11 Oct 04
You might not expect such a car to have much in the way of real off-road ability, but the higher ride height allows quite steep arrival and departure angles - it can climb gradients of up to 50 degrees (better than a Land Rover Discovery) - and the viscous coupling acts quickly enough to salvage forward motion when the front wheels start to spin. I discovered this when picking my way down a gulley into the water below, driving along the cutting then clambering out the other side. There's no low-range gear set so you have to hurl the Panda at the hill and keep the revs up, but provided you don't hesitate it's surprising what the all-terrain Fiat can cope with.
Gut reaction suggests the diesel should be the more capable of the two engine options when crashing through the jungle, and it's true that it lugs happily up hills provided the turbocharger is on boost. And even when it isn't, this Panda chugs along contentedly while waiting for the turbine wheels to spin up to speed. The petrol version proves to be a bit of a star, however. A lower first gear helps here, so the engine doesn't bog down on slow, steep hills. And because there's no turbocharger, its ultimately lesser torque is more readily available so you don't need to plan ahead so accurately.
