[Liam Stephen]

Nice Euan very nice, I hated the old pandas but that's cool! I got a new car today as well. The fiat is done! 

Liam

[Mike Barrio]

Sandy and I went on a bit of a road trip yesterday to pick up a roof rack for the fishing wagon, but ended up bringing it back inside the car rather than fitting it as it was snowing down the road ........... Where did that come from? Certainly not part of the plan

[Eddie Sinclair]

Euan,

nice one. I know you have been waiting for a while for it to arrive. Hope you enjoy it.

Eddie.

[Euan Innes]

Two days on the Upper Beauly with Hamish had us fishing hard but without result.
What was a result was the Panda 



Proper offroading and great lockable diff for those wet grass slopes back to the main road. Even managed to fit Hamish (just!) in the car too 

 

[Mike Barrio]

Great stuff Euan 

[Steven Sinclair]

Euan,

I've always had a soft spot for the orignal 4x4 pandas. It was unbelievable where those things could go with their minimal gorund clearance.

I've always been a firm believer in lightweight low powered offroader's (Sj's etc) over the massive chelsea tractors that litter our roads these days.

If it wasn't for the fact I have two large dogs that never fail to get clarted in dubs wherever I go, I would swap back from my truck in a heartbeat.  The convenience of being able to pressure wash the back of it or is more prone in my case just leave the tub minging without the interior getting ruined is  the biggest appeal.

 

Steven.

[Euan Innes]

Steven,
Two wee terriers in the back seat with an Orvis seat cover still leaves loads of room for tackle in the boot. Rods go behind the front seats no bother.
The new automatic FWD system seems to work really well, especially on wet roundabouts (lovely four wheel drifts).
Couldn't be happier with the Panda.

Euan

[Rob Brownfield]

My youngest is fast approaching 17, so she is looking at cars. To be fair to her, she has a bit of a passion for older cars, so that makes me happy...

...however, onto the story...Cass and myself have talked about buying a car that the three of us can use, and that my youngest can learn to drive in.

We have narrowed it down to an old SJ or a Jimny.  Cheap parts, square so easy to park, dents and dings look good on them and so on make it a perfect beginners car, but I have not told her yet that I shall be using it in the winder to get to some of the harder to reach Grayling and Pike spots and she is going to have to take the bus!


Also not told her the 0-60 time is around 14 seconds so no disking about showing off in front of boys (for her...not me!!).

Quite looking forward to driving an SJ again (if we can find one).

[Hamish Young]

Quite looking forward to driving an SJ again (if we can find one).

I had a couple of the original Panda 4x4s, so did my old man, as they went anywhere a Range Rover could and were a 20th the cost in repair bills  Not driven an SJ, but this one caught my eye Rob: www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki/suzuki-samurai-lwb/1266715220

[Rob Brownfield]

I had a couple of the original Panda 4x4s, so did my old man, as they went anywhere a Range Rover could and were a 20th the cost in repair bills  Not driven an SJ, but this one caught my eye Rob: www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki/suzuki-samurai-lwb/1266715220

 Yep...seen and noted, but a bit of a wreck inside.

My mate who had the offroad place at Inverbervie, Nortrack,  had SJ's as vehicles people could hire and go round the track in.  It was not unusual for them to end up on their sides and have us lot push them back upright.

They were pretty much bomb proof and did indeed go pretty much anywhere (deep wading excepted). Very similar engineering to a Series landrover and often said to be a copy.

The only thing they did not do well is role. Absolutely no strength to the roof and I remember out in Brunei seeing a couple of very flat ones at the side of the road.

[Steven Sinclair]

Yep...seen and noted, but a bit of a wreck inside.

My mate who had the offroad place at Inverbervie, Nortrack,  had SJ's as vehicles people could hire and go round the track in.  It was not unusual for them to end up on their sides and have us lot push them back upright.

They were pretty much bomb proof and did indeed go pretty much anywhere (deep wading excepted). Very similar engineering to a Series landrover and often said to be a copy.

The only thing they did not do well is role. Absolutely no strength to the roof and I remember out in Brunei seeing a couple of very flat ones at the side of the road.

Rob, you mean like this 

[Rob Brownfield]

That would be the one!! lol.

[Mike Barrio]

Yep ...... the Jimny is a much safer vehicle in every way

[Euan Innes]

All the Suzis can be a bit tail happy on wet or greasy roads as my missus found out when she spun on the Cairn and killed her Vitara.
Great off road but not so much on tarmac. (She does have a history of spinning Suzukis though!! )
Depending on budget Arnold Clark are doing very good deals on new 4x4 Pandas and if PCP floats your boat then it doesn't cost that much over an older car / car loan.

Euan

[Mike Barrio]

Quite like the look of the funky Panda Cross