Hi,

I'm looking to buy a Panda Cross, but have quite a few questions. I've searched here, and have found some information from when the Cross was released, but not more recent stuff from long term users.

I'm hoping to use it for touring around Europe - going anywhere I need it to. In terms of go anywhereness it seems perfect, as it's 4x4 and small.

However I'm a little apprehensive about its on road performance, particularly on motorways. Will I be asking too much of it to be spending 8 hours cruising at 120kph (70+mph) with people and luggage? Will I be desperately stirring the gearbox, foot to the floor, and still be struggling at every incline and merge? How will it cope on high passes, as well?

I've seen some threads talking about remaps, but they seem to have not gone anywhere. Is anyone reliably running a remapped Cross? If they are, how much extra bhp and torque are they getting, and did they have to upgrade the clutch, etc.? Does it make much of a difference to the usability of the car?

I also need it to stand out a bit, as it's going to be a promotional vehicle as well. Does anyone know how many have been sold worldwide? Am I going to see them every 200 yards once I hit France?

And finally, how reliable is it? I know nothing about cars, so if it goes wrong it'll be off to a dealer (so not cheap), and this will get properly used. For example, I put 6000km on a car in 1 week last year. It'll be mainly roads, but it will be going on dirt tracks, through snow and off road as well. (Probably not much really hardcore off road, though.) I can't spend half my time waiting for the AA man!

I really have a soft spot for this car - I just hope it will suit!

Thanks!

Wow, a full load of questions there...

I've had one from new for just about two years now, coming up to about 19k on the clock so not mega miles for it's age. So far, no faults to report (That's probably buggered that now!), everything is as it should be...

It's was remapped by Angel Tuning at 1,700 miles and gave a VERY useful increase in power. They claim about 25HP with a similar % increase in torque but have never stuck it on a dyno so can't confirm the exact amount. There is a marked increase for sure!

I'm not one for revving it out in the gears but use the lower down torque which is quite amazing now for such a small motor.

It's used for a daily local commute by my other half as well as some of our fairly lengthy journeys from Somerset to Perthshire, 450 miles door to door ( mainly in the winter just in case of snow up there) and because of those trips, I had an aftermarket cruise control fitted, it sits happily at around 75-ish all day long and will pick it's toes up quickly to 90-ish if required since the re-map.

We used it with four adults and luggage for a weeks tour round the western isles last year with no problems (the girls are quite diddy though), great fun on the small single track roads especially when you can quite happily drop off the tarmac to avoid approaching traffic .

It averages high 40's to mid 50's mpg and uses very little oil. Front tyres are due now but apart from that, all good.

Don't know about numbers worldwide but over here I'd say they were fairly rare, I spend a lot of time on the road all over the UK with work and could probably count less than 10 seen in the last four years.

Not been 'off roading' with it but in snow, it's brilliant. There are quite a few video clips on YouTube showing what it's capable of, very entertaining...

Not been abroad in it yet (usually go on the bike for that) but would like to take it to Morocco to play in the hills and tracks (it has climate control fitted BTW ) I also spec'd it up to include the panoramic sunroof and upgraded sound system which are both worthwhile additions IMO. The roof doesn't get opened much but does make the interior feel much brighter with the two apertures into the cabin.

Some friends just came back from Italy who told us that on their visit to Mt Vesuvius, they saw quite a few 4x4 Pandas there being used climbing the tracks like Mountain Goats and making short shrift of it too by all accounts, perfect!

Go for it...!

I regularly drive from Sunderland to Somerset and my Cross chugs along happily on the motorway. A couple of years ago I drove it down to Northern Spain and that was fun, especially through the Pyrenees.
Tiny fuel tank is a pain on a long journey. This was a particular problem driving through France with a fuel strike meaning I did not know where I would next find an open petrol station.
Rarity value is guaranteed.
It won't break down but build quality is not good and you will have to work hard to keep it looking really good.
Getting into the outside lane on the motorway amongst all the Audis and BMWs can be difficult. My technique is just indicate and go into any gap that you see, it's a little car and doesn't make the other drivers too irate or threaten their virility too much!
Sounds like you will have fun!

