Hi,we have a 2012 Panda TA lounge,we've had it for 2 years,more than happy with the Car but
I'm not sure how to put this,but i have this feeling/concern that the suspension/drivetrain,clutch etc.are not quite as substantial for long term ownership as i would like,nothings fell off or broke,it just feels like it could do with toughening up.
My question is,are the components i listed above the same spec on the Trekking & 4x4 or are they"beefed up"to cope with the intended heavier use,i'll ask it a different way do the Trekking/4x4 feel in any way more substantial,than the Standard TA.
I hope i don't ruffle any feathers with this post,we really like the Panda,but we're getting old(some would think we're already old)& we don't plan on changing cars to much,in fact our next car could be our last & if the Trekking etc,feels tougher,we might well take the plunge & change now.
Cheers,Graham &(more importantly) Barbara.

Graham GB said:

Hi,we have a 2012 Panda TA lounge,we've had it for 2 years,more than happy with the Car but
I'm not sure how to put this,but i have this feeling/concern that the suspension/drivetrain,clutch etc.are not quite as substantial for long term ownership as i would like,nothings fell off or broke,it just feels like it could do with toughening up.
My question is,are the components i listed above the same spec on the Trekking & 4x4 or are they"beefed up"to cope with the intended heavier use,i'll ask it a different way do the Trekking/4x4 feel in any way more substantial,than the Standard TA.
I hope i don't ruffle any feathers with this post,we really like the Panda,but we're getting old(some would think we're already old)& we don't plan on changing cars to much,in fact our next car could be our last & if the Trekking etc,feels tougher,we might well take the plunge & change now.
Cheers,Graham &(more importantly) Barbara.

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Hi Graham & Barbara,

Welcome :wave:

I'm not sure what flimsiness you feel the Lounge has, but certainly there is none of that with the 4x4. The suspension & drivetrain will be heavily reworked as its a completely different system & designed for offroad work.

My Mum has a mk4 Panda 4x4 T/A and has been delighted with it over the last 18 months.

I have a mk2 Panda 4x4 Sisley which is still unbelievable offroad - it's now 25 years old with 130k on the clock and its little 999cc FIRE engine is going strong. Some of these are at 250k on their original oily bits!

I recently bought a mk3 Panda 4x4 (the last shape) for playing with offroad. It's done 112k at the moment in 7 years, and mechanically feels like it's just driven out of the showroom - I'd defy anyone to work out how many miles it's done by driving it. It's also very smooth offroad with no rattles even over serious rocky stuff (can't say the same for the mk2 which does rattle over stuff but never falls apart).

So based on current mk4 experience & Fiat's history with offroad Panda's, I'd say - don't worry it will be more than capable of anything you're likely to throw at it.

Hi,Palio.Thanks for the reply,your comments on the feel & mileage of the 4x4,is what i'm interested in.
do you know where the Trekking sits in comparison to the 4X4,in terms of it's suspension/drivetrain?
To be honest i don't really understand what the Trekking offers in comparison to the Lounge & the 4x4,is it some sort of limited slip diff,or does it have any off road capability as in the 4x4,or is the 4x4 a different animal.
To clarify i don't feel the lounge is particulary flimsy,but as a reference,it feels more akin to Barbaras Smart car(which we traded for the Panda)than the
MK2 Golf,she had previously,in terms of chassis feel.
Cheers,Graham.

Graham GB said:

Hi,Palio.Thanks for the reply,your comments on the feel & mileage of the 4x4,is what i'm interested in.
do you know where the Trekking sits in comparison to the 4X4,in terms of it's suspension/drivetrain?
To be honest i don't really understand what the Trekking offers in comparison to the Lounge & the 4x4,is it some sort of limited slip diff,or does it have any off road capability as in the 4x4,or is the 4x4 a different animal.
To clarify i don't feel the lounge is particulary flimsy,but as a reference,it feels more akin to Barbaras Smart car(which we traded for the Panda)than the
MK2 Golf,she had previously,in terms of chassis feel.
Cheers,Graham.

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Probably your best bet is to have a good long test drive - maybe you could arrange one for a weekend?

