Hi all,

I just registered today after spending a good hour reading up on this forum.

I am thinking of purchasing a Fiat Panda 4x4 and I would be grateful for some advice:

- What are they like to drive? Are they comfortable on long journeys. I am 6ft 2 so would I have problems fitting in it? And what is the handling like?

- I can't seem to find much information on search engines on this car and I would also appreciate someone explaining what engine sizes were available.

- Did the later cars have EFI, i notice that someone complained about the carb being hard to tune. What sort of MPG to they do?

- Are maintenacne costs high, are they easy to service by yourself?

Thank you all in advance, appreciate any relavant information and sorry for the long first post!

Sorry i cant help much, but i will say this - pandas are comfortable to drive long distances and i am 6'6" tall, so i should know . The sisley had a 999cc FIRE engine only (good reliable engines). Maintenance costs are very cheap, and you can fix 99% of the things yourself

Xiotis said:

I am 6ft 2 so would I have problems fitting in it? And what is the handling like?

Click to expand...

This guy is at least 6 foot 7. He doesn't look comfy, but he seems to be having fun.

Edit: What do you need a 4x4 for? A 2x4 is a better tool for long distances.

Thanks for the pic.

Good point, I don't really need a 4x4, but think it would be nice to have for long mountainous road trips up to Scotland and Wales, which I would like to do.

Why is the 2x4 better for short distances, sorry if it's a silly question, I've never owned a 4x4 before.

The 2x4 is better for long distances as it has got longer gearing. 4x4s have shorter cogs to maximise the effectiveness of 45bhp on a steep slope, and they cope damn well.

4x4s are by no means bad on long journeys but if it'll be spending the majority of its time on roads and not on an army assault course then, in my opinion, the 2x4 is the more ideal car. The 2x4 is also surprisingly good off road as the ground clearance is still pretty high and most of the weight is over the front driven wheels. I once went for a wander over a muddly field at my old workplace and, well, it was muddier than I first imagined but the Panda pulled me through with careful use of the throttle and steering.

If you're located near me (Northwich Cheshire) then I'll give you a demo if you like.

Also consider the large premium 4x4s in good nick are commanding over a 2x4 in the same condition.

Back to your original post:

- 2WDs are fun to drive and mine's taken me on 300 mile trips without missing a beat and with no gripes to speak of regarding comfort. Get a comfy driving position and you're fine. The accelerator and brake pedals are quite close together but by no means a cause for concern.

I reckon at 6 foot 2 you should be fine although your legs might need to get used to the new position they'll be sitting in.

Handling wise the 2WD is fine, quite chuckable and a real hoot down narrow lanes and twisty streets. If you're pressing on understeer is the call of the day, however the very light rear end means on slippery surfaces you can get some attitude on the rear wheels and in the snow the car will drift nicely when you get used to how the car likes to behave.

Presumably, with their higher suspension, the 4x4s are a bit rollier but I doubt the differences will be massive.

Maintenance is generally buttons, depending on what parts you're after. Scrapyards are a vital tool and the guys on here are absolute legends if you're after something. Most parts are still stocked by motor factors across the country and Halfords etc as well.

Engines wise, MK2s (1986 (I think) - 1995 (UK) / 2003 (Mainland Europe)) are equipped with:

2WD: 750cc (fuel injected)
903cc (carb)
999cc (carb)
999cc (fuel injected)

Fuel injected models have "fire" badges.

4wd: 999cc carb (did they do fuel injected ones too?)
Later models also had 1108cc engines I believe, as does the 2WD Selecta (CVT automatic).

MK1s are rare as rocking horse poo and have an ~850cc engine (carb) and a ~900cc engine (carb).

And my knowledge ends here.

BUT as a whole Pandas are great motors (which is somewhat subjective) and a pretty hassle free owning experience on the whole.

Just to add to Fuzzy's Post (nicely done btw)

The handleing is relative to a pretty slow town car as 0-60 is not quick but that's not what they are designed for although the 4wd is still quicker than the comparitve fiesta's etc the 2wd even more so.

I've travelled all over the country in my Sisley and even at 6'1" find it comfortable enough but you do have to find a good position for your right leg as it kind of sits on the door bin but experience will find the perfect position.

As for service cost's the only thing i don't do is bodywork, they are a bit like a full size meccano set and I love them for that.

The 4x4 is a staggering little car and will not stop surprising you of it's strengths with the body work being pretty much it's only weakness.

If you want a very good one your looking at the best side of £1k if you want something road ready it will be much cheaper but expect to work on it pretty quickly.

Everyone on here will do their very best to help and take you step by step through any job you need to do.

Finally the carb isn't hard to tune as long as everything is OK but they do suffer from mixture problems with the screws & seals eventually breaking down. A good refurb will sort this quickly. The SPI engines do have an electronic carb but can't be adjusted as they are controlled by the ecu.

I'm not even sure what the difference between the 4x4 and 2x4 is... they both have the ability to use only front wheel drive don't they? or is the Mk1 4x4 only?

as for the car, as a sisley owner i can say that it's great fun to drive. good visibilty and it's very nimble (much lighter than the powersteering in a yaris if your moving). the only stress over long distances would be louder road noise than your modern small cars, but then you get 4 speakers (well wiring anyway) so you can drown that out with whatever takes your fancy

Tony M said:

I'm not even sure what the difference between the 4x4 and 2x4 is... they both have the ability to use only front wheel drive don't they? or is the Mk1 4x4 only?

Click to expand...

The 4x4 has different gear ratios and even though it can be switched in 2 or 4wd it's always pulling the extra weight and there will be drag from the extra diff & prop so lower fuel consumption.

