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How the Cheapest 4X4 Ever Made Humbled The Big boys - Panda 4x4 (1985)
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- Published on Mar 13, 2026
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The Cheap 4x4 That Humiliated Expensive SUVs
I'm a simple Italian, I see a Panda 4x4 video, I click like
I'm a simple italian, I see a Panda 4x4 video, I send it to my two friends who used to drive it (or better, her)
Me too
Anch'io; oltretutto ne ho una.
colpevole
I am German and I also Like!
We had a mountainbike accident on a narrow trail near lake como. My wife had her elbow dislocated. The emergency service told us, they were sending someone nearby to us for help. Until that day, i would never have believed that this trail was driveable by car, but then an old Panda 4x4 with two old guys went up that trail, because they got a call from the dispatcher to look for us. Since that day, that smal humble car has a special place in my heart!
1 in every 2 Italian remote and mountain houses has one of these parked out the front still today. That car was absolute genius.
Very true my cousins have a few of them!
In der Schweiz wurden sie von unserer Post benutzt, und zwar in Hoch gelegenen Tälern. Ich bin im Toggenburg aufgewachsen, in den 90ern hatte es viel Schnee und wir kamen mit unserem "Italienischem Rucksack", wie er genannt wurde, überall hin)) Der Motor war extrem zuverlässig, brauchte keinen Service, man konnte das meiste selber machen! Meisterstück.
simply and cheap to mantain, light so didnt need a huge engine (almost) reliable
And the others have Piaggio's "apino"!
@madameannalisa6386 here in tuscany we have patrols of old men driving them and blocking traffic for sport
Former Panda owner. A truly magnificent vehicle that did everything well enough, and nothing badly.
That's why I hang on to my trusty 2012 Panda 1,2. Love from South Africa
In der Schweiz benutzte unsere Post den Panda 4x4 über Jahrzehnte, und das für unsere Bergregionen die extreme Zuverlässigkeit verlangten. Billig zu reparieren ohne unnötigem Luxus!
In Italy we all call it Pandino, little Panda.
Mario Rossi e Pandino, classico italiano 😂
Poi c'è pixel col Pandino verde, daje Roma dajeee @belabonibona
@PixelPhantom_Italia😂
Il mitico Pandino 4X4, il mezzo tecnico dei Forestali! 😄
Jack did more off roading in this video than most Land Rover owners do in their lifetime.
So right, we have a Toyota Fortuner 4x4 it's only been in four wheel drive once on the four and a half years we've owned it, typical of a lot of these things, gives the government more road tax, and all the consumables cost more, my bad.
Because most 4x4 can't do what a panda 4x4 can do. So, Land Rovers owners don't do much off reading because they don't want to get stuck and then have to call a panda 4x4 to pull them out...
On an Italian high pass near Sestriere, caught in a thick blizzard, our rented 4x4 Panda simply cruised past the carnage. Mile after mile of BMWs and luxury SUVs sat hopelessly stuck in the drifts, while we puttered along as if it were a bright, sunny day. When the lady at the hire desk first handed me the keys, I thought she was having a laugh; I realize now it was an act of the purest generosity.
I have seen this little thing climb in places where every other 4x4 could not. The distribution of the weight is insanely good and keeps you stuck to the street even in almost vertical surfaces. If it had legs it would be a spider. 7:00
So narrow too. Well, everyone else is honking horns, the pandas just sliding around the side. I’m just outside Sestriere right now!
I was in Sicily and my hire car got bogged in some sand on the beach (I parked were the locals were parking). A Good Samaritan said that he would go get his 4x4 and pull me out 10 minutes late he returns with his Panda 4x4 and pulled me out. Great little car!
La Panda è innarrestabile!
Saluti Dalla Sicilia :)
@andreamanno4726 Anche il posteggio abusivo sulle spiagge
Sicilia food people 😊
A friend of mine in Austria had one. It was so slow it was embarassing.
But only until you hit the snow.
Pull the lever and that was it.We were flying past every other car up the mountains to the slopes, it was unstoppable! Great little car.
