Fiat Pandas

I've been a bit quiet for a while, but my recent encounter with a blown head gasket on my 2004 Fiat Panda has inspired me to start writing again!

The clue should have been the presence of water in the oil when I checked it recently, but at the time my mind was completely elsewhere - so I was kicking myself a few days later when the car completely died.

Initial prices from garages, including a Fiat dealership, were close to the £700 mark, including towing it to the garage. Luckily by shopping around, we found a reputable local garage that could do the job for close to £500.

Apparently blown head gaskets are a reasonably common problem for Fiat Panda's, so it's worth knowing what to look out for, and you may spot one or more of the following:

- Really rough running.
- Oil resembling a milkshake and mixed with water.
- Bubbles of air entering the radiator.
- Leaking radiator.
- Coolant or oil running from head.
- Spark plugs may pick up the colour of the coolant.
- Low compression may mean a blown head gasket (although there might be other causes)
- You might see water if you put a piece of cardboard about an inch away from the exhaust (while the engine is running)

And what's the result?
Firstly you'll need the head gasket sorting, which is the sort of thing that's beyond most driveway mechanics (including me). Then there's a good chance you'll also need to replace the radiator, water pump and thermostat - a reason to stop driving the car as soon as you get suspicious, and check out exactly what's happening!

On the bright side, the mighty Panda is back on the road and running as well as ever. And that's despite the fact it's also now wearing the scars of two collisions after people decided to reverse into it...

Wondered what a Fiat Panda Cross does when it escapes out to the countryside?

If you had to get yourself out of a big off-road hole, would you pick a £60,000 Range Rover, or would you go for a £10,000 Fiat Panda 4x4 and keep the £50,000 change? Especially as you could also get a Fiat Panda 100HP for when you're not getting covered in mud!
So here's what happened when Fifth Gear pitted the Range Rover versus the Fiat Panda:

Brothers Douglas and Duncan Doig are taking part in the Africa Rally, which will see them attempt to drive 15,000 km from the UK to the Cameroon - in a 23-year-old left-hand drive Fiat Panda.

They'll drive through France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin and Nigeria, with the combined experience of one lesson on mechanics from a friend.

Find out more about the crazy trip.

At the moment, the 270,000 Fiat Pandas which are built each year are constructed at Fiat's Polish plant. But part of proposed plans to restructure the company could see building of the Panda take place in Italy.

The proposal is to shift half of production to the Pomigliano d'Arco plant near Naples in southern Italy. It's currently used for more expensive Fiat and Alfa Romeo models.

Which means in the future you could have a 50-50 chance of getting an Italian-made Fiat Panda.

The Fiat Panda Hydrogen concept car originally appeared in 2006, but has made the trip to Copenhagen with a number of other cars ahead of the upcoming climate summit.

For those interested, the fuel cell stack sends power straight to the motor without the need for a battery, and it produces 54hp and a top speed of 81mph, with a range of 125 miles. And using Hydrogen, the only waste product coming out of the exhaust is water.

There's a long history of Ferrari bosses and sporting stars owning a Fiat 500 to get around in, but it's always been a lot rarer for them to succumb to the charms of the Fiat Panda.

But reading an interview with Luca di Montezemolo, the 62-year-old chairman of Ferrari, SpA and of Fiat, SpA, it's revealed at the end of the article, that in addition to the standard Fiat 500, and the lovely Ferrari California he owns, he also a Fiat Panda, although the article doesn't mention which specific model!

So far it's di Montezemolo and Top Gear's James May as discerning automotive celebrities who have picked up a Panda.