Panda 2012+ Buzz our Panda Cross.

[VmanC]

Would look better in yellow powder coat

Hmm, that was my first thought but gradually came to the conclusion that, for me, there was enough yellow already.

 

[Panda Mo]

Hmm, that was my first thought but gradually came to the conclusion that, for me, there was enough yellow already.

Excuse me but I thought Buzz was my car! First I've heard of it that you want to paint the brake calipers to match those horrible red towing points! I think we need to talk about this!

 

[VmanC]

Ah you'll love the towing points once they match the calipers.

 

[Palio]

Excuse me but I thought Buzz was my car! First I've heard of it that you want to paint the brake calipers to match those horrible red towing points! I think we need to talk about this!

Well personally I wouldn't be painting anything red on a yellow car either Barbara! I think the towing points should be going black or silver instead!! The red ones look good on the red Cross (and probably on the black), but red on yellow???? :shrug:

 

[scout]

Excuse me but I thought Buzz was my car! First I've heard of it that you want to paint the brake calipers to match those horrible red towing points! I think we need to talk about this!

Should be yellow or black otherwise it spoils the theme of the car :thumbdown:

 

[VmanC]

Surely the theme of the Cross is - to lean more towards a serious offroader. And serious offroaders need to be able to see the towing hooks when they're two feet under water, so to colour co-ordinate them would be a step back in my opinion.
Before anyone else says it - Of course it's important to be able to see your brake calipers when you're stuck two feet in water!

 

[Palio]

Surely the theme of the Cross is - to lean more towards a serious offroader. And serious offroaders need to be able to see the towing hooks when they're two feet under water, so to colour co-ordinate them would be a step back in my opinion.
Before anyone else says it - Of course it's important to be able to see your brake calipers when you're stuck two feet in water!

Well, how about you're allowed to paint stuff red when Panda Mo sanctions extreme offroading in her car? In the meantime, until Hell freezes over, it goes subtle!

 

[Panda Mo]

Well, how about you're allowed to paint stuff red when Panda Mo sanctions extreme offroading in her car? In the meantime, until Hell freezes over, it goes subtle!

Well said!

 

[VmanC]

Well said!

 

[ntab500]

Hi Vmanc been following your exploits with 'Buzz' ( have also seen your
impressive classic restorations) - I noticed you'd fitted the sill plates, I wonder
if you'd mind telling me if the are clipped or stuck on and do they replace
the original trim?
I have Cross on order and was thinking of fitting some when it arrives.

 

[VmanC]

Hi Vmanc been following your exploits with 'Buzz' ( have also seen your
impressive classic restorations) - I noticed you'd fitted the sill plates, I wonder
if you'd mind telling me if the are clipped or stuck on and do they replace
the original trim?
I have Cross on order and was thinking of fitting some when it arrives.

Hi ntab500, thank you for your post.

The Cross doesn't have any sill protectors from factory. The ones I fitted were a simple stick on part, just get them aligned before you place too much pressure on them.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your Cross when it arrives, it's a lovely car.

 

[ntab500]

Thanks, (and Festive Greetings), Vmanc for your reply - just wanted to know!

 

[VmanC]

Thanks, (and Festive Greetings), Vmanc for your reply - just wanted to know!

Festive greetings to you too!

 

[Panda Mo]

Well it's been a while since my last post and I am driving Buzz quite a bit now. I really love this car. Just looking at Buzz makes me smile and it is such an easy car to drive. The seats are so comfortable and the height adjustment is perfect for a shortie like me! On our journey back from the New Forest on 1st January Vernon achieved 51.9 mpg! I have photographic evidence and Vernon has promised to show me how to put the photo on the Forum but I'm still waiting! With short runs about town the most I have achieved is 41 but the average seems to be 35. Well that's it for now.

 

[Duffish]

The mpg is 39 for turtle but it has not been on a run yet! Just school , supermarket and town

 

[Bogwoppit]

Po is averaging around 35mpg around town but a trip to Wychbold saw a return of 47mpg. I have plugged a USB stick into the port and downloaded Fiat's ECO prog.

Predictably it said I was rubbish I blame the bent front bits ruining the aerodynamics and my lead wellingtons

I am still loving this car, 1,500 miles in now and I am totally satisfied that out of the long list of cars I had made to replace the Fabia this was the right one. Just as soon as it is repaired going to fit the sills and roof bars and special lightweight alloy dust caps - should be worth at least an extra 5mph:devil:
Already have the boot liner and can thoroughly recommend it.

 

[Tallyho]

I think I'm going to get a boot liner - so thanks for the recommendation.

Just like Buzz's owner, I am short ( and have a dicky hip) and find it is just the best car ever for getting in and out of. I must also admit that when I ordered mine ( yellow too - the best colour...) I paid for the winter pack, but said rather snootily that I wasn't interested in the heated seats.

What an ignorant fool I was! What can I say - after a few days of cold morning starts - the heated windscreen is good, but the heated seats are bloody fabulous - especially with my dodgy bones! I think I'm in love!

 

[Bogwoppit]

Don't get me started on exiting the Cross, starting to annoy the Fuhrer now on how easy it is to get out and it's not as if the Fabia was that low or anything.

The Cross - maybe the Trekking/4X4 too, seems to be at just the right height, very thoughtful of Fiat.

 

[VmanC]

The Cross - maybe the Trekking/4X4 too, seems to be at just the right height, very thoughtful of Fiat.

The Trekking/4x4 won't be any good, you really need that extra centimetre of ride height .

 

[VmanC]

Well I gave Buzz his first wash today. He gets dirty much quicker than the classic Pandas do, and takes twice as long to clean too.

While I was cleaning the wheels I did think of something else I could do to him though - Paint the brake calipers red, Abarth style! They would also tie in well with the front towing hooks.

It's looking like I must have dreamt it but I'm sure I had a conversation with Barbara a couple of weeks ago in which she started to soften regarding the 'red caliper' issue. I took this slight softening as a big green light and bought the paint the next day. Barbara has no recollection of the conversation so one of us is going mad. Just hope Barbara doesn't go mad when she sees this in the flesh .............








Sorry about the poor picture quality, only had my phone and it was dark when I'd finished.

I used an aerosol can of caliper paint from Halfords, and after some disassembly and careful masking ended up with this........





I needed to do it now as we'll be covering quite a few miles over the next couple of weeks so who knows what state the calipers would have been in after. I know they may not be to everyone's taste but they have turned out how I imagined they would and am quite pleased with the result. .