The Trekking looks like the 4x4 so has the same raised ride height, similar trim, and the S&M tyres. It doesn't have the 4wd system, but does get some trick traction control type gizmo's. It's meant to be quite good offroad (and certainly for the offroading on pavements most of them will do!), but ultimately it's not going to be anywhere near as good offroad & you won't get the 4wd helping you in the same way on tricky roads.

To be honest the Trekking is probably as good offroad as most of the soft roaders on road tyres. I'd always go for the proper 4x4 though - not least of which because they have traditionally held more of their value for longer.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/fiat/panda/60904/fiat-panda-trekking Has a basic view on what it does.

Once again,thanks Palio.
To be honest i'm not bothered about 4x4 ability,i just thought maybe with the 4x4 types being built to handle off road driving,there was a decent chance they would be 'beefed up' in the chassis areas i'm talking about.
Do the Dealers really offer things like extended time demo drives?,when we bought the Panda,it was all we could do to get a Demo drive with the salesman looking worried in the back seat.
Cheers,Graham.

Graham GB said:

Do the Dealers really offer things like extended time demo drives?,when we bought the Panda,it was all we could do to get a Demo drive with the salesman looking worried in the back seat.
Cheers,Graham.

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My dealer positively encouraged my to test drive the 4x4 cross off road! we took it up some rediculouse things & both came back with a smile on our faces.

We purchased out Trekking due to the price,
We got it in the end for £11,300ish - was a no brainer and it's great

We looked at Hyundai i10, VW Up, Ford Fiesta & Panda Lounge originally.

I used carwow.co.uk to get prices for all, then the off chance at work I put a Panda Trekking in and the price the dealers were offering were lower than the Panda Lounge. (I did want the sunroof on the lounge... as well as the other bits and bobs)

So off we went, to the local dealers printout in hand showing the price the other dealers would give this car for and asked them to better it.

They did and Panda Trekking with most optional extras now is the main car.

I didn't price up the 4x4 unfortunately at the time.
But the Trekking with light off road has been fun so far with no problems.

It's done 2100 miles so far and only 2 month old - no problems yet.

Palio said:

S&M tyres.

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I like S&M rubber things

deeyup said:

I like S&M rubber things

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They are quite popular in the Classic Panda section too! That section has threads veering off into areas like the slightly murky topic of studs v chains on your S&M rubber things..... It can get a bit Carry On Panda'ing

deeyup said:

I like S&M rubber things

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S&M rubber things covered in mud, pure filth.

To drag this thread out of the sewer and back to the OP's question, do we actually know whether the changes to the 4x4/Trekking over the standard Panda include uprated suspension/steering components?

Our Mk 1 Panda 4x4 used to eat driveshaft oil seals and CV boots on a depressingly regular basis because they couldn't cope with a daily liberal spattering of mud, grit & pig-**** from our farm track. The front ARB drop-links were also made of cheese.

There's more to producing a fit-for-purpose 4x4 than jacking it up a few inches and sticking M&S tyres on it.

I'm not suggesting that the 4x4 has any particular shortcomings - after 20,000 miles in 15 months the car has handled everything it's been asked to do - three extended trips to central Italy with a fair bit of white road driving over there - but I doubt that there's anything other than the minimum of difference in the suspension components. I'd suppose that spring and damper rates are different, possibly the front anti-roll bar, and the rear torsion beam has to accommodate drive shafts, but I'd be surprised if it goes further than that.

To the best of my knowledge (and certainly this was the case with my previous, 2005 4x4), the basic suspension elements at the front are identical with the 2WD version -- the lower wishbone, trackrod ends, anti roll bar are all the same. The front strut and springs are longer to give more ground clearance, but the top mounts are unchanged. And the drop links that connect the suspension to the antiroll bar are also longer (but intended to be sacrificial so only a few quid each). So, at the front, no added strengthening over the 2WD.

The 2005-12 4WD had a very different rear set up, which was stronger and also much heavier. The 2012-on 4Wd uses (so far as I know) the same rear suspension system as teh 2WD, but again, longer springs and struts give the added height. The rear hubs are clearly different to allow driveshafts to pass through them.

The 4x4 and Trekking run on 15" wheels with wider tyres (175/65 R15), and this may also make the ride feel different.