General Road trip in new Panda

[smc4761]

Took delivery of my new Panda a few weeks ago. Drove around 300 miles, which was mainly in town driving
At the weekend I was away for a few days driving from Glasgow to Newcastle, so here are my thoughts.

Driving down the motorway it was very windy and the car was getting blown about a fair bit. I am quite a lazy driver, in that I like to get the car though the gears and leave it pretty much in top gear. I am also a very careful driver and tend to drive cautiously, typically thoughout the journey I was driving mainly between 50-60 mph What I found was that even going up a slight hill in 5th the car would struggle and several times I was down to just about 40 mph. I found that you need to work the engine, dropping it down to 4th getting back up to 50 mph before changing up to 5th. May have been a combination of staying in high gear and the wind factor.

The car is good to drive, very comfortable and if you work the engine with the gears it is fine.

Drove 383 miles and the car took 32.5 litres to fill back up again, so around 53 mpg, driving pretty much about 50-55 mph. I assume that this will improve as the car gets a few more miles.

The trip range of the car was a bit confusing at times. Filled up and range said 420 miles. After about 40 miles this had dropped to 335 miles. Drove for another 80 miles and the range had gone up to 402!!!!!! very strange

 

[Mercky]

The range monitors your consumption and adjusts accordingly depending on current conditions hence it goes up and down

 

[R1NGA]

Good economy figure in anyone's terms - but what engine is in your Panda?

 

[Jabe]

The range monitors your consumption and adjusts accordingly depending on current conditions hence it goes up and down

When the tank was gets nearly empty, should I press on in the hope of finding another fuel station, or turn back to the last one? The “range” figure on my old 2009 Cross gave some guidance. On the 2012 model, the range display turns to zero as soon as the fuel warning light comes on.

In other words, this feature becomes unavailable at the only time when the information might actually be useful. Why has Fiat done this?

 

[smc4761]

Its a 1.2 popular. It may be the basic model but is certainly fairly well equiped. The only thing I would like is remote central locking, but I can live without that.

I found that my fuel warning light came on with a range of about 60 miles showing and 2 bars. I topped up fairly soon after that and brimmed it and it took 32.5 litres. So I would expect once light comes on, you would get around 30/40 miles

 

[gar074]

When the tank was gets nearly empty, should I press on in the hope of finding another fuel station, or turn back to the last one? The “range” figure on my old 2009 Cross gave some guidance. On the 2012 model, the range display turns to zero as soon as the fuel warning light comes on.

In other words, this feature becomes unavailable at the only time when the information might actually be useful. Why has Fiat done this?

Couldn't agree more. With such a small tank, losing this information when you've still got 5+ litres in the tank is infuriating. It may not be a problem for city dwellers, who can always fill up on the next corner, but for those of us out in the sticks, where filling stations are often a fair distance apart (especially ones that are open at night) losing the range data at such an early point is a real pain.

 

[Jabe]

...for those of us out in the sticks, where filling stations are often a fair distance apart (especially ones that are open at night) losing the range data at such an early point is a real pain.

If you think Beccles is out in the sticks, please take pity on those of us who live in rural Scotland.

 

[gar074]

Point taken!

 

[deeyup]

I've found with my style of driving that I can get 18 miles when the fuel gauge turns to zero and the last chunk extinguishes.
Your results may vary

 

[R1NGA]

In other words, this feature becomes unavailable at the only time when the information might actually be useful. Why has Fiat done this?

Common across pretty much all the car industry - manufacturers cannot risk a car running out when it still says it has some distance to go on the Range display, as you just know some low-life somewhere will get stranded between stations having run out of fuel, yet still with xx miles left on the readout. They then claim fictitious mental trauma and bag a brief to sue manufacturers arses until their greed is satisfied..... Hardly winds me up at all

So therefore they pretty much all go blank once the fuel light has been on for a few miles. I suspect we can thank America for this....

 

[babbo_umbro]

Haven't pushed it too near the last few drops but the 4x4 TA seems to have at least 30 miles in hand when the range indicator gives up. As this is highly dependent on the slope the car is on it's very approximate.

 

[gar074]

they pretty much all go blank once the fuel light has been on for a few miles...

I've not driven another car that goes blank quite so early. Our 3 Seats would count right down to the final mile (VWs seem to do that too - same electronics probably), and Volvos and Citroens also seem to count down for longer (to under 20 in the case of the DS3). In the Fiat it's exacerbated by the useless fuel gauge, which is not at all progressive. Mine still shows 1/4 full when the range is only 50 miles, and a few miles later the range read-out disappears altogether. So by the time you spot that the fuel gauge is getting low, it won't tell you what your remaining range is. How stupid is that?

