Just wondering out loud what people think of these and why they've become so popular all of a sudden?
Cars with them seem nice and light inside when the shade is drawn back. Can't think of a downside but I suppose there must be some.
Edited by Pugugly on 08/08/2008 at 17:55
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What make you think that they are so popular? I don't see them in large numbers!
Obvious advantage is more light and feeling good.
Disadvantage: cost of replacement :)
Good for star gazers though.
Edited by movilogo on 08/08/2008 at 17:57
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No opinion on the things themselves, but I liked Optimist's original spelling of rooves. It may not be as correct as roofs, but it reads closer to the normal pronunciation so is engaging.
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Thanks to Lud for his support of my original spelling.
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary concedes that "rooves" may be acceptable in speech, but not in writing. So Pugugly's edit is right, I guess.
Didn't teach English to the Upper Fourth at St Biffo's in the sixties did you, Pug?
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When I said popular I think I must have meant much more commonly available. I'd just seen an advert in the paper for a Twingo special edition which has one.
As to seeing them: they can be quite hard to see unless you're inside the car.
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Only time I had one I was in the Ecrin Alps. I mostly saw mountains...
Sorry, I'll get my coat.
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I say 'rooves'.
I think the rooves can give a car a more sleek appearance, since it makes the windscreen seem swept back.
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can you imagine the cost of replacing a panoramic windscreen be better off scrapping the car and buying a new one
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I say 'rooves'.
I agree. What next for the plurals of:
calf, half, wolf, wife, knife, loaf, hoof, and dare I say poof.
I have "a beef" about these spellings, or should that be "beeves"?
Edited by jbif on 08/08/2008 at 19:35
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Probably have much the same advantages/disadvantages as a good size sunroof - fine in terms of lightness of interior but a right pain if the sun is shining down boiling you inside and making the aircon work overtime to compensate (thereby increasing fuel consumption and decreasing performance). Unless of course you close the shutter/blind - which then makes the whole thing pointless! I must confess though that the thought of driving at night with a clear sky above me visible has a certain romantic appeal......only wish SWMBO thought the same.....
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Wonderful, someone who can find a reason to be miserable about a sunny day! You're not Welsh by any chance are you?
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Nsar - no not welsh (half Irish though). I am someone who spends a good part of his day inside the car though and when I've had a sunroof found i actually only used it with the blind back on cloudy days/evenings and at night!
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To me there's a point in a panoramic roof only if part of it opens. I believe that some of them don't.
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opens. I believe that some of them don't.
It's so that people wearing green clothes will look like tomatoes on sunny days when the a/c isn't working.
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Rooves should be allowed under variant spelling shurely !
Only downside I can think of is driving through tunnels and the constant flashing of overhead lights until the blind is closed. I can't recall seeing any of these cars. I can only imagine it would be like driving around in a mobile greenhouse in temps. over 30C.
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Just wondering out loud what people think of these
I, for one, think that they are a great idea. I have no interest in opening them and letting fresh air in - I just think that cars without them are a bit claustrophobic. And there are times when I might want to look up at the sky, or the mountains, or the high-rise buildings around me or . . . whatever.
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Not so much paintwork to polish.
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I have driven a number of cars with them fitted, mainly Audis and Peugeots. At first I enjoyed the novelty and extra light but most of the time I drove with the blind closed. The main disadvantages I found were considerable extra wind noise, presumably due to the missing sound proofing, difficulties in preventing dazzle especially when the sun was low in the sky, and the fact that the car heated up like a greenhouse. I can see the appeal, but I wouldn't have one out of choice.
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The main disadvantages I found were considerable extra wind noise ...
Interesting comment. I've never actually been in a car with a panoramic sunroof (but I still want one!) - however my experience of Seat Altea with an ordinary sunroof was that with the sunroof closed,I noticed no problem with wind noise, but when it was opened, I found the extra wind noise quite irritating.
and the fact that the car heated up like a greenhouse.
Not a big problem for those of us who live in the north of Scotland. I generally find that there are 2 or 3 days a year when I wish I had air conditioning, but the rest of the time, a bit of heat is no bad thing!
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I reckon they will become a first rate pain the backside as the cars they are fitted to become older. I can well imagine incidents on a car of say 7 + years old, whereby the things suddenly crack or shatter as you drive down the road, due to the gradual deterioation of a bodyshell's torsional rigidity leading to very slight flexing of the structure.
This DOES happen and is why many race prepared saloon cars get re-shelled after a couple of seasons; not because of accident damage, but because the shell looses some of it's stiffness and this is not conducive to quicker lap times. Going back to the real world and road cars though, I seem to remember reading that Nissan opted not to fit the things to Qashquai models that were being sold in Russia, due to the pot holes on that countries roads, and the shock waves that can occur through a car body after hitting one (does'nt bode well for use on our carp roads does it).
Personally I would not want to own a car outside manufacturer warranty that has one of these items.
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i have a visiospace windscreen in my c4 grand piccasso and it lets in so much more light and really improves the feeling of space
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We have one on our Grand Scenic. It turns an already airy interior into a much more pleasant place to be. We hardly ever open it, but often pull the blinds back.
Cheers
DP
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ZM's post made me google for a reference and there's one derived from Autocar saying that the Qashqai wouldn't be available in Russia or South Africa with the panoramic roof. But then someone from SA points out that there are many cars available there already which have panoramic rooves.
Dunno. But I see that in the Qashqai+2 the panoramic roof is being extended into the longer roof-line. As to strength, I thought that glass as in windscreens was at least as strong as, if not stronger than, the metal of the shell.
Any thoughts?
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Black rain clouds where I live.
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