Discussion
I’m thinking about buying a 4x4 for winter time as neither my and, certainly, my wife’s car are any good in the snow and ice. Having been bombing about in a regular Panda a bit on holiday this week, I’m quite tempted with a Panda 4x4. Does anyone have any experience with them? Are they any good?!
They're very popular with the locals in the Alps and Pyrenees (generally on winter tyres) so, presumably, do what's required. You don't see that many Range Rovers, Discoverys (Discoveries?) , Discovery Sports, Freelanders, Range Rover Sports, Range Rover Evoques etc etc in those areas, other than 'Brits' on holiday. You do see a lot of Land Rover's products in London, though.
Top Gear carried an item once comparing a Panda 4x4 and a Range Rover getting out of a quarry. IIRC, the Range Rover just beat the Panda on times, but it was very close. For me, the little Panda was the more impressive, bearing in mind cost etc.. It might he on youtube somewhere.
Haven't driven one but impressed by what I've seen.
Top Gear carried an item once comparing a Panda 4x4 and a Range Rover getting out of a quarry. IIRC, the Range Rover just beat the Panda on times, but it was very close. For me, the little Panda was the more impressive, bearing in mind cost etc.. It might he on youtube somewhere.
Haven't driven one but impressed by what I've seen.
I had an early model of the er, later Panda in 2008 or so. We had a couple of weeks of snow: the thing just scampered about on the top of it like a happy dog. Used to drive past all the stranded BMWs, waving.
They were relatively expensive at the time. Used to pull a camping trailer with it, seemed impervious to deep mud, drunken Daily Mail readers, tents and other obstructions.
As a daily driver, it was not quick, but fun in the Fiat driving style, lots of revs and dump the clutch.
One good option if you can find one is the sliding rear seat. V. useful .
They originally came with Pirelli M&S tyres so anything with Hung-Lo ditch-finders might not like bad conditions. The exhaust silencers were made from a special 'magic' steel which dissolved every twelve months, or six if it rained. Nothing else ever went wrong with it.
They were relatively expensive at the time. Used to pull a camping trailer with it, seemed impervious to deep mud, drunken Daily Mail readers, tents and other obstructions.
As a daily driver, it was not quick, but fun in the Fiat driving style, lots of revs and dump the clutch.
One good option if you can find one is the sliding rear seat. V. useful .
They originally came with Pirelli M&S tyres so anything with Hung-Lo ditch-finders might not like bad conditions. The exhaust silencers were made from a special 'magic' steel which dissolved every twelve months, or six if it rained. Nothing else ever went wrong with it.
Edited by Slushbox on Saturday 14th July 17:09
schmalex said:
My thinking is a Panda 4x4 on winter tyres is going to be an awful lot more manageable than either my BMW 535i or my wife’s Mustang GT in very inclement weather.
For £3 - £4K for a not very old car, they look to be tremendous value!
Just put winter tyres on instead of fantasising about a sFor £3 - £4K for a not very old car, they look to be tremendous value!
t box ffs Pericoloso said:
Jag_NE said:
Just put winter tyres on instead of fantasising about a st box ffs
Ignore this ,they're everywhere in Italy ,2 and 4WD.t box ffs James_B said:
Jag_NE said:
Just put winter tyres on instead of fantasising about a st box ffs
Pandas are quite nice to drive, and open the OP’s case sound like a good choice.t box ffs We need a car for the wife and nanny to use and quite fancy one of these too, as neither likes the idea of driving my cars.
Jag_NE said:
I get it that they have their place but sinking 3-4K plus insurance/tax/mot costs etc when you can put winters on a 535 which will drive FAR nicer than a panda makes no sense at all. Unless you live in the alps perhaps.
Or drive to the alps, or live on the moors in the North, or up a steep track in the countryside, or just like the Panda, as a lot of people do.James_B said:
Jag_NE said:
I get it that they have their place but sinking 3-4K plus insurance/tax/mot costs etc when you can put winters on a 535 which will drive FAR nicer than a panda makes no sense at all. Unless you live in the alps perhaps.
Or drive to the alps, or live on the moors in the North, or up a steep track in the countryside, or just like the Panda, as a lot of people do.InitialDave said:
Both options have merit. A Panda 4x4 is going to be a solid choice for a winter car, but unless you're dealing with stuff where ground clearance is an issue, winter tyres on the BMW are likely all you need.
Perhaps, but the Panda will have a better approach and departure angle as well, if that is needed. Pica-Pica said:
InitialDave said:
Both options have merit. A Panda 4x4 is going to be a solid choice for a winter car, but unless you're dealing with stuff where ground clearance is an issue, winter tyres on the BMW are likely all you need.
Perhaps, but the Panda will have a better approach and departure angle as well, if that is needed. No, I wasn't thinking about ground clearance for the purpose of off-roading the thing, more that if the snow is deep enough to render the other cars unusable even with winter tyres, the Panda has an advantage there, albeit a small one in comparison to something bigger.
Tiny AWD cars on appropriate, narrow tyres are magic on winter roads, though.
Tiny AWD cars on appropriate, narrow tyres are magic on winter roads, though.
The beemer’s fine on summer tyres. In fact, this winter, it was brilliant on the motorway journey to my office.
My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
Edited by schmalex on Saturday 14th July 21:10
schmalex said:
The beemer’s fine on summer tyres. In fact, this winter, it was brilliant on the motorway journey to my office.
My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
You must be in man maths territory as it won’t cost 3-4K to put winters on a car, then there is the additional insurances/tax/mot/upkeep. Unless the terrain is extreme I don’t think a panda has any redeeming features whatsoever versus a 535 or a mustang. My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
Edited by schmalex on Saturday 14th July 21:10
Jag_NE said:
schmalex said:
The beemer’s fine on summer tyres. In fact, this winter, it was brilliant on the motorway journey to my office.
My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
You must be in man maths territory as it won’t cost 3-4K to put winters on a car, then there is the additional insurances/tax/mot/upkeep. Unless the terrain is extreme I don’t think a panda has any redeeming features whatsoever versus a 535 or a mustang. My wife has a 30 mile school run on, mostly, lanes which aren’t gritted. Quite understandably, she doesn’t fancy doing it in a 400bhp+ Mustang on summer tyres. With 275/19 rears and 245/19 fronts, there isn’t much cost difference between putting winters on the Ford or buying something to rattle down the lanes in the worst of the winter.
Plus, I quite like the idea of a Panda or something similar on skinny winter tyres to knock about in
Edited by schmalex on Saturday 14th July 21:10
I disagree that it has no redeeming features compared to our everyday cars. We’ve had a 3rd car in the shape of a Series 3 Land Rover and Mitsubishi L200 for the past few years and I much preferred to drive either of those on weekends or in really bad weather as it really doesn’t matter if someone slides into you, or you put it into a ditch accidentally on ice.
There’s something very cathartic about driving round in something that’s really doesn’t matter. The additional cost of tax, insurance and servicing amounts to only a few hundred pounds a year, so it’s pretty inconsequential.
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