It ticks me off to no end that america can't have small diesel engined cars like this especially where im from where we have to have a 4x4 but wish we had that miles per gallon of the panda
Benzine not diesel. Just for curiosity
@missourimongoose8858 This is not diesel. All gasoline, early ones had some legacy engines of FIAT older cars, but most of them have the FIRE series of 4 cylinders
@missourimongoose8858this is a patrol engine
Slow and steady...
Here in Bulgaria the Fiat Panda 4x4 is known as “the fisherman’s dream” because it gives one low costs all year and all weather access to remote riverside spots where they can enjoy solitude because the location is inaccessible for almost all vehicles.
А в България учат ли ви на български език и писменост?
@A.Draganovне, не ни учат на български език. Не ни учат и на чужди езици като виждам нивото на подготовка на днешните младежи, защото те масово не владеят нито българския език, нито чужд. Предвид коментара ти, Драганов, в България не се научават на хумор също. Имам за теб следните новини:
1. Имам право да се изразявам писмено и устно на какъвто език реша, а това право се полага на всеки жив човек. Може би си чувал за това - нарича се “свобода на словото”!!!
2. Не ти се полага на теб правото да налагаш вето върху моята свобода на словото.
3. Не знам какво точно си мислел докато си писал напълно излишния си коментар, но нямаш и основание да ми държиш сметка как се изразявам и дали съм бил учил български език в България! Ти нямаш никаква идея аз кой съм и къде се намирам, владея ли български или само името ми е българско! До колкото те засяга теб, Драганов, единственото, на което ме е научила България е, че в очертанията на нейните граници днес животът винаги е по-добър от утре, така е от като се помня! По коридорите на училището, което завърших някога отдавна, всяка сутрин точно в 08:00 учебният ден започваше с българския химн, но годината, която беляза края на моите ученически години съвпадна с пенсионирането на директора, който също носеше фамилията Драганов, а неговият пост зае едно жалко подобие на човек със звучното име Айдън Юсеинов. Господ да го убие тоз’ долен джихадист! Да пукне дано в тежки мъки този киртак долен, да пукнат и децата му и целият му род до десето коляно. Първата му работа бе да сложи край на традицията сутрин да започва учебният ден със ставане на крака и слушане на химна, а по коридорите на това училище днес ако се разходиш ще имаш усещането, че си не в България, а някъде в Диарбекир! Питаш ли някой нещо на български ще получиш отговор на развален български с тежък акцент, така че следващата новина е отговор на въпроса ти:
4. Не ни учат на български език, на нищо не ни учат! Изучавал съм само тротоарно право, имам магистърска степен и пиша в момента дисертацията си!
6. Българският език не е международен и го владеят хора, чиито брой представлява много по-малко от 1‰ от световното население, така че в глобална платформа като тази е логично да боравя с универсален, лесен и международно разпространен език като английския, за да бъда разбран от повечето хора. Може би не си забелязал, но този канал не е български, а и във видеото не присъства българска реч. Твоят въпрос би бил уместен в случай, че видеото е озвучено с българска реч или поне е публикувано в български канал, но то не е!!!
7. Преди да ми отговориш и споменеш нещо по повода, че избрах да се обръщам към теб с местоимението “ти” е нужно да обърнеш внимание на собствената си грамотност. Имам предвид конкретно опитът ти да се изкажеш боравейки с уважителната форма на второ лице в множествено число. Написал си “ви” с малка буква като, че се обръщаш към повече от един човек, а не като проява на културно отношение към непознат, в който случай това местоимение се изписва с главна буква - “Ви”!!! Прецених, че след като имаш дързостта да ми се правиш на ревностен закрилник на българския език, а си допуснал подобна съществена греша в двата реда, които си написал - тогава не заслужаваш да се обръщам към теб с уважителната форма “Ви и Вие”!