Alan.D said:

The 4x4 has different gear ratios and even though it can be switched in 2 or 4wd it's always pulling the extra weight and there will be drag from the extra diff & prop so lower fuel consumption.

Click to expand...

o how does the 2x4 get traction to the rear wheels without a prop shaft and a rear diff?... i am not sure i'm understanding this at all... do the rear wheels traverse the length of the car and stick onto the front drive shafts? i guess the proof is in the pudding...

I suspect you wouldn't really notice the difference unless you were driving them back to back.

Great replies guys, keep em coming, thanks!

With regards to fuel economy what kind of mpg do you get in town/motorway with a 4x4?

It seems that the engines go on forever but it's the bodywork which rots badly, I know about checking the doors but are there any other rust prone areas I should be aware of when viewing a car.

Also are there any weak spots in the drive train of the 4x4, that I should know about?

PS - Thanks all for the warm welcome and Fuzzypanda cheers for the kind offer , shame I live in London though.

Tony M said:

o how does the 2x4 get traction to the rear wheels without a prop shaft and a rear diff?... i am not sure i'm understanding this at all... do the rear wheels traverse the length of the car and stick onto the front drive shafts? i guess the proof is in the pudding...

I suspect you wouldn't really notice the difference unless you were driving them back to back.

Click to expand...

Eh? your taking the pi$$

All I meant was no matter whether your in 2wd or 4wd the engine has to pull more so lower fuel consumption.

Like the old fans that were fixed to the water pump there was drag due to the fan and fuel consumption got better when they introduced electric and visous fans.

Xiotis said:

Great replies guys, keep em coming, thanks!

With regards to fuel economy what kind of mpg do you get in town/motorway with a 4x4?

It seems that the engines go on forever but it's the bodywork which rots badly, I know about checking the doors but are there any other rust prone areas I should be aware of when viewing a car.

Also are there any weak spots in the drive train of the 4x4, that I should know about?

PS - Thanks all for the warm welcome and Fuzzypanda cheers for the kind offer , shame I live in London though.

Click to expand...

You'll get 40+ if you take it easy low to mid 30's if you don't.

Other than the Sisley as it has the inner wheel arch covers the rear seatbelt mounts seem to go as well as the floor in the boot. The B piller just above the door handle level with the rear window.

both engine and body work will last if kept and eye on... just don't take things for granted and get under the car to look now and then. It's easy enough to nip them in the bud with the correct treatment and a little elbow grease.

Most of the serious problems these days are from external forces... other car park users, louts and well ... the previous owners of the panda.

other than that it's pretty straight forward.

Rust.... well, it seems it can appear almost anywhere and everywhere but it prefers to start in the more awkward to clean (and also repair) areas... Most likely to rust is the seam between the inner sill and floorpan and the sill bottoms. The horizontal seam behind the rear wheels also catches loads of road crud (less on 4x4s if fitted with rear arch liners), and tends to go, and eventually spreads to the edges of the boot floor.

Mine had a quite nasty hole in front of the right rear wheel on the vertical seam by the suspension mount, but the other side was almost as new, so I don't know how likely this is on other Pandas, I guess its all down to which day of the week the car was built and if Mario et al could be bothered with rustproofing that day... The scuttle panel frequently goes below the front windscreen, and though not particularly hard to fix, it often means the windscreen has to come out (I'm good at breaking them...). Lift the mat in the boot and check around for bubbling/holes around where the chassis members are welded on, also the seam below the boot rubber seal.

At least glass and tyres don't rust I suppose......good luck with finding a goodun, they are out there somewhere...

Mike

I was asked to remove the windscreen by the auto body shop the other day... I arrived and ten minutes later i left after removing the screen. putting it back in is slower but less stressful.

Welcome to the forum

Don't rule out a high spec 2 wheel drive - there are some lovely special editions out there with all kinds of extras, my favourite being a fabric sun roof! The 'COLOUR' special edition is very, very nice. A 5th gear is nice too, particularly on a lower powered 750 like mine (769cc).

You could pick up a really nice example of a 2 x 4 for literally next to nothing - however, the 4 x 4 (and Sisley in particular) is now the holy grail in Pandering and are commanding some very high prices. However, you might find one by the roadside sold by some old boy who has owned it for 15 years and has no idea what it is worth and is looking for £200!!! Mind you a guy on ebay paid over £600 for a 750 Mania edition exactly the same as mine a few weeks back.

They are so cute and good fun to drive, and if looked after you will get a reliability and cheap motoring that most other car owners can only dream of. They are pretty basic so you should be able to do most repairs yourself (even I have dabbled on various repairs!).

I use mine literally everyday (mostly for town running but I do stretch her legs occassionally) and I use about half a tank of petrol a month - you can fill it with about £33 (that's quite a large tank for a car it's size I thought).

I've never looked back. I just want another one now!

Russ

Hello and good evening,

I've just got back from the midlands and missed all of this thread.

Unless you actually NEED a 4x4 Panda, they're not worth the bother. They are becoming very expensive, they are difficult on corners, they offer a very hard ride and, compared to other Panda's, they drink a lot of extra petrol.

Your best all-rounder would be something with a 999 engine, omega suspension, no CAT and a good high spec.
All the very best...

Something like a late 1000s ... which also seem to be quite popular.

The only answer is:


GET ONE OF EACH!!!!!!!!!!!



then you can be constantly satisfied!!!!!!!!! wherever you go and whatever you're doing!!!!

This is excellent advice that dosn't only apply to cars

Sprox said:

The only answer is:


GET ONE OF EACH!!!!!!!!!!!



then you can be constantly satisfied!!!!!!!!! wherever you go and whatever you're doing!!!!

Click to expand...