas are very fine cars, but the Panda is finer.

The Skydome lets a lot more er, light into the car - comes with two interior blinds, you lift up the blind handle a little and the blind slides back. The panel above the front seats opens with a magic button on the headlining- you can either 'tilt' - or go for the full open effect. Tilt is good for extra ventilation, fully open is handy for throwing beer cans out off on a Friday night if you live in Portsmouth..

I'm not a lover of sun-roofs because in the summer it's too hot with them open, in the winter its too cold ,they are noisy on motorways and we have 21st Century climate control to keep cool instead of a hole in the roof... And they need maintenance, although not much.

Why did I get one? Because the Skydome looks very cool. Also it's good for keeping the car cool at Camp Panda when the car is parked.

Out of the options for the Panda in order of the use they get in my car I'd put the slidey rear seat first, the climate control second, and the Skydome last.

The Skydome does a lot to brighten up the interior of the car though, perhaps its best feature. I seem to remember that you can't have the third rear seat belt fitted with the Skydome option for some reason. Or was that the slidey rear seat?


The best option for the Panda though, must the MultiJet Diesel engine.

Don't forget to order the £11.00 locking filler cap if your car doesn't come with one! And check for a boot light on delivery. No Panda is complete without one, even if all it does is provide a glimmer of light in the depths of the capacious boot.

Smashing cars, but I'm sure you know that already. Skydome is nice option.

I love my skydome. It really brightens the car.
Also love the slidey rear seat. Makes great use of the space in this little car.
Also love the Multijet. Great engine.

Capacious boot? You're funny!
H

I recommend the skydome. Not only the 'more light' and 'summer' arguments, but the black top just makes it look really nice.

I saw some people complain about the noise, but I really can't hear any noise coming from the skydome. When closed, that is. When it's fully opened you don't want to drive more than 60kmh/40mpg. You can still open it slightly by only tilting it (not sliding).

The only drawback I've found so far is the fact that you have to close it manually. I didn't expect it to close automatically, but it neither complains (beeps would be nice), nor does it let you close it after the key is removed (like the windows do: you can still close them as long as no door has been opened.)

Hope I've managed to explain myself :S

Slidey back seat works wonders!

i think having seen them now, i wish we had ticked the option to have it, certainly if ever we order another fiat would want it

I had a Merc once, before I blew all my dough on the Panda, when you pressed the keyfob blipper, it closed the sun-roof, rolled the windows up and locked the doors. Fiat, are you listening? If there's enugh computer power in the Panda to turn the "£$"££%$^% boot light off after twenty minutes there's enough brain power to shut the ^&*%*&^&*ing sun-roof when you lock the doors.

Hey - I've found the second Panda Grumble!

Typical Merc., over the top. What if you wanted to leave the windows open a bit, but still lock the doors, for a dog say?

I seem to remember the car wouldn't shut everything up if there was anyone inside it. I don't remember trying a dog in it.

Also if there car was left unattended, and presumably dogless, it would close the roof and windows and lock the doors after 20 minutes.

I liked it. I want my Panda to do that. Maybe I could wire the sunroof up to the boot light computer.

Think I've got your drift. for a horrible minute there I thought you meant it came with a windey handle to manually close the roof !!

Hmm, i'm not a lover of cutting holes in car roofs, Condensation and ice in winter open it in summer and you get battered to death by McDonald boxes and every bit if loose paper you had in the car. Oh in case I forget purchase a set of ear defenders...you will require these for motorway driving. I'll stick with the Sporting, (no aircon either) the poor little multijet cant afford to loose 7% of its power running a silly compressor that spits hail stones at your ankles.

Ian

might be a bit tricky getting a dog into a panda!

MMMM, yes, Vegetarian I understand.