The Fiat brand has been synonymous with Europe’s most affordable 4x4 since a four-wheel drive system, developed in conjunction with Steyr-Puch, was installed in the first, Giugiaro-designed Panda in 1983. This model’s mechanical simplicity, durability and off-road abilities quickly found universal favour, and notably with rural communities, postal services and telephone and electricity utilities across continental Europe.
Today, building on a unique design which combines the road presence and elevated driving position of a small SUV with the space and flexible practicality of an MPV, the Fiat Panda 4x4 features a variable torque distribution, permanent four-wheel drive transmission system capable of automatically transferring up to 50 per cent of engine torque to the rear wheels.
Employing front and rear differentials and a rear mounted viscous coupling, this robust, low maintenance drivetrain is completely automatic and entirely mechanical, requiring neither driver input nor electronic control, and imbues the Panda 4x4 with outstanding off-road and severe weather abilities.
With modifications to the MacPherson strut front suspension and an all-new, independent rear configuration featuring longitudinal tie rods and a torsion bar, the new Panda 4x4 offers improved wheel articulation in off-road conditions, and an extended ground clearance of 165mm. This revised and strengthened suspension system affords the Panda 4x4 impressive off-road comfort and performance with minimal compromise to the car’s renowned driving dynamics.
Allied to its increased ground clearance, the Panda 4x4’s short front and rear overhangs make it ideally suited to the most challenging of off-road conditions, with approach, departure and breakover angles (the maximum angles of incidence that may be undertaken without the body touching the ground) of 24, 42 and 24 degrees respectively. The new Panda 4x4 will also readily climb gradients in excess of 50 per cent.
On the road, the Panda 4x4 augments the levels of traction and stability inherent in its sophisticated, variable torque distribution four-wheel drive system, with ABS anti-lock brakes incorporating electronic brakeforce distribution, and MSR to modulate brake torque while changing down.
Within a bodyshell of exceptional torsional stiffness, the Panda 4x4 offers a fully comprehensive array of both active and passive safety features. It is the first car in its class to offer up to six airbags, while front seatbelts with pre-tensioners and load limiters, three-point rear seatbelts, and anti-submarining seats are all fitted as standard.
The Panda 4x4 is available in one unique trim designation, offering levels of equipment more usually associated with cars of a higher segment and powered by Fiat’s proven FIRE 1.2 litre, 8-valve, 60bhp power plant mated to a five-speed manual gearbox,
Over one million test kilometres, undertaken through some of the world’s harshest terrain, attest to both the new Panda 4x4’s remarkable off-road abilities and the durability of its drivetrain: in Lapland, the 4x4 Fiat performed faultlessly in temperatures of minus 40 degrees, maintaining traction and stability on ultra-low friction surfaces, and overcoming snow covered gradients of more than 40 per cent. In the Kalahari Desert, the most mechanically debilitating of unsurfaced roads combined with dust, sand and 45 degree temperatures subjected the Panda 4x4’s drivetrain and suspension to the harshest examination.
Finally, two Panda 4x4s set out from Kathmandu to drive through the Himalayas to the Mount Everest advance base camp, sited at an altitude of 5,200 metres. This was the first time that a small off-road vehicle achieved this goal, a feat made all the more remarkable by the absence of any modification to the standard Panda 4x4, except minor engine control unit adaptations appropriate for the quality of local fuel.