By the way, Coolcarbon, have you driven your Cross through the ford at Rickford? The sumpguard grounds out a bit but it's great fun!

Thanks, both. That's really helpful.

So the remap hasn't caused any clutch problems? Sounds promising. I think I'll get one, and live with it for a bit, before deciding if it needs a remap. Are Angel Tuning nationwide? I'm in the South West.

Can you really get 4 and luggage in there? Wow! I wouldn't think the boot was big enough.

The small tank and build quality don't sound great, but I guess it's built to a price. What have you found yourself doing to 'keep it looking really good'?

I probably won't go for the glass roof. I have had cars with that before, and found that they get too hot in bright sunlight, so you get into an oven and then have to run the a.c. on max the whole time.

I'm off to mobile.de to see what I can find! (I'm going to get a left hand drive one.)

Thanks again!

I've done multiple 500km trips at 120-140kph in my 2WD Multijet with 3 people, 2 dogs and luggage for 2 weeks for all of us. The engine loves this kind of thing, it's a real workhorse.

You may have to go for 4th gear on hills if the speed drops below 90-100kph or so, but other than that, you should be fine for power. Just remember to air up your tyres for the extra weight

om456 said:

Thanks, both. That's really helpful.

The small tank and build quality don't sound great, but I guess it's built to a price. What have you found yourself doing to 'keep it looking really good'?

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Tacky exterior plastic bits want to detach themselves too easily.
Interior plastics not very durable.
Driver's seat sagging.
White inserts in seats impossible to keep clean.

KozmoNaut said:

I've done multiple 500km trips at 120-140kph in my 2WD Multijet with 3 people, 2 dogs and luggage for 2 weeks for all of us.

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How light do you pack?!

doctorchris said:

Tacky exterior plastic bits want to detach themselves too easily.
Interior plastics not very durable.
Driver's seat sagging.
White inserts in seats impossible to keep clean.

Click to expand...

So the exterior plastic for looks, not protection then? At least I like the look - I don't think it's that tacky.

The other 3 I'm used to - I've owned a number of French hatches with light coloured interiors!

I've got some old Recaros I might shove in there, which solves the last 2 anyway.

doctorchris said:

By the way, Coolcarbon, have you driven your Cross through the ford at Rickford? The sumpguard grounds out a bit but it's great fun!

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No I haven't, is that the one with the Plume of Feathers nearby as found on Google? If so, not too far as we're in Bridgy, may have to go down and have a wee splash around...

om456 said:

How light do you pack?!

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About average, enough for changes of clothes and miscellaneous random things.

When using both the boot and half the rear seat, there is plenty of space for luggage.

The dogs were two relatively well-behaved Frenchies

Coolcarbon said:

No I haven't, is that the one with the Plume of Feathers nearby as found on Google? If so, not too far as we're in Bridgy, may have to go down and have a wee splash around...

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That's the one.
It's more like driving along a river for 100 yards than a splash. Then there's a left turn just when you think the only way through is blocked by a tiny bridge. Finally a scramble out of the ford where the tarmac has crumbled away.
It's on this web page, just scroll down

http://www.wetroads.co.uk/somerset.htm

Thanks all.

One of the ones I like the look of on mobile.de needs new tyres, and they say they can put on the original Continental Wintercontacts at a good price.

Should I go for it, or are there better alternatives available (Vredestein Quatrak 3s?), in which case I'll get them to knock some money off instead?

om456 said:

Thanks all.

One of the ones I like the look of on mobile.de needs new tyres, and they say they can put on the original Continental Wintercontacts at a good price.

Should I go for it, or are there better alternatives available (Vredestein Quatrak 3s?), in which case I'll get them to knock some money off instead?

Click to expand...

If you're going for lhd, why don't you look for a non-Cross MJ 4x4? There are masses of these on the continent, can still have air con, though not necessarily the full climate control and a few other extras. But no (in my opinion) unfortunate plastic bits and the same mechanically.