General Panda multijet vs twinair

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General Panda multijet vs twinair

soupdragon

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Hi all

Newbie here so be gentle :)

I have a 2007 Panda Multijet at the moment. Early next year I'll be looking at getting either the new multijet or a twinair.

Now.......

I quite fancy the idea of the twinair engine but have read many varied reports ( including on this forum ) about the frugality, or lack of it, that it offers.
I get around the 60mpg mark from my current engine, or that's what the trip computer tells me. I always take the " official " figures with a large pinch of salt so wouldn't expect to get anywhere near the 67mpg mark with the twinair.
So am I likely to get near the upper 50's? Taking in to account that I don't plan to use the air con or drive around with my foot glued to the floor ( well maybe just a little ). There'll be maybe 3-4 visits a year to family in the lake district so would use the M6 on those occasions. The rest of my journeys will be at a more sedate pace.
I'd gladly get another diesel but fancy the thought of the little two pot motor.

Any thoughts please :)

Cheers Tom
 
Thanks for the rapid replies :)

I could probably live with anything over 50. My journey to work will take me along the waterfront of Liverpool, the half mile or so in front of the Liver Building can be very stop-start during the day but I'll be doing it between 5-6am. Journew time would be about 30-35 mins at that time of day. Coming home would be slower at 6-6.30pm so would lose a few mpg due to the slower traffic. If I knew for certain that I'd struggle to get to even 50 I'll probably go for the multijet.
I've yet to test drive the twinair so the pocket rocket may still win the day even if I have to live with the lower figures.
How much fun can the twinair really be when allowed to " breathe "?

Cheers Tom
 
Bear in mind the difference in price between the TA and the multijet, will you ever make it up? You'd have to be doing a lot of mileage to do so.

The TA is a hoot when you put your foot down, but you've got to realise that even mid 40's MPG wise won't be attainable if you're having fun with it ;)

Personally, I'd test drive the TA and see what you think. Some people just don't like them.
 
I could probably live with anything over 50.

Have you considered a 1.2 - that will easily give you over 50 if you drive it for economy, and can be bought new for surprisingly little (£6500 or maybe even less) if you shop around.

From past experience in the 500 section, all the evidence suggests that the official fuel consumption figures are not representative of the real-world difference in economy between the different engine variants.

I'd gladly get another diesel
New diesels are now fitted with a DPF, which is a game-changer as far as the long term costs of ownership are concerned (and even the short term costs for anyone doing mainly short journeys). If most of my travelling was in the stop-start 30/40 mph environment of the greater Liverpool area, I wouldn't consider a current generation diesel even for a minute, whatever the price or mpg figures.

There's a recent thread in the 500 section about the woes of a chap who was mis-sold a diesel for city use and had endless DPF related issues within a very short time of taking delivery of the car. A few minutes on google will reveal the scale of the problem & even the AA do not recommend DPF equipped diesel cars for city use. A quote from their website:

"If you're buying a new car and plan to use it mainly for town-based, stop/start driving it would be wise to avoid a diesel car fitted with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) because of the possible hassle of incomplete 'DPF regeneration'."

Any thoughts please
Unlike the 500, the value of a new Panda will drop like a stone once you've taken delivery, and if you are prepared to consider a nearly-new car and have the time to shop around, there are some real bargains to be had just now.
 
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Have you considered a 1.2 - that will easily give you over 50 if you drive it for economy, and can be bought new for surprisingly little (£6500 or maybe even less) if you shop around.

From past experience in the 500 section, all the evidence suggests that the official fuel consumption figures are not representative of the real-world difference in economy between the different engine variants.

Also, new diesels are now fitted with a DPF, which is a game-changer as far as the long term costs of ownership are concerned (and even the short term costs for anyone doing mainly short journeys).

The man makes a good point!

All I will add though (and I always seem to do this:eek:) is that the 1.2 is a surprisingly good performer as well up to around 55mph when you work your way through the gears up to 4th. 5th gear is all set up for eco-driving in the 1.2, if you want to pull away in 5th then don't expect much of a response when you put your foot down:p

It doesn't exactly struggle past those speeds, but my point is that if you need to pull away quickly, it generally won't let you down. Our 1.2 Easy runs on V-Power unleaded; I guess it might make a bit of difference as well in terms of acceleration, but don't quote me on that...;)

Also - we drove to Cardiff the weekend before last and I was really pushing the engine hard. Total calculated mpg for a round trip of 250 miles was 43mpg. So my point here is that it is really, really hard to get anything below 40mpg (at least over a longer run anyway).

