Hi all,

We are looking to buy a small 4 door city car and I had been homing in on a Fiat Panda Trekking with the fun twin air engine. Even my wife thinks the Panda is 'cute' and thinks that is what we are getting...

But today I dragged her out for a test drive in a Citigo and I was wowed by the feeling of extra room, build quality and driving dynamics. It just feels more 'grown up', seems to be better value, yet no less fun to drive.

My wife thinks it's a wee bit dull inside and is shocked at my change of heart. How can I best persuade her to switch her affections to the Citigo?!

Cheers,

Nick

First thing I would to do to help with making your decision is to read some reviews on the twin air, from what I have read and spoken to my neighbour about (he has a 500 twin air) the thing does about 25 mpg.

 

 The things going for the citigo would be the VAG pedigree, good service at most dealers, ultimately it is up to you staib to say "we are having a Citigo and thats final"

 

 Good luck 

Tell her, put your foot down

 

On a trip back from London in a week old CitiGo sat at 75 it returned over 60 MPG and will only get better " Will a Twin Air return the same "

 

I think not

The twinair engine is not "fun".

 

It's agricultural, noisy and thirsty.

Borrow one for a day.

 

So many reviews say they are good.

The diesel is way noiser than a VAG unit, but the two pot twin air made the diesel sound refined !

 

Horrid engine.  You have to rev the knackers off it to get anywhere and fuel economy nosedives as a result.

The twinair engine is not "fun".

 

It's agricultural, noisy and thirsty.

Borrow one for a day.

 

So many reviews say they are good.

The diesel is way noiser than a VAG unit, but the two pot twin air made the diesel sound refined !

 

Horrid engine.  You have to rev the knackers off it to get anywhere and fuel economy nosedives as a result.

 

Excellent review Richard

Haha! The trick with all marital negotiations is to give her the means to agree with me. She wants to agree with me, but doesn't know it yet

Yeah - I have been thinking that the real world mpg of the twin air is a lot worse than the specs suggest.

So is it fair to suggest to her that pretty smart people drive the Citigo?

Hi all,

We are looking to buy a small 4 door city car and I had been homing in on a Fiat Panda Trekking with the fun twin air engine. Even my wife thinks the Panda is 'cute' and thinks that is what we are getting...

But today I dragged her out for a test drive in a Citigo and I was wowed by the feeling of extra room, build quality and driving dynamics. It just feels more 'grown up', seems to be better value, yet no less fun to drive.

My wife thinks it's a wee bit dull inside and is shocked at my change of heart. How can I best persuade her to switch her affections to the Citigo?!

Cheers,

Nick

You don't need saving! The Panda Trekking and 4x4 look great, like mini Skoda Yetis I reckon. First things first, we own an UP!, the Citigo is similar and it is an excellent car. I am generally a big fan of VAG products but the one car you have chosen there is the one I would buy if I was going to buy another city car. The Panda Trekking is a little belter (I have tried the TwinAir). The ride over bad roads is excellent and there is plenty of room in the back if you order the sliding seat option. Regarding TwinAir mpg, it is all down to how you drive. There is a guy on the Fiat Forum who averages mid fifties mpg in his Trekking. I had a 1.2TSI Yeti and averaged 42mpg over two years when some folk couldn't get past 35. These small capacity turbos need massaging to get the mpg but, as with the TwinAir, show a good turn of speed when you need it. I would quite happily buy a Citigo if VAG had fitted decent steering wheel adjustment to it but they didn't and as much as it pains me to say so it stops me from adding it to my next car shortlist. The Panda Trekking, meanwhile, is on it and will be a budget option for me if the facelift Yeti is too expensive for me.

So is it fair to suggest to her that pretty smart people drive the Citigo?

 

Yes

 

For some reason I test drove the 4 pot diesel and 2 pot twinair Panda 4x4 versions when they came out.

 

Neither of them that good, but the twinpot was a real, real surprise Auric.

We got down the road and I asked the salesman if I could try the petrol next as the diesel was rattling, vibrating and generally unpleasent.

Imagine the shock when he said "Your driving the petrol".

 

Then I got in the diesel and it was noticably quieter/smoother/better to drive.  That's just wrong on every level to anyone who knows a bit about cars.

Second that on the fuel economy of twin air thing....lots of owners saying that get mid 30's no where near the claimed.

The citigo is not really a fashion icon it is just a sensible car that had "car of the year" in 2012 in some class.

If your not a badge snob it is a sensible buy. If it is your main car and want all the toys/comfort look at an elegance but IMO are expensive for what they are supposed to be, if not the SE is a very good purchase with central locking/electric windows and aircon, to stay under £10k.

They drive very well too for a small car and have a much bigger car ride/feel.

I have driven my wife's Citigo for a few months and stuck just over 3000 miles on the clock, it has never gone below 50mpg (PID) and lifetime average (PID again) is around 61mpg from memory. Not driven it much since I got my Octavia vRS :-)

Try both.

Edited 3 September, 201312 yr by Defenderben

We got down the road and I asked the salesman if I could try the petrol next as the diesel was rattling, vibrating and generally unpleasent.

Imagine the shock when he said "Your driving the petrol".

 

 

 

Class, now that's Class   

For some reason I test drove the 4 pot diesel and 2 pot twinair Panda 4x4 versions when they came out.

