Fiat Panda Cross
Much like a first love, one’s first 4x4 holds a special place in the affections. So would this Panda engender more ‘oohs’ or ‘arghs’ from Charlie Flindt?
IT IS nice to know that in an age of ludicrously complicated 4x4s, the Fiat Panda is still leading the way in simplicity – as it has for four decades. It’s true that the Cross is a lot more sophisticated than the puritan Mk1 (which was my first 4x4, hence my soft spot for Pandas) but it still puts function over form.
Let’s start in the cabin. There’s a slot for a key, which starts the engine. There’s a manual handbrake (odd shape, but we’ll let that pass). There is a simple six-speed gearbox, with a perfectly chosen first gear for pootling. No low-ratio box. If your offroading experience is only complete with a touchscreen and an encyclopaedic list of terrains to choose from, you’ll be disappointed. For the rest of us, it’s just right.
And don’t go thinking that the Cross isn’t a proper off-roader. It may not carry much, and certainly won’t tow much, but it’s about as gnarly as you’re going to get. Look at those approach and departure angles, the extra ground clearance, the cladding. Put it into first gear, twist the rotary knob to ‘off road’ and drive is sent to all four wheels, carefully redistributed in slippery conditions using the ‘electronic locking differential’.
One more twist of the drive knob and you can engage ‘Gravity Control’, which is a slightly ambitious and technically inaccurate renaming of ‘hill descent control’; the brakes are automatically used to keep things steady on a steep downhill.
Luckily, the on-road experience isn’t penalised too much. Road noise is high, but sensible tyres soak up the potholes well and the handling is respectable for such a narrow and tall car – and one that hasn’t got a huge lump of engine under the bonnet.
Ah, yes, the engine. If you like vast ranks of cylinders, the Twinair will come as a surprise. Just two cylinders (as the name suggests) and looking uncannily like the stationary engines that can be found in the corner of your local agricultural show, putt-putting pointlessly.
It’s petrol only (so no DPFS or DMFS needed) and, at idle, the Twinair feels – and sounds – like a bag of spanners. Even at moderate speeds it does a fair impression of a sick Flymo. It feels gutless until you realise that the ‘economy’ button is (by default) on; turn that off and things are a lot better. It revs round to the rev limiter at the drop of a hat and the harder you push it, the better it sounds.
It’s not without niggles, of course – the dials are useless in the most important zones, the rear seats are cramped, the front ones feel awkward and the nowcompulsory low rearview mirror blocks the forward view, and I never understood the bright red tow hooks on the front; they scream: “I’m stuck/broken down!”
But it’s easy to forgive the Panda Cross little things like that. It’s full to the brim with character, makes hilarious noises and goes just about anywhere. Forty years on, it is still a hugely capable little 4x4 that raises a smile.
It’s full to the brim with character, makes hilarious noises and goes just about anywhere