Think you know what the fuel tank capacity on a non-4x4 model Panda is?
Think again!
According to all the specifications and the handbook, it's 35 litres. I can tell you for sure that it's not. (Technically it might be, but that's not the usable capacity)
I know this for sure, because I've given it the ultimate test!
Over the last tankful of fuel in the Panda, I have been making a real effort to drive as economically as possible. Previously I have been getting up to 63 mpg out of it - some way from the supposedly possible 75 mpg. Yesterday it got to the point where the trip computer said I had got to 69.2 mpg, but the low fuel light was on. I knew from previous experience that even when the needle was on empty, there was room for 30 litres of fuel in the tank. With a quoted capacity of 35 litres, this would mean that there was about a gallon of fuel left - enough for quite some distance. So I pushed my luck a bit. On my way home from work, I could have stopped in Wrexham, but I had only done about 497 miles on the tankful by this point, and I wanted to get more than 500. So I carried on, planning to fill up at Shell in Oswestry. About half a mile from the petrol station, coming out of a roundabout, the car shuddered, and the engine stopped. There was no more fuel.
Luckily there is another petrol station about 100 metres after the roundabout, and I had enough momentum to get me to this point, and off the main road. I coasted round towards the pumps, and came to a stop about 10 metres short! I got out the car and tried to push it to the pump, but due to it being a slight uphill slope it was very hard work. Luckily there was a member of staff there to give me a push.
I filled the car up to the brim. It took 32.5 litres. So Fiat’s quoted capacity is wrong. At least this explains why it ran out sooner than I thought. Still, it works out at 69.1 mpg, which isn’t too bad.
The engine started after about 2 seconds of cranking, but the engine management light stayed on. The car ran fine though.
The next day I rang the dealer to get the engine management light sorted. Unfortunately their code reader was broken, and a new one was on order, but not available until May, so I booked the car in for May 5th.
Of course the next time I started the car, the light went off…
H
Think again!
According to all the specifications and the handbook, it's 35 litres. I can tell you for sure that it's not. (Technically it might be, but that's not the usable capacity)
I know this for sure, because I've given it the ultimate test!
Over the last tankful of fuel in the Panda, I have been making a real effort to drive as economically as possible. Previously I have been getting up to 63 mpg out of it - some way from the supposedly possible 75 mpg. Yesterday it got to the point where the trip computer said I had got to 69.2 mpg, but the low fuel light was on. I knew from previous experience that even when the needle was on empty, there was room for 30 litres of fuel in the tank. With a quoted capacity of 35 litres, this would mean that there was about a gallon of fuel left - enough for quite some distance. So I pushed my luck a bit. On my way home from work, I could have stopped in Wrexham, but I had only done about 497 miles on the tankful by this point, and I wanted to get more than 500. So I carried on, planning to fill up at Shell in Oswestry. About half a mile from the petrol station, coming out of a roundabout, the car shuddered, and the engine stopped. There was no more fuel.
Luckily there is another petrol station about 100 metres after the roundabout, and I had enough momentum to get me to this point, and off the main road. I coasted round towards the pumps, and came to a stop about 10 metres short! I got out the car and tried to push it to the pump, but due to it being a slight uphill slope it was very hard work. Luckily there was a member of staff there to give me a push.
I filled the car up to the brim. It took 32.5 litres. So Fiat’s quoted capacity is wrong. At least this explains why it ran out sooner than I thought. Still, it works out at 69.1 mpg, which isn’t too bad.
The engine started after about 2 seconds of cranking, but the engine management light stayed on. The car ran fine though.
The next day I rang the dealer to get the engine management light sorted. Unfortunately their code reader was broken, and a new one was on order, but not available until May, so I booked the car in for May 5th.
Of course the next time I started the car, the light went off…
H
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