Много ме дразнят намеси като твоята, а най-вероятно като цяло си дразнещ човек и не заслужаваш вниманието, което ти отделих нито усилието да ти отговарям в писмен вид, а може би най-правилно щях да постъпя ако ти бях отговорил боравейки с езика на глухонемите използвайки само един пръст като жест - 🖕🏼
@A.Draganov А в России учат разбивать черепа кувалдами?
@PutinPussyRiot Hahahahahahah Probably yes!
@A.Draganov the fuck is that supposed to mean?
Such a simple utilitarian vehicle too bad there are no cars today that can compare with it.
The simplicity is so appealing Paul.. as you say.. not really possible now!
Why would it be impossible to build an affordable car that does what say 85% of driving most of us do? Stupid it cant be done.
@thatdudeinorange5269 Too many snobs about - something simple that most can afford would not go down well with the Brits,
Laughs in Lada Niva
Closest is a Citroen Ami….
But that doesn’t have the same charm
You wouldn't believe how many Pandas built in the 80s are still in use today in countryside and mountain villages.
I miss these simple reliable cars
Maybe there's a shift in the marked these days. Many love the 'Back to Basic' Dacias.
Panda = reliable ?
I had three and something they aren't is reliable..but a abouslutely brilliant design..
i still got one but not with 4 wheel drive ....
@borisdethloff6504 not really ....weak cars
Hired a late generation Panda 4x4 for a trip from Venice to Cortina as a joke. I was really impressed. If I lived in the alps, I would absolutely buy one.
Italian police in the Alps loved these ❤
unless crooks have them!
@emmaearnshaw3282even then, since they themselves have the Panda so they can't climb a mountain expecting to escape, while off mountains and rough terrain they're slow af so you can catch them easy.
Now the high crime rate in those areas is perfectly explained 😂
Italian army and carabinieri loved their Panda's
The police there too!
They don t have panda
@freakybeaky1 who do you think the carabinieri are? HA-HA-HA
@PutinPussyRiot
A Gendarmarie. Part of the military, with some law enforcement jurisdiction. Different ethos. Something a lot of people in places like the UK don’t get.
@junglejimmy8002
They did. Police (Municipal )and Gendarmarie (Carabinieri- military.)
I have a Panda Series 1 that is my winter car. 2003, 1100cc Fiat Fire engine, 260,000 on the clock. I live high up in the Abruzzo Appennini mountains - lots of snow and ice 4 months every year. Cheap to run, parts cheap and available, cheap to insure. I regularly pull modern cars out of snow difts and ditches. Thousands still on the road here, all older than mine. Won't change it until it's knackered, then I'll buy another!
Narrow roads, many 4x4 are too wide for mountain roads
Brother, that first gear is indispensable when you are coming around a blind corner on a 40 degree incline on a mountain in Abruzzo and had to come to a full stop because nonna was in the road with her goats again.
I went off road in one of these many years ago and couldn't believe how good it was
You begged for rain?
The Panda is a case study in how to design a small car intelligently with a focus on simplicity and low cost.
FIAT were always good at small cars.
In Andorra, most locals around 20 years ago had a Panda 4x4
I used to have a V8 90 and at open Quarry days I have seen these Pandas with homemade roll frames do things that you wouldn’t think possible. They are brilliant.
The little Fiat Panda 4x4 became a bit of a legend in Italy, especially with rural police forces and mountain rescue teams. In some regions, especially the Alps, you’d still see them in service long after they should’ve been retired. They were basically the mountain goat of police cars.
Love the Panda. It's brilliant going to Italy and still seeing lots of them in regular, daily use.Everything you need on a car and nothing you don't.
Panda motto
"no air bags here, we die like heroes"
that age was normal, later came up the takeda airbag, capable to kill!
I had one! 4x4 Madagascar! It was epic. In the big storm of 87 we used it to supply our small village , passing all the stuck landies! Towed the kids on sledges up and along all the enclosed roads. It was an amazing car, drove all over Europe in it. Back seat flipped down to make a bed. What a cracking car! Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Pitty it rusted away 😅
Great to hear. This is the only Madagascar left on the road now.
