Afternoon all!
As some of you will know, we have owned our 1.2 Easy for the best part of 18 months now, and are just about to go past the 20,000 mile mark in the next week or so.
I thought about writing this thread as I overheard a few people talking about what car they were hoping to get now that they were expecting their first child. I can't remember the exact conversation but the Focus and Qashqai were both mentioned (I quite like the Focus but the Qashqai? No thanks!:yuck.
In my opinion, the Panda is a really great little car for many young families with up to two children (in theory you could fit three kids on the back seat if they were a bit older, but it's not likely to happen on a regular basis!). Yet I don't think many people would ever really consider a Panda as being such a car?
Here are my main reasons behind this:
1. Space - in my opinion, the boot in the Panda offers plenty of usable space for a pushchair, travel cot and the other gubbins you have to haul along with you. Obviously there needs to be a bit of consideration as to how well your pushchair folds up, but we have found that you can squeeze a whole load into the back, not to mention the floors in the back too (if your kids are still small enough and are in car seats). And the bin in the front is always, always full of stuff!
2. Accessibility - really can't rate the Panda highly enough in this regard. The boot lip is at a really nice height low down, making it a doddle to chuck things in. In addition the doors are nice and small, and very light too which is really handy when getting our son out of the back.
3. Easy to drive - whether you have kids or not, what's not to love about the driving experience in a Panda? You're nice and high up, the gearstick is positioned perfectly, and there is good all-round visibility. Also, it's a doddle to park and you can nip in and out all small spaces that a Qashqai owner could only ever dream of!
4. Cheap to run - raising a family at this moment in time is hard going with the cost of living etc, and to be honest I am grateful for the fact that vehicle duty is £30 a year and fuel consumption is generally around the 45-50 mpg mark.
So there you go. Hopefully someone has found this of use!
As some of you will know, we have owned our 1.2 Easy for the best part of 18 months now, and are just about to go past the 20,000 mile mark in the next week or so.
I thought about writing this thread as I overheard a few people talking about what car they were hoping to get now that they were expecting their first child. I can't remember the exact conversation but the Focus and Qashqai were both mentioned (I quite like the Focus but the Qashqai? No thanks!:yuck.
In my opinion, the Panda is a really great little car for many young families with up to two children (in theory you could fit three kids on the back seat if they were a bit older, but it's not likely to happen on a regular basis!). Yet I don't think many people would ever really consider a Panda as being such a car?
Here are my main reasons behind this:
1. Space - in my opinion, the boot in the Panda offers plenty of usable space for a pushchair, travel cot and the other gubbins you have to haul along with you. Obviously there needs to be a bit of consideration as to how well your pushchair folds up, but we have found that you can squeeze a whole load into the back, not to mention the floors in the back too (if your kids are still small enough and are in car seats). And the bin in the front is always, always full of stuff!
2. Accessibility - really can't rate the Panda highly enough in this regard. The boot lip is at a really nice height low down, making it a doddle to chuck things in. In addition the doors are nice and small, and very light too which is really handy when getting our son out of the back.
3. Easy to drive - whether you have kids or not, what's not to love about the driving experience in a Panda? You're nice and high up, the gearstick is positioned perfectly, and there is good all-round visibility. Also, it's a doddle to park and you can nip in and out all small spaces that a Qashqai owner could only ever dream of!
4. Cheap to run - raising a family at this moment in time is hard going with the cost of living etc, and to be honest I am grateful for the fact that vehicle duty is £30 a year and fuel consumption is generally around the 45-50 mpg mark.
So there you go. Hopefully someone has found this of use!