Hi

I have read every post on this site about the discussions for and against having the skydome. I am going to the dealer to buy my panda tomorrow and so far have decided to go for the Dynamic which will cost me £5587 which I think is a good price. I want the steering wheel radio controls and either the aircon or skydome. I don't think I could stretch to aircon and skydome so which do you recommend? Whist I think aircon is good for hot days, the skydome looks great.
With the skydome, does it cool the car at all, or because it is apparently noisy over 50mph does it have any effect as presumably the air will flow right over the hole and not into the car?
The dealer has no pandas with a skydome so I will be test driving a punto with one to see what it is like.
Please could someone advise me before 1pm tomorrow if poss to help me in my decision.

Also I must add that think this forum is fantastic for anyone who want to buy a panda.

Thanking in advance

Hi redlea1

I should go for aircon.
As you say the skydome makes a lot of noise, and the aircon clears your front window on a cold or rainy day in an instant!!!
So the aircon is good for both hot and cold days.
I must admit the skydome looks great.
But when i look at the number of days in a year i used my aicon (my former car had one to) to cool the car, and the times i used it to def. my windows...
I live in Holland you know, it rains a lot here
And yet another thing, i got two children when i open a window or (in my former car) the skydome they where always naging about their ears.
On a hot day with the aircon on i had many pleasant drives with happy kids!!

Good luck with your choice and car keep us posted!

Greetz

Driveseis

hi, i'm in the same boat as you, as you said it's too expensive for both which is a real shame as it's generally agreed that the skydome looks great on the panda and really lifts the interior.

I've done lots of reading up on the discussions on here about the merits of both and personally i've decided the skydome is a 'cool' thing to have but for me i the aircon would be a more useful extra. It can get really hot over here in summer and with global warming its not going to get any cooler, aircon will be a godsend. Also if you do long journeys on a motorway, you'll enjoy the aircon more than the roof open. I tend to do a lot of traveling during the summer so I think i'm going to go for the aircon, or climate control if i can stretch to that.

I'd have both if i could

what colour did you go for?

Hi
i have the the Panda Skydome , i decided not to go for the aircon because of the extra servicing costs it incurrs, it needs to be serviced regularly. The skydome is GREAT, my kids said it makes the car feels like a convertible, i love it.

aircon cools the air, skydome lets the hot air in (i'd imagine unless it has some special feature over a sunroof), after driving around in france and the uk in the hight of summer in non aircon cars with the windows down its so nice now to have the aircon on and be nice and comfortable. Make a huge difference i wouldnt go back to a non aircon car.

Servicing cost isnt that much £50 every 2 yrs, i need mine serviced and cleaned before summer.

I have the skydome on my Panda and climate control also. If I had to choose I would always pic air con just for its practicality but the Skydome is fantastic. It is suprisingly quiet I find, and on sunny days like today I always have it open as opposed to having the climate on.

Ive had both and would go Skydome definately. It does cool the car, looks great and when closed the whole interior has a better ambience. Yes, it gets a bit noisy but its nothing your stereo cant cope with!
The aircon does affect performance, its like you lose that last little bit of the 60hp when its on. For me, theres something wrong about driving in hot weather with all your windows shut, you become detatched from the world IMO.

Re: Skydome or aircon. Ordered panda

Hi

I bought my panda dynamic a/c today. The colour I chose was samba orange and I can collect it in four weeks. I can't wait!
I was dissapointed that I couldn't get the steering wheel radio controls and mp3 connector without getting sub woofers and cd changer for £500.
I saw a skydome on a punto and in the end decided that I couldn't see myself using it that much so went for the aircon. If I regret it later on, so be it.
I will post pictures of my panda when I get it.