 

Neither of them that good, but the twinpot was a real, real surprise Auric.

We got down the road and I asked the salesman if I could try the petrol next as the diesel was rattling, vibrating and generally unpleasent.

Imagine the shock when he said "Your driving the petrol".

 

Then I got in the diesel and it was noticably quieter/smoother/better to drive.  That's just wrong on every level to anyone who knows a bit about cars.

Did you drive the TwinAir in eco mode BossFox? It is dreadful in eco mode but comes alive (and is better on fuel) in normal mode. I love these small capacity two and three cylinder engines (TwinAir and VAG), they have far more character than the dull four pots that they replace. As someone who loves cars as more than just boxes to move around in, that is why I like the TwinAir.

SWMBO has an 11 plate panda. But a 1.2 petrol. I have to say for a little runner its pretty good imo. Iv never driven a citigo but iv helped put 25000 miles on the panda since new and no issues.

My Son had a 1.4 100BHP Panda, now that was Fun

My Son had a 1.4 100BHP Panda, now that was Fun

 

Cheap to insure also, we looked at one of these for my lad.

 We had a Punto sporting speedgear, it wasn't a bad car, electrical issues with wiper motor and a prices of £38 per litre for the gearbox oil change! It was sold and Fabia purchased.

 

F  fix

I   it

A  again

T  tomorrow    

I love the Panda especially the 4x4 versions It does seem to be a tad too big nowadays, but I suppose all cars get bigger with each incarnation :( One of my all time favourite cars was the previous Panda Cross and tried unsuccessfully to buy one for a reasonable amount (the residuals used to be crazy high). In the end I bought a Grand Vitara, as age for age it was cheaper!. It might not be the most sensible buy, but Fiat do great small cars imho of course

Cheap to insure also, we looked at one of these for my lad.

 We had a Punto sporting speedgear, it wasn't a bad car, electrical issues with wiper motor and a prices of £38 per litre for the gearbox oil change! It was sold and Fabia purchased.

 

F  fix

I   it

A  again

T  tomorrow    

I've owned 5 Fiats and they were all great fun cars. The only unreliable one I had was a heavily modified 130TC Strada, but that was probably my fault for fiddling with it so much

Thanks guys. Some quality input here. I was also thinking that the Trekking was like a baby brother to the Yeti, which we both liked but was just too pricey.

Have to say I was expecting more from the twin air (having read the reports) and less from the VAG 3 pot. So perhaps that's why I was more impressed by the Citigo...

But 0% finance and free servicing is not unattractive either...

Decisions decisions...

Ha ha! Ditto - that BossFox's quote is the funniest in a long time (how must the poor salesman have felt having to admit that he was driving the petrol version?) but I also love:"She wants to agree with me, but doesn't know it yet". Classic.

As above, the fuel ecomomy is the sensible one - plus tax and surely servicing - always expensive on Fiats?

But, without wishing to be sexist, surely colour is a factor with the fairer sex? If she likes red then seeing a Citigo Sport in red might just seal the deal? (My mum doesn't like stripes so that could backfire.) The green is very striking, though, and I like the ivory interior. Can you get a nice big sunroof in a Panda? Might the heated seats appeal? Might you get the pics up on the internet and see which she prefers? (Risky - lol).

The Panda does look funky as well, so I can see would help swing it in your wife's eyes. I know this is a Skoda forum and VAG biased, but the Fiat is a great little car. I test drove a bog standard twin-air Panda when they first came out and I really liked it. Fab interior, comfy and the growly little engine was very charismatic

Citigo and Panda Trekking both great little cars. The buying package with Skoda is far better than anything Fiat are offering at the moment though. Having said that, you should be able to get a big discount on the Trekking if broker prices are anything to go by.

 

No sunroof option on the Trekking and 4x4 sadly, only regular Pandas, which aren't as good in terms of suspension.

Cheap to insure also, we looked at one of these for my lad.

We had a Punto sporting speedgear, it wasn't a bad car, electrical issues with wiper motor and a prices of £38 per litre for the gearbox oil change! It was sold and Fabia purchased.

F fix

I it

A again

T tomorrow

Unless I'm missing something, you appear to describe a reliable car, then make the same tired old jokes about Fiats being unreliable.

After an initial DPF problem, mine has only needed scheduled maintenance in 4.5 years, and my GFs Punto is nearly ten years old and has yet to break down or fail an MOT.

As for the Panda, I think they are great fun cars to drive, though I've not tried the twin air.

Reading lots of owners experiences on fiatforum, it does seem to be very sensitive to the way it's driven so you do need to adapt your driving style to get the best from it. Drive it hard and you will get crap consumption, unlike the 1.2 or the 1.3 diesel which are more frugal even when pushed.

Try http://www.fiatsupasaver.com/default.aspx for discounts.

Edited 3 September, 201312 yr by Dr Zoidberg

The magazines unanimously seemed to think the 4x4 was the best riding Panda of all

There is a Suzuki Swift 4x4 out too now IIRC.

I bet that's a nicer drive.

I quite like the Swift Sport anyway, seriously under rated fun little car.

I had a panda as a courtesy car when my mk1 Octavia went in for repair a few (6) years back, so the previous generation. Started off thinking this is a cheap interior then drove it and loved it. Octavia felt dull and heavy afterwards. But as others have said I have heard little good about the twin air.