babbo_umbro
Established member
The 4x4's just brought us back to Pudding Island after its fourth trip to central Italy. We were there for ten weeks and the car did a total of 4550 miles, at just under 40 mpg. I'd normally expect a couple of mpg more in the warmth of Italy - in ten weeks we had a total of five or six days of (torrential) rain but the temperatures were between 25 and 33 all the time otherwise - but the weather was much cooler on the journeys to and from, which make up the bulk of the mileage. Air con was full on all the time.
For a change - and to take in a week's walking holiday in the Provence on the way south - we went via Arras and champagne country rather than Belgium and Luxembourg. The champagne area was really weird - we expected to see vineyards but for 30 miles or more we saw not a single vine - just mile after mile of monocultural wheat growing - hideous for the environment. Walking through the country in Provence was also strange - great walking area but Provence was devoid of wild life - we walked for 8-11 miles each day, the countryside was completely silent, we saw a total of two buzzards, not another bird, no mammals, no reptiles, and just one flock of sheep - in Umbria we’d have listened to and watched numerous birds from before dawn till after dusk, seen beech martens, squirrels, deer, boar, porcupines, sheep, goats, lizards, snakes - very odd - eerie.
The Panda - which goes in for a 26,000+ miles service next week - oil change plus all the filters as Umbria was very dusty - behaved impeccably. Our normal route is bedevilled by an increasing number of speed cameras in the Epinal-Namur-Nancy area, but the Panda is more than happy to sit at 85 mph all day otherwise. Load coming back was 2 adults with quite a bit of luggage plus about 90 litres of wine, 3 of olive oil - commercial break - the best of Umbria's olive oil is arguably the best there is - because of the altitude of the groves there is no need to spray against olive fly, which is otherwise done almost universally, nasty stuff - organ phosphates, which are much better avoided; flavour and aroma are also exquisite.
One of the interesting aspects of the 4x4 is the low rate of oil consumption; also tyre wear is very low.
There are numerous Panda Mk 1, 2 and 3 4x4s in central Italy - - our neighbour has a Mk 1 Trekking that's used more or less like a draft horse round the local woods - almost inevitable that you park beside one which emphasises how ugly the current model is, especially alongside the previous one.
For a change - and to take in a week's walking holiday in the Provence on the way south - we went via Arras and champagne country rather than Belgium and Luxembourg. The champagne area was really weird - we expected to see vineyards but for 30 miles or more we saw not a single vine - just mile after mile of monocultural wheat growing - hideous for the environment. Walking through the country in Provence was also strange - great walking area but Provence was devoid of wild life - we walked for 8-11 miles each day, the countryside was completely silent, we saw a total of two buzzards, not another bird, no mammals, no reptiles, and just one flock of sheep - in Umbria we’d have listened to and watched numerous birds from before dawn till after dusk, seen beech martens, squirrels, deer, boar, porcupines, sheep, goats, lizards, snakes - very odd - eerie.
The Panda - which goes in for a 26,000+ miles service next week - oil change plus all the filters as Umbria was very dusty - behaved impeccably. Our normal route is bedevilled by an increasing number of speed cameras in the Epinal-Namur-Nancy area, but the Panda is more than happy to sit at 85 mph all day otherwise. Load coming back was 2 adults with quite a bit of luggage plus about 90 litres of wine, 3 of olive oil - commercial break - the best of Umbria's olive oil is arguably the best there is - because of the altitude of the groves there is no need to spray against olive fly, which is otherwise done almost universally, nasty stuff - organ phosphates, which are much better avoided; flavour and aroma are also exquisite.
One of the interesting aspects of the 4x4 is the low rate of oil consumption; also tyre wear is very low.
There are numerous Panda Mk 1, 2 and 3 4x4s in central Italy - - our neighbour has a Mk 1 Trekking that's used more or less like a draft horse round the local woods - almost inevitable that you park beside one which emphasises how ugly the current model is, especially alongside the previous one.
