Introduction
Had a Panda Cross for a week now, after waiting two months for it to come. I'm beginning to think these are quite exclusive - I haven't seen a single other one in the wild!
Panda 2012+ New Panda Cross
- Thread starter Mark Hurst
- Start date
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Caravan Club Tow car of the Year Class Winner 2015. COmments make some more expensive machines look silly!
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Mmmm. Now does that really weigh less than 900kgs....
gar074
Prominent member
That's just physics.
Looks cool, though.
OP
OP
My brand new (pre-reg) 4x4 had these on it when I collected it a couple of weeks back (with just 4 miles on the clock)... so either dealer fitted before I collected, or now done in factory?
OP
OP
OP
OP
Hi! Thinking of getting one! Have you had any issues over your 2 years? And it just has to be yellow ����
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
I can hear it now when you go to trade in..... oh dear sir / madam, this model was never very popular.....
I personally recon the added kit will make them more interesting second hand if the price gap closes on the standard model, which it likely will. New the more you spend, the more you lose in depreciation. I love the latest effort by dealers to find out how much you actually paid before making a trade offer. Their patently stupid tactics on this don't r me though.
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Ah ha. I think your still having fun too though!! Its a Panda after all.
gar074
Prominent member
Yellows! Yellows!
Mine was registered in April 2015, and I've now done 36k miles. The only fault to report, to date, is a squeak from one of the speakers on the A pillar, which was cured in seconds, by me, with a small piece of cardboard. So much for Fix It Again Tomorrow. My wife's shiny new Volvo (registered in June, 3k miles) has already been back to the dealers twice, to investigate an engine management warning light. She said I was mad to buy another Fiat. I'm enjoying the schadenfreude.
Apart from the fuel consumption (unless you drive it as if there are eggshells under your right foot), and the raucous engine (not a problem if you drive it as if there are eggshells etc), the main disappointment for me is the poor driving position - lack of adjustment on the steering, no room for your left foot, uncomfortable seats - so make sure you can get comfortable in it.
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OP
OP
Issues, yes - the rear brake squeaking I referenced elsewhere. That was resolved under warranty after I moaned enough, as it is apparently a known problem. That's the only proper problem. Everything else is probably best understood as a 'feature'.
For me the seats are not that comfortable, as has been said by others. You can't really determine this just by sitting on them, it's a long-term posture thing. The only real solution is for them to be more adjustable . The forward A posts are very big, so corner visibility is crap and turning into side roads or going around corners a bit of a chore. The MPG is very poor. First gear is very low. Things rattle and then stop rattling for no obvious reason. It should have covers on the wheel nuts.
Apart from that, I still like the car. Yellow is good but for some reason attracts bees and spiders. It shows the dirt easily. The car is actually quite easy to wash, including the wheels and those plastic "bash plates".
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We are in Devon and exactly why we both have Pandas (169s for us). The roads are either narrow or very narrow. We even have A roads with passing places. Many of our "C roads" have grass down the middle. I kid you not.
gar074
Prominent member
I was seriously thinking of a yellow one, but something inside me told me "act your age".
You're as young as the car you drive! I'm an old(ish) fart, but I love confounding expectations by blatting around in my yellow Cross. I gave a barrister a lift to Norwich station today, and the look on his face when I showed him to my car was priceless! (I explained that I take my football allegiance very seriously, but it seemed lost on him, as he just said 'Watford?'. Then again, he may have been extracting the urine.)
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gar074
Prominent member
Sounds a bit like my neck of the woods, in the wilds of NE Suffolk (although I'm struggling to think of an A road around here with passing places... sheesh!!)
The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
What a shame they cant up that limit for towing. I have no doubt at all that my Panda would pull my 1100 kg van no problem, but its just not possible so now considering a lighter van. Currently in the van in pouring rain and thinking it might be difficult to get off the site next week with the Bravo.....
Only way to 'up that limit' is to make the Panda heavier at the factory. It is generally recommended that a trailer (with brakes) should not weigh more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle, and the trailer must not weight more than the car (a Panda 4x4 TA weighs just over a tonne). Note that the trailer limit is 800kg for Pandas with 1.2 or TwinAir Engines, but that the MultiJet can tow 900kg because it weighs a little more to start with (1115kg).
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