Here in Brazil, we never had the Panda, but we did have its sibling, the Uno, launched here in 1983 and produced until 2014. It became known for its simplicity, robustness, and fuel economy. You could say its design is an evolution of the Panda, because despite its simplicity, it had a more comfortable and better-finished interior. It was widely used as an everyday car and for heavy-duty work. And even though it was a front-wheel drive 4x2, it's not uncommon to see them in videos on social media, in extreme situations, crossing mud pits, floods, and muddy slopes, beating much larger vehicles like Amaroks, Tritons, and Chevy S-10s. And since they were widely used by telephone and internet companies, it became a joke to say that what a 4x4 can't cross, only a Uno with a ladder on top can...
Today one surpassed a Renegade Jeep in a flooded street... :D
@Skyroller1917 Hahahahahaha True!
The Uno is legendary in his own! Never got stuck on mud ever and I used to load it like Santa's sled. I inherited one from my granpa, I had to change car because someone bumped me badly and it was nearly impossible to repair it 😢
@andreabeltrame1111my grandpa also had one for several years, it's a shame he exchanged it, a 93 mille with 8000km in 2003. 😢 If we only new, today it would be a true relic.
@andreabeltrame1111 Oh, that's a shame! My ex-wife had a very well-preserved '94, but she sold it shortly before we separated. I'm looking for one in good condition, but it's proving difficult. Do you live in Brazil?
You can't even know what I did in Italy with this car when I was young. Probably she had a soul and took me and my friends home safe hundreds of time! 😇. Thanks for the video!
Very cool!
The concept behind the Panda is "less is more", the less stuff there is, the less stuff breaks.
that would be "less is less"
@T.E.S.S. no, "less is more" is a design principle and life philosophy that promotes simplicity.
@pedrorossi7406 no you said less is less
@T.E.S.S.
The phrase "less is more" is linked to architect Mies van der Rohe and modernism: it means that removing the superfluous makes the essential stronger and the project or message clearer, the central idea is: fewer elements lead to greater clarity, harmony, and functionality; form should result from a simple response to a complex need.
In design and engineering, reducing components often makes a system easier to use, produce, and maintain; fewer parts = fewer potential points of failure, this is a practical consequence consistent with the spirit of “less is more”: eliminating what is unnecessary can reduce mistakes, manufacturing defects, costs, and complexity and therefore also the number of things that “break.”
Have I been clear or do you want to continue this pointless controversy?
It’s worth mentioning that the 4x4 stuff on this car comes from a company with a very impressive off-road pedigree including the similarly powered Haflinger, terrain-defying Pinzgauer and the mighty (now only Mercedes) G.
Yes, they make the G Wagen
are we talking about Steyr, the place F. Porsche learnt his trade?
You can see the Steyr and Puch badges on her back. The owner clearly loves her.
Had a Haflinger and pinzgauer and even a VW vanagon crew cab hunter with the Steyr Puch badge. Good stuff
Which originated from Tatra, Czechoslovakia..
This car has a special place in my heart. I was on a road trip from SoCal to Alaska above the arctic circle with a friend's family (I was a young teen) in 1988. There was a Fiat sponsored "rally" of them that were traveling along a similar route, so we ran across them several times. There were at least six, but I think there were more. We talked to them and they told us that they weren't available in the US and it was some kind of promotional thing and it was going to be used in advertising or something. They were going across all of Canada and had started on the East Coast, if I remember correctly. They were all decked out in special paint jobs, racks, etc. They looked SO cool. They were super dirty. We saw them repeatedly, passing or getting passed in a long line and we stopped and talked to them several times at gas stations, etc.
