Fiat Panda 4x4 MJ Cross

Small, frugal and an accomplished 4x4

Plus points: Drives very well indeed. Well suited to rough roads, pot holes, groves and trenches returning 45.7mpg around town with the airconditioning permanently on.
Negative points: Three niggles that drove me potty. Knocking from the rear brake callipers, intermittent 'limp home mode' and a transmission rattle.
The first was cured by a Fiat dealer who read the Fiat service bulletins. They simply applied a thick grease to the floating calliper slider and bingo knocking stopped. Has not recurred in 12,000 miles.
Limp home mode problem was picked up by the 'on board' computer. The brake switch was sometimes sticking 'on' after braking. When the throttle was depressed to accelerate the computer said 'no' hence the rpm stuck at 1,600 rpm until brake switch released. The transmission rattle is the transfer gear box. There is a Fiat 'fix' which is to provide a shim kit to shim out the free play in the box. This has been done once but the rattle has returned. To date all fixes provided under warranty. I now live in Cyprus where such a vehicle is necessary. A frugal, low running cost 4x4. Spot on! Unfortunately, there are only two Fiat dealers here but they are more 'switched on' than the UK dealers as they read the service bulletins!
Would I buy another one? The answer is no but purely based on the lack of grunt nothing else.

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