 

[ExBluebird]

My merc gives up below 40 miles. panda , I look for a station when the light comes on, or if im on a journey knowing how many miles im about to travel. Simple really.

 

[R1NGA]

... which means it's best to 'learn' how far you can push it in terms of range, with a gallon of fuel in the boot. I used to do that each time I got a new motorbike, so that could find out exactly how much fuel it had left in it when on reserve. Only needed to do it once to get a very good idea. Haven't done this yet in my Panda, but I probably should.

I've gotten to the point where the tank in my 4x4 took 33 litres, meaning I was down to less than 1/2 gallon at that point remaining, which is close enough I suspect

 

[gar074]

I did over 60k miles in a 2CV with a 4 gallon fuel tank and a dodgy fuel gauge. My habit of driving on fumes dates from those days.

 

[Jabe]

...it's best to 'learn' how far you can push it in terms of range,with a gallon of fuel in the boot. I used to do that each time I got a new motorbike, so that could find out exactly how much fuel it had left in it when on reserve.

Tested by running the tank dry? Sludge in the system can't be very nice for any engine, and some (if not all) diesels rely on fuel to lubricate the injection pump.

...I look for a station when the light comes on, or if im on a journey knowing how many miles im about to travel. Simple really.

OK around Guildford, but what about somebody touring in Sutherland? It is several years since I was up there, but I have a feeling that fuel stations NW of Dornoch tend to be about 50 miles apart, and can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The number open 24 hour/day can probably be counted on the thumbs of one hand.

 

[R1NGA]

[The number open 24 hour/day can probably be counted on the thumbs of one hand.

Which is why I'd have a gallon in the boot if it went wrong, but if the range says 25 remaining just before it all goes blank, then drive another 25 and see what happens. I suspect it would be a good gauge in truth - it's always worse staring at a blank display than it is at a yet-to-be-reached actual mileage I reckon.

 

[Jabe]

Which is whyI'd have a gallon in the boot …

Yes, I like to carry a can when out in the wilds. Got the habit in Africa decades ago, 4-gall kerosene tins full of petrol for a saloon car, 2*40-gall oil drums of petrol in the back of the SWB LandRover (not much room left for luggage, but 18mpg on dirt roads left no option). Modern cans have pretty good seals, thank goodness, ‘cos petrol fumes give me a headache, and diesel spills make the car stink for ever.

I did over 60k miles in a 2CV with a 4 gallon fuel tank and a dodgy fuel gauge. My habit of driving on fumes dates from those days.

Ah, the 2CV, one of those was my transport around Scotland for 4 years. Fuel gauge conked out a few months after I bought the car (s/h). After that I always used to fill to the brim and then re-set the trip mileage.

Another pet hate about modern cars is lack of a full-size spare wheel, and the well in the Panda 4x4 doesn’t have space for one. I carry an old tyre when in lonely places, where you can usually find somebody with a changer or even a pair of levers, but not necessarily a new tyre of the right size (eg Sutherland again). Not fond of driving around on that silly little pram wheel, but at least it's better than an aerosol can.

 

[Panda 4x4 TA Antarctica]

Driving on a "----" range-readout is good for those mpg figures! I'd like to bargain anyone can extract 50+mpg from that last gallon! :0)
I've perhaps had 20-or-so miles out of a blank range and put in ~32/33 litres after doing so on my twinair 4x4. I must confess, I get a little nervous when the range blinks out and would only push it close to home with a gallon tank of unleaded on the other end of the phone!
(Oh and don't get me started on how many miles you could squeeze out of a gallon from a 2CV...now that's a frugal twin cylinder!)

 

[deeyup]

I think its a myth that our tanks are full of sludge at the bottom.
Where does this stuff come from? If there was anything down there would it not get mixed up when refueling and from the sloshing around when we drive?
Also, the fuel pickup is near the bottom as how else would be be able to use the whole tank?

Tanks used to be made of steel and rust could flake off, but they are mostly plastic nowadays, so maybe older cars can suffer with contaminated fuel?

I've run out of fuel twice in my car, both times the car restarted instantly. This is how I know in my car that I can travel under normal (for me) driving conditions 18 miles with zero chunks showing on the fuel gauge.