My 500 has been having weird stop/start moments for a while, Click Here if interested, so it was in to my dealer yesterday for them to check.
They offered a loan car so I asked to use a New Panda. A 1.2 Lounge in orange with 20 miles on the clock was available, so I had that.
It had Blue and me so paired my phone and off to work.
I drive a 500 twin air so I was expecting a similar type of driving experience.
1st impressions, I like the extra room in the Panda, certainly more leg room in the front. The chunky handbrake is good too, feels natural to me.
Joined the dual carriageway. The 1.2 feels pretty breathless compared to the TA, but how will it do in mpg?
Arriving at work the comp says 55mpg, i drove in a similar style as I would have in the 500, so very similar with my car being a little better. I must bear in mind though that the Panda is brand new, so most probably nigh on the same over that route with my driving style.
I found the handling of the car ok, it rolls in the bends more than my 500, but that has 16" wheels. As for comfort, the Panda is better (again partly due to tyres i suppose) but the damping is much better. Going over speed bumps the Panda is fine, whereas my 500 would pogo on the rear suspension.
I really like the new media controls on the steering wheel, the jog wheels are a great improvement over the old style wheel. Also the radio displays track info etc, again a great imrovement over the 500 in dash display.
Another great thing about the info display is the seatbelt engagement. I had this in a mercedes and it's fantastic to see when the kids have properly plugged themselves in without having to check physically.
The display is missing an outside temp gauge though which I would like. Another thing which surprised me was no start/stop in this car.
The plastic steering wheel is a touch of penny pinching at this top of the range too.
So at the end of the day and about 50 miles put on the clock here is my conclusion.
I love it!!
Which model would I have? I think for my kind of driving i would not have the 1.2. I really don't think I would save much in the way of fuel with it.
On a long hill (0.6 miles or so) which I could drive up in 5th gear at 60mph in my 500 saw my having to drop down to 4th with the 1.2 as pace was slowing. I can actually floor my 500 and gain speed quite easily with the TA, on this hill, so the 1.2 is not for me.
If I was only driving in the city, the 1.2 may be fine. It will easily pootle along in 5th at 25mph or slower on the flat, nice and smoothly. The TA will not, needing at least 30mph, and then don't dare floor it!
I think the 1.2 would do quite a bit better mpg wise in the city, as this is where the TA stumbles. Out of town though they are more evenly matched consumption wise, and the extra pace of the TA wins easily.
When the 4x4 model is launched, my 500 is being chopped in as long as the price is right. :slayer:
They offered a loan car so I asked to use a New Panda. A 1.2 Lounge in orange with 20 miles on the clock was available, so I had that.
It had Blue and me so paired my phone and off to work.
I drive a 500 twin air so I was expecting a similar type of driving experience.
1st impressions, I like the extra room in the Panda, certainly more leg room in the front. The chunky handbrake is good too, feels natural to me.
Joined the dual carriageway. The 1.2 feels pretty breathless compared to the TA, but how will it do in mpg?
Arriving at work the comp says 55mpg, i drove in a similar style as I would have in the 500, so very similar with my car being a little better. I must bear in mind though that the Panda is brand new, so most probably nigh on the same over that route with my driving style.
I found the handling of the car ok, it rolls in the bends more than my 500, but that has 16" wheels. As for comfort, the Panda is better (again partly due to tyres i suppose) but the damping is much better. Going over speed bumps the Panda is fine, whereas my 500 would pogo on the rear suspension.
I really like the new media controls on the steering wheel, the jog wheels are a great improvement over the old style wheel. Also the radio displays track info etc, again a great imrovement over the 500 in dash display.
Another great thing about the info display is the seatbelt engagement. I had this in a mercedes and it's fantastic to see when the kids have properly plugged themselves in without having to check physically.
The display is missing an outside temp gauge though which I would like. Another thing which surprised me was no start/stop in this car.
The plastic steering wheel is a touch of penny pinching at this top of the range too.
So at the end of the day and about 50 miles put on the clock here is my conclusion.
I love it!!
Which model would I have? I think for my kind of driving i would not have the 1.2. I really don't think I would save much in the way of fuel with it.
On a long hill (0.6 miles or so) which I could drive up in 5th gear at 60mph in my 500 saw my having to drop down to 4th with the 1.2 as pace was slowing. I can actually floor my 500 and gain speed quite easily with the TA, on this hill, so the 1.2 is not for me.
If I was only driving in the city, the 1.2 may be fine. It will easily pootle along in 5th at 25mph or slower on the flat, nice and smoothly. The TA will not, needing at least 30mph, and then don't dare floor it!
I think the 1.2 would do quite a bit better mpg wise in the city, as this is where the TA stumbles. Out of town though they are more evenly matched consumption wise, and the extra pace of the TA wins easily.
When the 4x4 model is launched, my 500 is being chopped in as long as the price is right. :slayer:
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