I wish we could still buy cars like these, in Canada
I'm the owner of a Panda 4x4 .I travelled to Canada (AB/BC) in 2006 and I think it's not fit for your distances It has a little engine ( 1108 cc,55 cv) that make it unsuitable for the kind of roads you have. Pick ups are better,even for load capacity. Best wishes from Italy
Love it, the ‘honest’ condition makes it even better
A friend of mine had one of these. I remember a trip to the pub with 6 people in it (full grown blokes, not babies).
body roll ahoy !! LOL
Sounds like one of those trips you remember getting there not so much getting back
I remember seeing one of these at an off-road event in a quarry, my friends and I had Landrovers SII and SIII, we all laughed when saw it. But as the day went on, that Panda kept showing up, he kept throwing off the top of the rockiest cliffs and mostly slid down on its belly, but it kept going and going, and he even drove it home. From that day we all had a lot of respect for that little car.
Reminds me when I was a kid I saw a giant dodge truck get stuck and then a Ford tried to drive around him and got stuck.....then a suzuki samurai turned the corner and weaved around them and kept goin lol
Thanks Jack, great job as always. Was lovely to meet up on the day, despite the cold.
There’s a dedicated group of us here in the UK that regularly meet up and off road them. Some UK enthusiasts also travel to Italy in the summer to attend the Pandino event, where up to 1,000 Pandas meet up. So you see they are perfectly capable of travelling long distances, it’s usually the human occupants that are the weakest link.
Hey Vernon… was super fun, thank you for brining it along!! 😊
I must have seen at least 50 Pandas when I was in Campania last year. All still being used as daily cars.
"Shaken, not stirred"
Yeah I travelled the length of the UK many times in my Panda.
The review said you do these up and sell them, im interested in buying a panda 4x4 do you have a website or somthing like that to have a look at what youve got?
The seat (fabric) actually is removable from the frame so it can be washed in a washing machine. This was because all of the original Pandas were either in light beige upholstery or light grey upholstery. A lot of what reduced weight and cost, was designed to increase practicality. Unfortunately, when Fiat launched the second version, things like the seats etc were lost to more complexity and weight. I remember being given a brand new one as a loan car whilst my Lancia 2000 HPE was being serviced back in the early 80s. It was initially a come down, but as soon as I drove it, I came back with a big smile on my face.
My late granfather always had landrovers when he was farming. When he retired, he bought a panda 4x4 and loved it more than his landrovers
My kudos to you for your perfect italian pronunciation. The way you said "Giugiaro" and "Autobianchi" was 100% perfect italian. Great video btw, loved the enthusiasm.
Pity he struggles with English. LOL
From a time when car companies still were making cars that made sense.
the best feature is still transforming the seats into a freaking kingsize bed.
ScoPanda 4ever
there is a picture of Roberto Baggio working with his Panda 4x4, the caption says "on one side there's an italian legend, on the other side antoher one."
I once drove from Maranello to Pisa across country in Italy, lots of hills and twisty bits but the one thing I noticed was, every other house along the way had a Panda 4x4 parked on the driveway ready for the winter
Had one when working as a ski instructor in the Alps. Never failed to start or get me out of the deepest snow. Truly amazing machine that I wish I still owned
Loved the Panda.Hired a couple of these when l was in Greece and thoroughly enjoyed the driving experience!
Great test mate 🚘👍!
So good to hear!! Thanks for watching 🙏
Saab Guy here. I absolutely love the Steyr-Puch- Panda. I would't change the look of this little icon.
when i was 8 i went to greece with my dad and the house we rented came with a car that was a Panda and despite having some experience driving a lot of cool car my dad allways praised the Panda for being such an amazing car to have in greece: it was agile and nimble to go through all the narrow and risky montain roads of the islands, it was super compact so that when in towns and big city it was abble to maneuver through traffic and was super easy to frive into a ferry boat's internal parking!
5:28 It makes 1000x more sense than when your city 4x4 is a bloody Defender or a G-Wagen. Yet that's the sort of thing every city in the UK is crammed with today.
I grew up in one of the snowiest places in Italy, and I used to own one of these. Absolutely unstoppable in the snow.
I was skiing in the Dolomiti in january - february, stayed in Val di Fassa. We had some days with heavy snow, only Pandas were driving around until the snow was cleared. It was a joy to watch.