Ultimately all three engines have their different characteristics, so if you can test drive all of them then that will give you a really good basis to make your choice.

Price-wise though, the 1.2 is an absolute winner given all of the discounts involved.
 
Hi soupdragon,

I'll not be the first person to say this but you must test drive the TwinAir. When buying my 500 in 2011 I first drove the 1.2 and it was okay but tested a TA immediately afterwords and was totally blown away. The sporty feel and engine noise (this seems to be a bit of a love hate thing for people!) which I feel gives it real character.

As for economy though, my round trip to work is about 100 miles split roughly 60% dual carriageway, 20% city and 20% twisty country lanes. I've driven it 48,000 miles so far and over the last 3000 miles I've only managed an average of 44 MPG with the air con on and eco used about half the time.

Having just ordered my new car a Panda 4x4 I test drove the diesel for a comparison and it was clear that the fuel economy is far far better that the TA in day to day driving. That said I've still ordered the TA because I just love the character and more sporty feel whilst being prepared to sacrifice a little MPG.

Hope this helps :)
 
I think that for me it's as much about how it drives as the mpg. So getting the ballance is important for me.

On the journey up to visit the sister in-law, we leave the M6 at J31 to take the A59 past B.A.E Systems and on to Gisburn. Then the fun starts as we turn off to cut across to pick up the A65. That 7 mile stretch is a joy with plenty of bendy bits and sweeping turns. It always reminds me of my biking days riding around Wales. The multijet is so much fun on that little bit of road contrasting with the rest of the run where it's boring motorway or plain old A roads.
I'm not sure that the 1.2 would have the response or grunt to do that bit of road justice, let alone be able to overtake at speed on the motorway without planning it a couple of miles in advance ( and revving the b**ls of it )......
I know we only do the trip a few times a year but I want to make the trip as enjoyable as possible.

About the DPF.

I was under the impression that my current engine had one or am I just assuming? If it doesn't then my choice will be simple. TwinAir.
I will be having a test drive of the twinair, that's for sure. From what I've read it will be even more fun on the drive up to ;)
As I mentioned before, for the most part I'll just be doing a mundane commute but it's always good to have a little something there to call upon from the engine if needed.

Cheers Tom
 
I have heard that the TwinAir can sound a bit odd. That wouldn't really bother me.
I do love the meaty sound from my Multijet but it's the price of diesel getting further and further away from petrol that's making me think about the twin. I do realise there would be a price to pay in mpg if I swapped back to petrol. The trick is finding out how low it would go driving it the same way as I do with the diesel. High 50's at the moment from the multijet but I'm worried that there are too many people getting low 40's at best from the TwinAir :(
I have heard that the 1.2 is a good motor but after having the pull of the diesel it might seem a bit underpowered?

Cheers Tom
 
Not enough cylinders.
A car engine needs at least 4 cylinders to call it a car engine IMHO.
Everything less, is Lawn mower material. ;)
A 4 cylinder Multi-Jet is a great engine, sadly enough not available overhere in a Panda.

That, sir, is just plain silly. The original 500, various small Citroens, Panhards as well as the Dutch Daf featured 2 cylinder engines.

Many of these units have strong performance and a competition pedigree sufficient to shame many a four pot.
 
I had a weekend with an mj 4x4 before opting for the ta. Unless you do big motorway miles the diesel makes little sense. The ta has bags of performance, lighter, sounds better and cheaper to service. I've no regrets whatsoever despite years of driving diesels....
 
I had a weekend with an mj 4x4 before opting for the ta. Unless you do big motorway miles the diesel makes little sense. The ta has bags of performance, lighter, sounds better and cheaper to service. I've no regrets whatsoever despite years of driving diesels....

How long have you had your TwinAir for? Long enough to report a reliable mpg figure yet?

Cheers Tom
 
In the interest of full disclosure as to my average mpg figure, my wife would describe the way I drive as loony. I do try to drive with Eco turned on a lot of the time then use turning it off like a 'sport' button. I find the twin air more than capable of embarrassing much larger more 'prestige' but perhaps lower spec vehicles and the look of disbelief on the owners face as they realise is always priceless :-D

Driving the same route with the air con off, Eco fixed on and me in sensible mode I can with some ease achieve in the region of 47-52mpg unfortunately day to day I just find it far too tempting to use the extra power! The broad range on the fuel economy is because I've found that even a stiff headwind can make a significant difference to the TwinAir economy.
 
That sounds promising. So as you and others have said low 50's is do-able :) Then when you want some entertainment it's available at a cost of 15 ( ish ) mpg for the duration of said entertainment?

Cheers Tom
 
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