The battle of the Italian 4x4s

"Reborn Pyrrhic" (pyrrhic) 12/01/2013 at 18:45 • Filed to: Pyrrhic Battles, Fiat, Panda, Alfa Romeo, Alfa, Alfa 33, 4x4, wagon, car, automobile, Italian, battle, polldaddy, poll

0

9

Four wheel driving can be fun. Whether it is taking the road less traveled, bombing down an unpaved road, or just braving the winter weather no matter what it throws at you, there are some advantages of having traction going down all four wheels.

Most fans of four wheel driving will gravitate towards four different corners: trucks and Jeeps (add capable four wheelers like Land Cruisers and Samurais here), sensible SUVs and CUVs at the other side (aka "Soft Roaders" like the still very capable Subaru Forester or others like RAV4s, etc), Northern European all wheel drive wagons (Audis come to mind, but also Saabs, BMWs, Benz, etc), and finally, the rally racer crowd that will gravitate towards WRXs and Evos (but also the rarer 323 GTX and such). But what about that oddball Italian car fan? The kind of guy who practices his "Italian" (more like Jersey Shore) accent, and loves wants nothing more than something Italian on his garage? What will he drive when he needs four wheel drive?

For fans of Italian four wheeling there is this rare Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley. While neither Panda 4x4 nor the Sisley special edition are particularly rare, the lack of rust in this specimen is amazing. Has it been driven only in fair weather since new? Has the four wheel drive ever been engaged?

The four wheeling Fiat is propelled by a 1-liter engine putting out 45 hp, but with the car's extreme light weight it moves quite well; not speedy, more like a mountain goat, bouncing off rocks as it moves along a rocky path. It will climb, just have some patience. This car has a low mileage of 63,000 km (39,000 miles!), five speed transmission, and still has the original Sisley aluminum wheels. A rare sight indeed. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for the small sum of 2,950 Euro in Germany.

Perhaps a Fiat is too proletarian, or too slow for you. You want something with more of a motorsports pedigree. Something as practical as Fiat, but feistier. Something more temperamental. You want an Alfa Romeo.

Despair not because there is also a rare Alfa Romeo Alfa 33 4x4 Giadinetta for sale! If I just gave you a quick briefing on this car you would think it was a mid nineties Subaru: a station wagon, with four wheel drive, stick shift and a boxer engine! Well, this Alfa might have been a Subaru if it had the reliability of one, and if it had been made by Fuji Heavy Industries. It doesn't. It is an Alfa, which means it is one hell of a ride when it works, and has some of the best sounding engines this side of the Atlantic.

Power here comes from a 1.6-liter boxer with a 105 hp power output. This Alfa is more like an Apennine Mountains family wagon than an Italian boxer-powered race car, but if you close your eyes (not while driving!) you can pretend you are driving one of Milan's best. The Alfa has had numerous maintenance items done recently (which can be great or really bad, as in "stuff won't stop breaking"), comes without a TÜV (I would wonder why), and is cheaper than the immaculate Fiat by 950 Euros: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for 2,000 measly Euros.

In the battle of Italian fuori di strada, which one would you take home? The clean and rare rust-free Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley, or the racier and cheaper Alfa Romeo Alfa 33 4x4 Giardinetta?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Dunnik > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/01/2013 at 19:07

1

You - "I drive a Panda."

Hot Chick - "LOL?"

or,

You - "I drive a Giardinetta."

Hot Chick - "Oooo, say that again!"

You - "Geeardinehhhtaaa"

Reborn Pyrrhic > Dunnik 12/01/2013 at 19:08

0

My choice too :D

carcrasher88 > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/01/2013 at 19:13

1

Love 'em both, but I've gotta go with the Alfa.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/01/2013 at 20:42

1

Reborn Pyrrhic > The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 12/02/2013 at 00:58

0

That would go in the batshit category.

427zeo6 > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/04/2013 at 22:39

0

I'll stick with the northern axis partners wares since I have North of $5 K invested in my VW Syncro transaxel built with the best parts money can buy from Deutschland, Australia, USA ( thanks Gary Peloquin!) Japan and unfortunately China (damn EMPI!) Maybe I should have gone on a Panda hunt....NO! Get the reliable Russian version....Lada Niva 4x4!

Reborn Pyrrhic > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/05/2013 at 05:00

0

A new development: I might be just bying this Alfa 33 Giardinetta this Saturday. I am in discussion with the owner and if we agree on a price I might be an Alfista soon!

lie2me > Reborn Pyrrhic 12/05/2013 at 07:38

1

In the battle of the Italian 4X4s I choose this...

Reborn Pyrrhic > lie2me 12/05/2013 at 14:50

0

Too new.