Hi there.. My Panda finally arrived after 3+ months waiting. And I must say, so far I'm really impressed. Everything feels solid and mature.
Best thing must be the dualogic semi-automatic gearbox! I went out on a limb on that one, but it's really worth it. It has the manual (semi) mode and an automatic mode, but I see no point in the changing gears myself. The automatic mode is just great. There's a button near the stick with an "E" on it. It's for economy mode. If you press it an E appears on the console and the panda shifts up really soon. It was in 5th at 60kmh(37mph). I'll probably leave it in economy, since it'll still respond to commands of the stick: pull the stick back and it'll shift down immediately!
Also the 1.2 engine is really good "enough". The specs seemed kind-of disappointing at first ("60hp!?!") and I only tested the MJT, but I'm really satisfied with it: 120kmh(75mph) is no problem and the car doesn't feel like a mini at that speed.
The sky-dome is neat. Everybody loves it when they see it
And again, there was no need for worrying: at 120kmh the sounds still come from the usual places (doors,wheels); the sky dome is not causing more noise inside the car (with it closed, that is).
Two pictures for now: the first is when I got it (clean!) and the second about 2 hours later. Went for a drive through some villages and mud roads. The ESP/VDC was clearly feelable at times: when driving to full mud one of the wheels would stutter like when the ABS kicks in, traction control
Drove ~300km today, tank at about 50%, trip computer shows 6.2l/100km average consumption. This was half highway, half village road, so pretty mixed. Also with the lights on, but no aircon.
So there you have it. One happy Panda owner
Best thing must be the dualogic semi-automatic gearbox! I went out on a limb on that one, but it's really worth it. It has the manual (semi) mode and an automatic mode, but I see no point in the changing gears myself. The automatic mode is just great. There's a button near the stick with an "E" on it. It's for economy mode. If you press it an E appears on the console and the panda shifts up really soon. It was in 5th at 60kmh(37mph). I'll probably leave it in economy, since it'll still respond to commands of the stick: pull the stick back and it'll shift down immediately!
Also the 1.2 engine is really good "enough". The specs seemed kind-of disappointing at first ("60hp!?!") and I only tested the MJT, but I'm really satisfied with it: 120kmh(75mph) is no problem and the car doesn't feel like a mini at that speed.
The sky-dome is neat. Everybody loves it when they see it
And again, there was no need for worrying: at 120kmh the sounds still come from the usual places (doors,wheels); the sky dome is not causing more noise inside the car (with it closed, that is).Two pictures for now: the first is when I got it (clean!) and the second about 2 hours later. Went for a drive through some villages and mud roads. The ESP/VDC was clearly feelable at times: when driving to full mud one of the wheels would stutter like when the ABS kicks in, traction control
Drove ~300km today, tank at about 50%, trip computer shows 6.2l/100km average consumption. This was half highway, half village road, so pretty mixed. Also with the lights on, but no aircon.
So there you have it. One happy Panda owner
