comparably awesome compact 4WD: fiat panda

[dlb]

i was in backpacking in europe with my wife for the last 3 weeks and while i was there i noticed some insanely sweet looking 4x4 hatchback that totally reminded me of our tercs. i took some pics of one but they don't do it justice. it had a surprising amount of ground clearance, tons of space, a sweet roof rack, and totally plain interior. petros once called our cars utilitarian and i think that term also applies to these cars.

here's a link the the wiki page on them. interestingly enough, the 4x4 version of these cars "came with metallic paint, inclinometer, sunroof, white painted wheels, roof rack, headlamp washers, bonnet scoop, "Sisley" badging and trim." minus the headlight washers, scoop, and "badging" (wtf that is), those options sound awfully familiar...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Panda

[splatterdog]

Neat! Even if it does look like a Yugo.

[ARCHINSTL]

They've been around for quite a while.
Since Fiat owns Chrysler now - wonder if the Dodge Raider will reappear? Who knows - with the love for 4WDs and "trucks," maybe there is room for a Ramda?
Tom M.

[Mattel]

The later model has a six speed and a turbo diesel that does 54mpg. There's some great vids on youtube where they test it against a Range rover. They have insane departure angles. Saw quite a few in Italy as well but not so many of the older models.

[Petros]

It occurred to me it might be a worthy successor to the Tercel4wd, and than I remembered it is a Fiat. Even so, it adds insult to injury that Europe gets all the cool cars. If they did import it, likely it will not be the AWD version. All of the frustation of owning a Fiat, and none of the joy.

They make (or used to make) a lot of fun little cars, I have worked on and driven quite a few back in my high school and collage days when they were plentiful in Southern CA. this included some tiny little rear engine cars and convertibles (does anyone remember the fiat 850 spider? 850 cc engine!, or the Fiat x1/9? How about the "double bubble coup"? Fiat Dino?). But they never were reliable, sometimes even very severe engine damage when just driving them around without abuse.

I wonder if they have improved them any since they stopped importing them since when? 25 or more years ago?

[Mattel]

Fiat have started trying to sell in Australia again. The 500 which is based on the Panda platform is a cool little car and I have seen a few around the innercity. The other models not so much. We also have Renault, Alfa Romeos, Peugeots and some interesting looking Citroens. All these cars have been increased the popularity of Diesel to some extent in Australia sadly we don't get the panda over here. I think that most of the reliability and corrosion issues have been fixed but not up to Toyota standards. Parts and servicing are expensive though it seems.

We get some Skoda AWD wagons (trickle down VW technology) and Peugeot have a new Multipurpose AWD vehicle called the 3008 so it seems that cars are coming around to the blocky AWD wagons again. Interestingly Subaru and Toyota after establishing the segment have all but forgotten that some people don't want an SUV but would like an AWD with some space.

Interestingly a friend who lives in Barcelona tells me that people are always keen to buy her rare over there '90's Honda Civic hatch as they are looked at with some prestige over there.

[ARCHINSTL]

My B.S. (Beloved Sister-who ruined my '83 T4WD) had an almost-new Fiat 600 around 1964 or so. While the engine was cute with its exhaust 4-into-1 header, it made my Morris Minors look and feel like they were of Rolls-Royce quality. They were definitely unsuitable for the American market - even more so than Renaults or other French cars, were it even possible... As I recall top speed, even with only the driver aboard, was slightly over 60mph.
Tom M.

[takza]

They make (or used to make) a lot of fun little cars, I have worked on and driven quite a few back in my high school and collage days when they were plentiful in Southern CA. this included some tiny little rear engine cars and convertibles (does anyone remember the fiat 850 spider? 850 cc engine!, or the Fiat x1/9? How about the "double bubble coup"? Fiat Dino?). But they never were reliable, sometimes even very severe engine damage when just driving them around without abuse.

I wonder if they have improved them any since they stopped importing them since when? 25 or more years ago?

Knew someone with an 850...rode like a boat...porpoising all the time as he rowed thru the gears.

[dlb]

i had never heard of the european makes before - fiat, renault, citroen, peugeot (sp?) - so they were all new to me. i had no idea fiat had a bad rep, that sucks. oh well, there's no way i would own one of these over here due to the difficulty in acquiring parts. OT sort of, is peugeot related to VW? their logo reminds me of the old VW wolfsberg logo. also, saw a diesel toyota wagon over there, that was neat. too bad it's new and due to be recalled in about 10 minutes.

[Petros]

fiat is Italian, Renault, citroen and Peugeot are all French. Need I say more?

At least the Italian car is a fun ride. I think Fiat is the largest European car maker, and used to be number 2 or 3 in the world, until Toyota passed them up about 20 years ago, who also passed up GM a few years ago.

[ARCHINSTL]

While I loved BritMobiles with their (frequently) endearing idiosyncracies - the only thing worse than the English Lucas electrics were the Italian Marelli electrics - they were HORRIBLE!
Tom M.

[St6fan]

I've owned a 4X4 Panda. It wasn't fun keeping it going.

I've also owned 10 or so different European hot-hatches and many 205 1.9 GTis, R5 GT Turbos, etc....

French cars developed in the 80s and 90s were absolute tanks. It's a shame a certain Top Gear presenter's boring, xenophobic spew has infected so many who's never owned/driven some of the greatest small cars ever made.