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General  Panda 4x4

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General  Panda 4x4

Promising offroad capabilities! Mpg aside, the TA is absolutely fantastic, including the lawn mower sounding idle. I love it!

20130602_132808_zpsbb959590.jpg
 
I've only just noticed today after near 3 months of owning my panda 4x4 that there is a separate 'city' steering button on the dash.

On the 500 TwinAir the Eco button activates city steering. You can't have one without the other.

Still, never used it on my 500, and probably won't on my panda, either button.
 
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On the old Mk3 4x4 I got used to leaving the city button 'on' as it made the job of parking and manoeuvring at each end of my journey to and from the station car park easier. It seems to firm up at speed, so there is no real harm in leaving it always on... When I first started the new Mk4 on Saturday, I only realised after I'd driven it a bit that the city mode was also on, so I'll probably just leave it there!

One think I have noted is that the new standard winter tyres are much less 'squirmy' in warm conditions than those I had fitted to the Mk3. The steering has a nice 'precise' feel at all speeds and is another area where FIAT has upped the game since the Mk3.

Re the tyres: is this the only new car sold in the UK where the standard fit for all conditions is full winter tyres - not even M&S as is the default with say Landrover products? Does that mean we have to declare to our insurers if we have 'regular' tyres fitted for the summer?;);)
 
Another thing I spotted yesterday was that there are actually three rear parking sensors - the third one being hidden in the middle of the bumper. It means that another part which is 4x4 specific actually comes in two variants...

...so, I do hope FIAT shifts these things by the boat load otherwise all these little model-specific rinky-dinks may not make economic sense...

(As an aside, does anyone recall some of the FIAT era Lancias? Some of which managed to have things like trim-ends that were essentially the same, except they were both 'handed' and front vs rear - and of course not shared with any other model from the FIAT family.)

Also - if you look under the car the 4x4 system really is a very substantial set-up. Someone posted a pic of the underside of their car a few days back and it really does help you understand why this model is priced where it is. It looks like the rear drive was transplanted in from a much larger car.
 
4x4Panda said:
Re the tyres: is this the only new car sold in the UK where the standard fit for all conditions is full winter tyres - not even M&S as is the default with say Landrover products? Does that mean we have to declare to our insurers if we have 'regular' tyres fitted for the summer?;);)
Click to expand...

Not all had winters apparently, although most did, but winters don't have to be declared to insurance anyways or visa versa is to Fiat listed spec in the handbook :)
 
I have found two things I don't like about the Mk4 4x4 (n)

1. no scuff plates on the sills :confused:

2. my wife likes the car a lot and commandeered it for the whole day today. Drat and blast - she's actually done more miles than me so far and is looking for any excuse to use it. :mad: I thought it was going to be my car!

Solutions to 1 please and I'll just have to accept 2, i suppose....
 
4x4Panda said:
I have found two things I don't like about the Mk4 4x4 (n)

1. no scuff plates on the sills :confused:

2. my wife likes the car a lot and commandeered it for the whole day today. Drat and blast - she's actually done more miles than me so far and is looking for any excuse to use it. :mad: I thought it was going to be my car!

Solutions to 1 please and I'll just have to accept 2, i suppose....
Click to expand...


1: I'm sure there'll soon be aftermarket scuff plates on sale- probably with
illuminated 'Panda' script :)

2: Buy one for yourself too :D



Chris
 
Moultoneer said:
Re: 1. After a few hundred miles you'll find the low-end torque will improve
to the point where you can change up when it says :) There's a fairly strong
vibratory phase around peak torque at 1900rpm but I just drive through it!

2. Agreed, my Mito's wheel was nicer, but the Fiat leather option's still a big
improvement on the standard offering :yum:

I'm now up to 700+ miles in 10 days :D I'm sure you'll enjoy yours too!



Chris
Click to expand...
I was told that the first 1000 miles the engine management restricted power to about 90%. Kind of running in mode!
 
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