General Amazing Snow Panda Cross

[Etienne Botes]

Hi,

I have seen a few posts about snow and the Cross. I have had my Cross now for about a year here in Switzerland, and I am happy to report that the car is flawless, absolute reliable.
I once went fishing in the mountains in summer with my girlfriend, and after going down a steep, rocky road to fish at a lake at the bottom, I was very concerned looking up the incline if I am going to make it up again. I am an ex-Land Rover Defender owner, so I know what steep is. The Cross was amazing, with the ELD on, it simply jogged up the VERY steep hill (with a bit of wheel scuffing), but I won't go down there again.

Recently we had a LOT of snow over the new year, and we ventured up into the mountains again, on roads which has not be cleared yet. The massive snowfalls caught the authorities off-guard. We were one of the few cars driving up there in fairly thick, but slippery snow, and again, the Panda Cross was amazing. It has permanent winter tyres, as you may know. The 4WD system was working full time, I saw snow being flicked up the back, and a steering correction here and there.
We are planning to do a lot of travelling around Europe with this amazing car.

So I am a huge fan of this little car!

Best to you
Etienne Botes

 

[doctorchris]

Etienne, love the photos, I wanted to buy the Orange Panda Cross but my family vetoed it and I bought a Black one instead.
By the way, why does your personal information carry the Swedish flag when you are from Switzerland?
Best wishes, Chris.

 

[Etienne Botes]

Aha! Thank you Chris, fixed. Amazing how many people confuse the two quite regularly. Especially Americans.

Orange is a weird choice, especially here where silver, grey and black are standard. But it is amazing the psychological impact this orange car has on us and other people. They simply smile and give us the thumbs up. and the Swiss don't smile a lot.
I would really recommend it to anybody. I wish they can also make a neon-lime green similar to Lamborghini for this car. That would be amazing.

 

[306maxi]

Aha! Thank you Chris, fixed. Amazing how many people confuse the two quite regularly. Especially Americans.

Orange is a weird choice, especially here where silver, grey and black are standard. But it is amazing the psychological impact this orange car has on us and other people. They simply smile and give us the thumbs up. and the Swiss don't smile a lot.
I would really recommend it to anybody. I wish they can also make a neon-lime green similar to Lamborghini for this car. That would be amazing.

I think a bright colour is also a safe colour as well

Nice pics and nice car

 

[doctorchris]

With sand-coloured plastic side panels, my black Cross looks like a pint of Guinness turned upside down!

 

[spav]

Fabulous looking thing in orange. I'd definitely have one if I lived in a climate like that.

 

[DraigFlag87]

Nice car! It would be the green for me, most of my off roading would be done in and around pine forests and muddy fields, i tend to like blending in when off roading, makes me feel less guilty for crushing plants and churning up the earth for some reason! The Orange still looks cool though, thanks for posting the pics!

 

[EmmaM88]

With sand-coloured plastic side panels, my black Cross looks like a pint of Guinness turned upside down!

Remind me to never see your car I might just start licking it mmm guinness :yum:

 

[dipole]

Can we swap lives for a month or two? I like the car and the scenery.

 

[Wee Smurf]

Indeed the scenery is lovely...

Like the orange, but still would prefer it if there was a yellow one!

 

[stephenbeetleman]

Love the orange it really makes the cross stand out! :slayer: They're a great wee car that never fail to impress when weather conditions get harsh. Health to enjoy Entienne

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Wow! Love it. Is that a wall of solid snow at the roadside in your second photo?

I'm surprised no-one else has commented about the Abarth badge on the side of your Cross yet... (zoomed in view attached)

I can't match the scenery, but thought you'd like to see my little red 4x4 on a snowy day (October 28th!), when it had a visit from its bigger brother:

Pete

 

[Etienne Botes]

Ha, ha! Pete, you have good eyes!

The is a rare prototype from the Polish Fiat factory in conjunction with Abarth and Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer from Austria that was planned for full-production...
...nah, I am messing with you!

The truth is I was planning to do some modifications to the car, including the micro-chip upgrade, but after getting some advice I was informed that the factory will likely not honour the guarantee should something go wrong. Also, the low power of the Cross (a little less than the normal MJ) is actually to the car's advantage in snow.
This I found out after I neatly and discreetly had two Abarth badges installed on the sides.

PS: Yes, that is a solid wall of snow. We've had a LOT of snow in December!

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Etienne

I wonder if you've read the various posts about the Panda Cross models here in the UK developing faults with their 4x4 systems?

Can you take a photo of the underneath of your car showing the rear differential (the drive unit to the rear wheels) and post it here. I wonder if the new models over here use a new, different system with more electronics in it...

Thanks
Pete

 

[doctorchris]

Etienne, Pete ne comprende pas. Les Pandas Europenee sont superoir contre les examples Anglais.
Bof, Christophe.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

Ah yes, of course -- that'll be it. And especially in Switzerland... Like the railways, Swiss Pandas run faultlessly at all times. UK models choose to follow the examples of the West Coast mainline trains instead, failing regularly and at the most inconvenient times!
Pete

 

[cambof]

nice car,nice color but for my 4x4 multijet i picked
magnetico blue
no problem for mine too,i own it for two years with a lot off road

 

[deeyup]

Nice car, I love the orange!
Nice girlfriend too

What?.............. I'm only saying what you're all thinking

 

[Etienne Botes]

Hello, my apologies friends - I didn't see the thread updates.

Pete: I will take a picture tomorrow and post it here. Sorry for the delay. I am puzzled by the reports, this is the most reliable car I have ever owned.
Not a single problem. I have turned into a huge Fiat fan.

DoctorChris: That is interesting - I know that is tongue-in-cheek, but it really seem as if they care about these cars here. The dealership and service people treated it as if it was a Rolls Royce. I am also an expat and I am genuinely surprised how quality-oriented these people are in all areas: construction, road works, etc, etc. The whole "Swiss-made" thing is absolutely true.


Deeyup: Thank you very much, she is a stunning girl. Here are more pics of her in this thread: (I can't post a link, type in the search function: "Guess the mystery car... ")
Ets was my previous name here.

Best to all,
Etienne Botes