Petrolblog Revisited: 10 reasons the Fiat Panda 4x4 still rules in 2025

Back in 2014, the press was preoccupied with floods, snow and what flavour of SUV might save your bacon come winter. Now in 2025, the car landscape has shifted, the climate’s still weird, and small, affordable 4x4s are rarer than a quiet Tesla Supercharger. But the Panda 4x4? It still makes a weird amount of sense.

So here's why the Fiat Panda 4x4 remains one of Petrolblog’s favourite cars. Ever.

It’s still the choice of the Italian hill farmer

Head to Tuscany and you’ll still spot them: Pandas of all vintages sunning themselves outside barns, navigating switchbacks, or being coaxed up dusty olive groves by farmers who trust them with their lives. First-gen, second-gen, and the later models still trundle on, bought not on three-year PCP deals, but like one might acquire a terrier or a scythe. You get one to keep it.

The Panda repays that loyalty in kind. Whether it’s climbing a frosty farm track or skimming over gravel like a goat on Red Bull, it just keeps going. If it can handle rural Italy, it’ll cope with your ungritted lane in Lincolnshire.

It’ll go where others won’t

Don’t be fooled by the badge. The Fiat Panda 4x4 is properly capable. It’s not just about four driven wheels; it’s about lightness, simplicity and those wonderfully narrow 175-section tyres that dig in when wider rubber flails helplessly.

Ask the Alpine locals. They might own a hulking SUV or something Germanic with Quattro in the name, but when it comes to snow-day errands or threading between stone walls, it’s the Panda they turn to. All 1,050kg of it. That and a set of mud-and-snow tyres is all you need to feel like the ruler of every back lane and bridle path.

Because it’s a Panda

Plenty of city cars are sharper, slicker, or more sophisticated. But none wear their purpose as proudly as the Fiat Panda. There’s a warmth to it, a friendliness – like it genuinely wants to help.

The 4x4 version channels that energy into something more rugged. It’s a dog in a wax jacket. Show it a bit of mud or gravel and it perks up immediately, tail wagging, metaphorically speaking. It’s not built for Everest, but it’ll cheerfully handle a muddy festival field or an icy B-road.

It’s still a hoot to drive

Whether you opt for the old 1.3 Multijet diesel or the bonkers 0.9-litre TwinAir petrol, the Panda 4x4 rewards engagement. The diesel pulls hard and feels solid. But the TwinAir? That’s where the magic happens.

It wheezes, it fizzes, it eggs you on. It’s like driving a lawnmower possessed by the ghost of Colin McRae. And it’s surprisingly civilised on a motorway, too – as long as you’re not expecting electric-car hush.

Just one rule: turn the ECO button off. Trust us.

It’s (still) relatively affordable

Back in 2014, a brand-new Panda 4x4 cost around £14k. These days, used prices are creeping up, but you can still find tidy examples under £10k – which in 2025, for a usable, fun, future-classic 4x4, feels like solid value.

Other small off-roaders either don’t exist anymore or have gone premium. The Panda never played that game. It just showed up, did the job, and quietly got on with it.

It’s (probably) cheap to run

Official emissions, VED bands and fuel economy stats may be a little quaint in the EV age, but the Panda 4x4 still holds its own in real-world costs. Low insurance group. Affordable tyres. Modest repair bills (as long as you're not dealing with too much Fiat-era electrickery).

You don’t need to spec it up either. Most cars came with the essentials: roof rails, air-con, USB, a faux-diff lock, and just enough creature comforts to stop it feeling basic. The only glaring fault? The dazzling main beam. Still unreasonably bright.

It’s still classless

The Panda 4x4 is a rare thing: a car that fits anywhere. Take it to the tip, the pub, or a country estate – it won’t look out of place. In Tuscany Green, it wears its character with pride, like a waxed jacket with 40 years of honest dirt on it.

Even in 2025, that’s hard to find. Most modern 4x4s are trying so hard. The Panda doesn’t try at all. It just is.

It’s a future classic — and the future’s now

There are only a few thousand Panda 4x4s left on UK roads. And with proper small 4x4s almost extinct, values are on the up. The original models already have cult status. The third-gen is quietly getting there too.

Buy one now and you might just be driving a classic before it’s cool. Again.

And yes, the squircles are still brilliant

We don’t need to explain. You know what they are. They’re still everywhere. And we still love them.

Final thoughts

Eleven years on from its original publication, this piece still rings true — and the car it celebrates is still worthy of the praise. The Panda 4x4 is part puppy, part mountain goat and entirely unique. It’s not a lifestyle accessory. It’s a proper tool. A laugh. A keeper.

The Fiat Panda 4x4: Petrolblog’s favourite 4x4xfar. Revisited and still revered.