Yahoo Autos These legendary off-road cars and SUVs were never sold in America
America has long stood proud as the land of 4x4s, but many of our best-selling off-roaders would flop on the European market due in part to size constraints. Can you imagine trying to park a Ford Bronco Raptor in a town built by the Romans? Or, how much it would cost to fill up a Chevrolet Silverado HD ZR2 if you're paying $8 for a single gallon of gas? Historically, most of the 4x4s sold in Europe have been tailored to the local market.
Here are five cool European-market off-roaders that have never received permission to hang out with the Jeep crew in Moab.
Dacia Duster
In a way, the original Dacia Duster released in 2010 is the NA-generation Mazda MX-5 Miata of Europe's off-roader segment. I'm not talking about handling; it takes a turn with the liveliness of a blimp. But, like the original Miata, the first-generation Duster brought a big serving of modernity to its segment. It gave buyers a far more daily-drivable alternative to the ancient Lada Niva without sacrificing off-road capacity, in the same way that the first Miata provided top-down enthusiasts with a more up-to-date alternative to British and Italian roadsters of the era.
Cheap and cheerful, the Duster is closer to a crossover than to a burly, body-on-frame SUV. It's built on a unibody platform, powered by a relatively small four-cylinder engine, and compact enough to zig-zag through crowded urban centers. Unlike, say, the Nissan Qashqai (which we knew here as the Rogue Sport), it was designed for mild off-roading — it appeals to folks who live in rural areas, adventure-minded buyers, and first responders. It wasn't offered with a two-speed transfer case or locking differentials, but models equipped with the optional part-time four-wheel-drive system (front-wheel-drive came standard) featured a six-speed manual transmission with an ultra-low first gear.
Dacia sold the original Duster through 2017 in many European countries, though production continued for several more years in overseas markets (where the off-roader often wore a Renault badge). Its successor, which is still built in 2023, arrived in 2017 with the same focus on off-roading but a longer list of features and a nicer interior. More than a decade after its launch, the original Duster remains a common sight.
Fiat Panda 4x4
City cars on stilts are a dime a dozen on the European market, but most can't tackle terrain that's more treacherous than a dirt road. There's an exception, one that has roamed freely in the highest and least hospitable parts of the Alps for over three decades: the Fiat Panda 4x4.
Fiat didn't envision the original Panda released in 1980 as an off-roader; the boxy, Giugiaro-designed two-door hatchback was let loose with Italy's chaotic traffic as its home turf. Four-wheel-drive appeared in 1983 with help from Austrian company Steyr-Puch (the same brand that contributed to developing and still builds the Mercedes-Benz G-Class). The system brought with it a two-inch increase in ground clearance. Demand quickly exceeded expectations, leading to spin-offs like the Lancia/Autobianchi Y10 4WD and rivals such as the Citroën AX 4x4.
Back to the present: the original Panda 4x4 has become an endangered species, largely due to its eagerness to rust and to drivers who treat it like a pair of hiking boots, and the 4x4 variant of the current, third-generation Panda carried the all-terrain torch until 2022. Fiat hopes to bring the model back, though this hasn't happened yet. Before it disappeared, the modern-day Panda 4x4 offered a turbocharged, 878-cubic-centimeter two-cylinder engine, a five-speed manual transmission, and a more outdoorsy design than the front-wheel-drive model.
Although 85 horsepower isn't asking much out of a modern two-cylinder engine, the Panda 4x4's acceleration was best described as leisurely. That was never the point, though. Like its predecessors, it delivered mountain goat-like off-road capacity in a city car package.
