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With this Grande Panda, Fiat re-invents its iconic Panda city car for a new era. There's something old and plenty new here. Plus something borrowed (the Stellantis Smart Car platform) and plenty that's ecologically blue.
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Driving experience
Like many small Stellantis Group models, the Grande Panda was originally envisaged as an EV-only product, then hurriedly reconfigured in later development so as also to be able to include a combustion hybrid offering too. The EV version is the one Fiat most wants to sell you, with a battery smaller than the one in the only slightly larger 600e model because the Grande Panda sits on different architecture. The Smart Car Stellantis platform (shared with the Citroen C3) is designed in EV form for use with a 44kWh battery, which in this case offers a range of 195 miles and is paired with a 111bhp motor. Expect 62mph in around 11s en route to 98mph.
If you'd rather have the mild hybrid 48V option, you'll find it's the usual three cylinder 1.2-litre Stellantis petrol unit paired with a 28bhp motor. That motor is energised by a tiny 0.4kWh battery and, Fiat reckons, should be able to power the Grande Panda around town for up to 50% of the time. Total system output is 100hp, with 120Nm of torque. In case you're wondering, there's sadly little chance of this powerplant being paired with AWD to create a successor to the iconic Panda 4x4. The Smart Car platform isn't smart enough to accommodate that; pity.
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Design and build
You might recognise this as a Panda - but only just. The blocky, boxy stance with its vertical front-end references the Eighties Giugiaro-designed original. And in pursuit of what Fiat thinks is a required crossover vibe, there are plenty of nods to the old Panda 4x4 - the roof rails, the chunky front skid plate and the black lower body cladding. But there's also plenty that's new, most notably the pixel headlights, apparently inspired by the windows of Fiat's old Lingotto factory in Turin.
This is a slightly bigger kind of Panda too. The 3.99m length (though still compact for the class) is 0.3m longer than before. Much is borrowed from the brand's early 2024 'Mega-Panda' concept car, including the X-shaped daytime running light signatures, the offset front Fiat logo on the gloss black grille panel and the three-dimensional tail light design.
It's equally funky and design-led inside the airy, spacious minimalist cabin, where the oval theme apparently references the roof top test track of that old Lingotto factory. Through the square-bezelled retro two-spoke wheel, you view a 10-inch instrument display flanked by a colourful 10.25-inch central infotainment screen. And Pandas of the past are referenced by the bright plastics and textured fabrics. There's ample interior stowage room too, with up to 13-litres of storage space, including a similar 'pocket' dashboard to the original Panda.
Rear passenger space was always a strong point of previous models and the high roof line, squarical stance and an extra length of this one mean that it's more spacious in the back than a car of this class has any right to be. There's a decently-sized 361-litre boot too. Plus, on the electric model, a further 13-litre compartment beneath the bonnet.
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Market and model
Expect prices to start at just under £20,000 for the Hybrid model and just under £22,000 for the EV. That's for the standard Grande Panda we look at here. This is the first in a new family of Panda-inspired models, Fiat pledging to launch one new addition to the Panda line-up every year until 2027. The Italian maker says the line-up will eventually include a family SUV, a fastback and a campervan and all are supposed to share a common philosophy; that 'functionality should never exist without fun'.
Expect decent levels of standard equipment, including 17-inch diamond-cut 'X-design' alloy wheels. And clever headlamps, made up of opal cubes, complemented by Daytime Running Lights that turn into indicators and illuminate some of the cubes which appear as horizontal pixels arranged in a chessboard pattern.
Inside, a 10-inch instrument display along with a 10.25-inch central infotainment screen featuring voice recognition and 'Apple CarPlay'/'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring. Better-specced versions will add features like navigation, a wireless charging mat, a rear parking camera, tinted rear glass, automatic air conditioning and rear electric windows. All models get various 'level 2' camera driving aids, including the usual autonomous braking and Lane keeping assist systems.
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Cost of ownership
We've been waiting ages for a car maker to finally deliver an EV with a retractable charge cable, so you don't have to carry around charge cables clogging up the boot. The electric version of this Grande Panda is the first to deliver just that, with a long spiral charging cable tidying up the charging process and quickly connecting to 7kW charging units. There is a separate rapid charging port on the usual rear three-quarter panel.
Range figures for EVs usually need to be taken with a degree of scepticism and that'll certainly be the case here, particularly if you'll be driving your electric Grande Panda in very cold conditions. Its LFP 'Lithium Ferro Phosphate' battery's more sensitive to external temperatures than a more usual lithium-ion battery would be, so you can expect the claimed 195 mile range figure for this 44kWh model to plummet in the depths of winter. You can't compensate with a heat pump either because that won't be offered here. The driving range though, should still be comfortably ahead of the 137 mile figure claimed for a rival Dacia Spring. To give you some perspective, the three-door Fiat 500e (42kWh) offers 199 miles, while the only slightly larger Fiat 600e (54kWh) manages 254 miles.
Fiat claims that the electric Grande Panda is capable of rapid charging at rates of up to 100kW, which allows for a 20-80% charge in 26 minutes. At home, you'll be able to AC charge from 20-80% from 7.4kW garage wall box in just over 4 hours. If your property has a three-phase supply, you'll also be able to charge at 11kW, in which case the 20-80% charging time will fall to just under 3 hours. All versions of this model will be covered by the brand's usual unremarkable three year/60,000 mile warranty, plus the battery will have its own eight year cover package.
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Summary
The Grande Panda, says Fiat CEO Oliver Francois, is 'all about practicality, roominess and simplicity'. Just like its predecessors. The brand claims that 'a Panda is to the car world what a pair of blue jeans is to the fashion world': perhaps.
What's certain is that this new-era model retains the adventurous, class-less spirit of the original, at the same time as being resolutely modern and trend-conscious. So yes, it was worth waiting over a decade for. Lots of brands have very different ideas these days as to what a small car should be. The market seems undecided as to whether Fiat's new-era 500 encapsulates that ideal. But might, we think, find this car - in all its future forms - just that bit more convincing.
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