Interesting...
Reminds me of the Brazil soft-road Uno they launched a few years ago.
Idiosyncratic looks, but I'd give it a go (hey, I've had a Coupe Fiat for twenty years - I like non-boring cars!)
Fiat Panda Cross: 'Interesting-looking' Multipla spawn hits UK
The new FIAT Panda Cross comes to the UK in September, just in time for a “64” numberplate, and is looking to add a bit of fashion pizazz to the utilitarian nature of the original Panda 4x4. Fiat's Panda Cross: out in the wild but not on sale until September Everyone agrees on the looks. They are “interesting” and “brave”. …
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Tuesday 5th August 2014 16:52 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: Interesting...
I'm from Brazil and I've seen people driving their Unos on a much rougher terrain than that... except they picked up some momentum first, before going an ugly uphill. The car is sturdy, but the gearbox and engine ARE NOT.
Speaking of ugly... yeah, but it beats walking. Use a cap and sunglasses, just in case.
If you ever buy one, slap on it: "My other car is NOT A PIECE OF CRAP."
and we have an acronym of our own for it: "Fui Idiota Agora é Tarde", which translates literally to "I was stupid (to buy this car), now it's too late."
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Friday 1st August 2014 10:32 GMT Anonymous Coward
Re: chipping?
Power isn't everything. The lower power output could be due to using more restrictive components in the exhaust or induction system, potentially improving reliability and/or emissions. It could be as a result of this version of the engine being designed to produce more torque lower down the rev range (suiting an offroader better) or plenty of other reasons to do with cost and packaging (maybe the exhaust has to be higher, for ground clearance, therefor it is more restrictive flow pattern, and hence lower power)
When a spotty oik gets his hands on a device to reprogram the ECU they rarely know what they are really doing, and usually go for headline figures rather than decent performance, having your car produce an extra 15Bhp at 6000Rpm is useless when they have destroyed the power/torque curve at the lower end because you'll rarely get to use it, especially when offroading.
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Friday 1st August 2014 10:27 GMT MJI
I was going to be sarcy but
It is actually a good little car!
A bit small with 3 teenagers but as I read the more impressed I was.
My car would probably just about beat it off road (well mine has a green oval on the steering wheel, 5 cylinders and 2 live axles), but it seems to perform pretty well.
yes it is impressive.
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Friday 1st August 2014 13:01 GMT Alfie
Polski Fiat
If you are worried about the build quality buy one of the Mk2 Pandas, all the MK2s were made in Poland. They made a diesel Cross too, but dont think they sold many in the UK so can be hard to track one down. My current car is one (non 4x4) and its now the car I've owned the longest of the eight cars I've had. All it gets is oil and filters and an MOT every year. However to make up for the boring reliability, I now spend most of my time on a Moto Guzzi ;-)
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Friday 1st August 2014 11:02 GMT A Twig
"it's shorter and narrower than a MINI"
So is a Land Rover Defender 90 - MINIs ain't really a good bench mark for small car size...
Minor quibble aside that looks a pretty capable 4x4 for the money, a lot cheaper than your usual "City Adventurer" suspects (LR, Jeep etc). The video of its performance was surprisingly impressive.
Only issue I can see is if it really is big enough and hard wearing enough to dump all your wet/heavy/grubby kit in without worrying about scratches/stains/smells etc. Do the back seats fold flat to give a bigger loadspace?
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Friday 1st August 2014 14:28 GMT Stratman
Don't get too hung up on the supposedly low power output and its effect on climbing ability.
It's equipped with something called a 'gearbox' which turns low torque/high revs into high torque/low revs. It's almost as if automotive designers had thought about it.
Do your dimensional analysis and you'll see Power = Torque x Revs.
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Friday 1st August 2014 14:58 GMT The New Turtle
Could be just what we need.
We live in rural Oxfordshire, and with reasonable hills in every direction from here, getting snowed in is not at all unusual. A typical 4X4 is OTT for what we need, but something like this with a decent boot and reasonable economy would be ideal.
We had a Fiat 500L pseudo SUV as a rental car in Canada for 2 weeks and nearly 3000km, and it was great. I imagine this to be similar but with true 4WD.
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Friday 1st August 2014 18:34 GMT Dr_N
Multipla Spawn?
That'd be the 500L based 500X and it's Jeep cousin the Renegade due out soon.
Not this Panda.
Fiat are producing some good cars and the 500L based ones are really very good.
This baby one should sell well too.
The tech they've brought to bear on DERVs (used by many other manufacturers)
and the peppy 2-cylinder TwinAir petrol is fantastic. More power to them.
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Friday 1st August 2014 22:53 GMT Anonymous Coward
I love this little thing
I have a massive soft spot for little Fiats, having owned a Seicento Sporting that was fun to drive and cost next to nothing to maintain. Was heartbroken when someone wrote it off in a freak accident.
Anyway, I'd love the Twin Air version of this. In red, of course.
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Monday 4th August 2014 11:27 GMT SEDT
Its different and that alone ups its appeal for me.
I'm now into my 5th 4x4 and I've rarely taken one off road, but once in a rare while I find reason to be thankful :)
I see them as peace of mind, and safer.
The previous 4x4 Pandas have always had strong enthusiast support, and I reckon this one will be no different. Gets my vote
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Monday 4th August 2014 13:35 GMT Sir Lancelot
But...
Two comments on this article:
1) a Porsche Cayenne doesn't need to descend a hill. The Cayenne has a magical characteristic called weight that flattens the hill when at the top so that it doesn't need to descend ;)
2) I'd prefer this over the FIAT and the Cayenne: http://youtu.be/wdy8CG09rSU Sit back and enjoy the Vorsprung durch Technik as presented by the mighty Walter Röhrl. Those were the days!
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Thursday 7th August 2014 13:35 GMT Anonymous Coward
4 x 4s have their uses : here out in the wilds of Worcestershire very many 4 x 4s can be seen prowling ... usually battered L200 pickups rathers than glitzy townie 4 x 4s.
Car wise Discoveries, Range Rovers, Shoguns, Freelanders, Surfs, Suzikis are very common ... and are rarely clean and shiny.
Many locals have their small piece of 'ground' of a few acres. How are they going to carry sheep, goats, bales, feed sacks, equestrian kit, fencing etc without a 4 x4?
(Tractors are overkill for smaller holdings)
Many urban dwellers simply have no idea that there are TWO Englands (or Wales or Scotlands) : the towns and the rural areas.
They are vastly different in character and have very different needs & lifestyles.
In fact the niceness of rural life is a closely guarded secret ... err, oops ...
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Wednesday 13th August 2014 13:09 GMT Getriebe
Bugger missed this
One thing it is, narrow.
Which means it can get up old mule tracks common in European mountains which very few other 4x4 can start on
I borrowed one to haul climbing and camping gear up to a Spanish mountain hut. No problems, someone with a 4x4 Transit got jammed in between the walls. I have no idea what happened as I just drove through the fields and off.
Great cars. Mk1 and 2 rotted though
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Monday 18th August 2014 06:49 GMT Delbert
4wd control
Odd to criticise the positioning of the 4wd drive selector the best reason to have it away from the steering wheel is to discourage fiddling, it is not something you should need to use regularly unless you are a Kalahari or Amazon resident. The proof being the dedicated offroad manufacturers place it on the transmission tunnel by default Land Rover, Toyota, Subaru and Isuzu all think its a rather good idea.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