20yrs ago I used to have a Fiat Panda 1000CL.
I kinda loved that thing. The heater unit was broken, I bought a replacement part on eBay and only needed a screwdriver to remove the dash and the old heater unit, and then fitted the new one.
It was a brilliant little car. Used it for commute on the back roads going from Eure-et-Loir to Les Ulis ;)
I also had a Phase 1 Renault Espace 2000 - great car, but the carburettors were crap and I never managed to get it work properly.
I worked for 20 years as a telecommunications technician, often on repeater systems located on mountaintops and accessible only by dirt tracks. The Panda 4x4 never let me down, even where large 4x4s couldn't pass or couldn't steer. On snow or muddy terrain, it was practically unbeatable thanks to its light weight and weight balance; it was as if it floated where others sank. Unfortunately, it wasn't so comfortable on highway trips, but it wasn't made for that. Anyway, It was - indeed: SHE was - my faithful steed in those youthful years. 🙂
A very cleverly designed and practical little car. It's a shame they don't make cars like this anymore.
They still put a smile on my face when I see one.
So nice to see that you appreciate utilitarian vehicles just as much as the more exotic stuff. I'm very tempted by one myself.
Thanks for bringing back the memories of my early driving when I was a teenager. I had a panda 4x4. It was great fun in the forrest and it climbed really well. My dad was a forester and it was handy to get right into the wood, where the tractor was if needed. with the seats removed I took firewood home and we even moved calfs with it using a makeshift mesh behind the seats.
Wow.. great story thanks ☺️
We had one of these, plus a spare for parts, and a Lada Niva when I was growing up as a kid, my old man used them for his job, airfield and runway maintenance...all weather, all year round, such great memories!
Which was best in the tricky stuff the Panda or the Niva? I've heard amazing things about both over the years.
@markotango54from memory the Panda was mainly used on the runways and airfield aprons, which are obviously quite flat, the Niva was up in Scotland a fair few times and could tackle any hill it faced. Both really rugged workhorses though, personally I'd take the Niva, but the Panda will always have a place in my heart, great memories
My mom had a red Panda in the 80's LOL
Thanks buddy.. she must have been in Europe then..?
Still have mine (4x4 Country Club model, very similar to the Sisley briefly shown in this video but with electric windows! Luxury!). 32 years old, driving it every day. Very little maintenance.
The panda, the hilux and the new suzuki samurai are the cars I really wish they sold in america....the ban on small diesels sucks so much
The first car I ever bought was a Fiat Panda, same colour as that one! I loved it, it was a great little car. My mates slagged me off and called it the Pandamonium, but it took me off on lots of adventures. great review Jack, delighted you did this one.
Ha!! There’s other modified Panda’s with that moniker!!
They had so many in the cities because most Italian cities have really small streets. Combined with its utilitarian nature and low price, it still made sense.
That extra 3bhp is an 8.5% power increase 😂
5:15 'please remain calm'
Actually 6.6% 😅
@jamesengland7461Nope. Check your maths.
@Splooge_McFornication 3/45 = 0.0(6) i.e. 6.7% if you really want to round correctly.
@dlevi67Except it's 35bhp and 38bhp for the numbers.
In Italy we say that "The Panda 4x4 is not powerful enough to climb steep muddy roads, but it doesn't know it, so it climbs them anyway".
It's a little thing of beauty, I really hope it gets preserved close to how it is now and not over-restored.
I really enjoyed this video.
The Panda's 4x4 technology came from Steyr-Daimler-Puch in Austria; this company also designed and built the famous Haflinger, Pinzgauer and Puch (Mercedes-Benz) G-model. Thanks for the video!
In 1989 I accompanied my mum to the dealership to buy her first ever brand-new car, a Fiat Panda Bianca (with the two fabric sunroofs!). I tried to get her to buy an X1/9 instead, until she pointed out that there would be nowhere for me to sit.
This car, especially the interior, bring back memories!
I always loved the 4x4 and remember looking for one in the early 2000s when they were super cheap. It was already hard to find one that wasn't rusty at that point though. Now there's a nice one (red Sisley) on C&C for £20k!!!
It is crazy how simple and smart it is....! i wish I had one!!!!
I have a 2020 panda cross 4x4. Its awesome I love it, great for our pot holed UK roads.
as someone driving on very narrow mountain tracks with panda, seeing this "test" makes me smile and nod my head....
They're still worthy of 7-8k euros ...even 30-40-year-old models ...and for a reason.
I used to work on a mountaineer environment and NO QUESTION about which car is the most practical, safe and reliable in that case:
the old Panda is the most easygoing in climbing the most arduous rocky hills, the safest and most manageable in descents with snow or ice, and the best (if not the only one) in crossing muddy stretches on flat terrain.
High enough below to overcome medium rocks and holes, light enough to go up very easily, to not soak in the mud and to not become uncontrollable on snow.
An absolute crack for off-road uses
that's why literally EVERY Italian family in rural areas used to have it, and many of them still have.
And everyone gets disappointing whenever it starts getting out of order because of the age. For they know they cannot replace it with anything else.
Props to this video to highlight a deep but hidden truth in the automotive.
Cheers from Italy 🇮🇹, man 👍
P.S.
they cost much more now than 40 years ago!
You could buy them with 2.500€ back then
I wish Jeep would take a page from this book
I still remember Sundays in Grandma’s red Panda, the long, bumpy summer roads leading us to church.
Another interesting and different car on the channel Jack. Love this content buddy 😀
Very different dude.. but so clever! Have a great weekend..
@Number27you to buddy.
it looks like the small brother to a Lada niva, both beasts on wild roads, loved them both better than any 4x4
I was once a proud owner of a Panda. At the traffic lights I could sprint faster than a motorbike! At 100 km/h it seemed as if I were about to travel in time! I wish I still had my Pandino
I think I just became obsessed with importing a few of these into the US.
Kiwi here. Somewhere around mid 80s we thought it would be a great idea (and it was) to drive a Landrover County 110 from London to Nairobi. In the middle of the Sahara, surrounded by sand and nothing else whatsoever, and feeling like great and stellar adventurers, we saw the oddest sight. First, it was a sand cloud. Then we saw some vehicles racing along. Many vehicles. Like 40 or so, plus a ginormous truck. Beyond belief, the cars were white Fiat Pandas. With the truck as their supply station. We thought the Landrover was doing very well, with we its unsung heroes. Nope. Bloody Fiat Pandas were everywhere. Heading to Dakar or some such. We forgave them when they stopped and the truck driver crew gave us bottles of fresh water, bread, many many food items, and some wine! Never forgot it, have the photos, and have wanted a Panda ever since. Don't get them in NZ though, so yeah. These things cross deserts. Trust me.
Great memory, thanks for sharing. There is a race (Panda Raid) every year in Morocco over seven days across the desert. I think there are over 100 entries now.
I had one back in the 80's and it was an amazing car. It never let me down and it went everywhere in all weather when I lived in the North Yorkshire moors. I never had an issue with corrosion and maintenance was a breeze. The only car I have ever had that came close for durability and reliability was a Lada Niva (Cossack) (You should do an episode on one of these, crap on the motorway but great everywhere else).
They have more in common than you might think. The Lada Niva is essentially a three-door Fiat 124 with all-wheel drive. It's built entirely from Italian technology.
Seen a few pictures of this car on Facebook the last few weeks and it’s made me want one. I’m a van driver/owner, always been a transit guy but these pandas are just great cars.
There was also the "Panda Van" model.
Not sure if it was available with the 4WD or just 2WD, but the modified trunk was all a handyman could dream to store his work's tools.
Might be you will want to search it on the internet, but don't blame me if you fall in love!😉
👋🇮🇹🖖
‼️Edit: search for "old model"‼️
I saw this awesome car in Tyrol in the early 2000s. People working on the slopes and taking the snowy forest roads. Blew my mind back then.
My grandad had one for getting to his wagons when they’d broken down on quarries and tips. It was some sort of special edition with green canoes on the rub strips and a spirit level on the dash that told you what your lean angle was 🤣
Unless the floor is about to fall out the owner should not restore it any time soon. As crazy as it may seem to some, what’s left of that original paint is much more satisfying to see than a resprayed one.
That’s the common feedback I get when I take it to shows, people love to see it this way. 👍
Oh hello. Yeah its just another weird thing about us petrol heads. 🤷🏻♂️
Another Panda motto:
"Panda al mare e panda in montagna" - "For a beach, or mountain trip"
The farm I used to rent had a phesant shoot let out by my previous landlord. The man who had the shoot had a Rolls-Royce in his garage, but his everyday car was a Panda 4WD. He was often at the farm on pheasant shoots and at night lamping rabbits. Panda was ideal as he could stand on the seat with his guns leaning on the roof through the sunroof,i would go anywhere, steep muddy fields, etc., even places where my own defender struggled on as it was so light ,a really good car for rural areas
I have one, same age as this one, it has a sunroof over the back seat for the same reason.
A masterpiece of industrial design
Sorry, Jack; I could not remain calm 😂
I think I’d buy it if it was available, I had one and loved it.
The first Suzuki jeeps with a 3 cyl. 2 stroke motorbike engine at the end of the seventies were also giant killers!
dont forget the Citroen 2CV 4x4 bimotor
One for sale close by me. It's bright yellow lft. hand drive. Appears to be almost a museum piece an owner claims it was driven from Oregon to Pennsylvania. They were initially asking 22 Grand last I saw they were done to 16 Grand in the scheme of things probably not a bad price
Later on, the 4 cylinder, 4 stroke Suzuki Samurai was a brief but memorable hit in the US.
On the mountains all the pro skiers and the locals working on the resort had one
James May having on of these on the Grand Tour Colombia special had me fall in love with the Panda 4x4. Such a Fabulous little car.
I had two of these in a row and we loved them, I wish they still made them.
New to the channel-love it.All the best from Lodz-Poland!
As someone from Italy, buying a Panda 4x4 in the city is not useless. It's still a practical car because it's small, and adding the fact that for 99% of the time it'll be fwd it's just like a normal panda. When it does snow or rain heavily the 4x4 does wonders, expecially in the older cities that are not as flat. Besides, some city people go in the countryside from time to time, and having a car that can handle all road conditions is very useful.
The panda ,niva and the jimny all the had the same idea,my mums Citroen dyane was amazing in the snow with its light weight and skinny tyres . I love all of these little cars that have no luxury just practically and keep going when others can’t . I would love it it you get 4x4 2cv or a mehari to review.Love your videos.😊
Indeed, 2CVs are amazing in snow and offroad. Renault 4 is not far behind either!
I could see myself in that!
But you’ve already got one!
@13Pandam that has never stopped me !
@SeasideGarage 😂 Me neither.
I've seen these in seemingly impossible locations when hiking high above the Chamonix valley in deep snow!
This was a real Volkswagen! 😉
It´s hard to see this little hero in such a condition.
Jack, it´s amazing that you still have that fun in a simple and slow car, after you got used to go around with all these supercars!! 👍👍
Some of the simplest cars are the most fun to drive buddy!!
theres a flock of these living on the slopes of Vesuvius! they service the cafes at the summit...
great review.
Yes! Exactly what I was going to post, saw a couple with proper tyres at the summit when I visited a few years back
Always a pleasure to hear a British chap perfectly pronounce Italian words like Autobianchi. Good video!
Avanti Pandarmato!! Alla conquista del mondo!
I remember driving a SEAT 2wd version of the Panda on holiday in the Canaries. 750 cc I think.
Same...remember driving up the mountain dirt track and it was great fun and very capable!
You forgot to mention that the Panda is named after Empanda, the ancient Roman goddess and patroness of travelers.
One of Giugiaro’s most brilliant designs, i think. So simple, but genious.
I absolutely agree.