Fiat Grande Panda (2024 - ) review

The Grande Panda Hybrid comfortably undercuts rival like the MG3 Hybrid+, Suzuki Swift and Citroen C3. Despite the entry-level Pop trim being true to the Panda’s utilitarian roots, it does have all the essentials you really need. However, those looking for more mod-cons will be pleased to know the cost to move up a grade is relatively small. We’d like to spend some quality time with the hybrid to really test its fuel-saving credentials but, from short drives first on the Italian launch and now on home soil, the claims of 50+ mpg look viable, the system even more effective around town where it can spend more time with the petrol engine off. The lack of large battery helps to keep the outright cost down which should help private buyers, yet company car drivers will need to choose the fully electric version to gain any Benefit in Kind advantages.

Fiat hasn’t historically had the best reliability record. The Grande Panda is a new model so we don’t yet know how reliable it will be, but its shared parts from the wider Stellantis group offer some reassurance. While we didn’t suffer any mechanical issues with our hybrid test car the infotainment screen did temporarily go blank during a rather tight manoeuvre, leaving us with no reversing camera. We did also experience a faulty shock absorber when we drove the pre-production electric version, but hopefully this was an isolated issue and buyers will be covered by a standard three-year warranty which should give some peace of mind.

The Grande Panda comes with six airbags and unusually Fiat has located the passenger one in the roof to make more room for storage in the dashboard. Additionally, you get driver aids such as emergency braking, driver attention monitoring, lane keeping assistance and traffic sign recognition. This is prone to miss-reading the speed limit, so the inclusion of a physical button to mute the warnings is welcome. All cars come with rear parking sensors, cruise control and a speed limiter as standard while La Prima cars gain front parking sensors and a reversing camera. Fiat has pragmatically prioritised the regulated aids against nice to haves to keep the Grande Panda’s purchase price down, so you won’t find useful features such as blind spot monitoring or adaptive cruise control.

This may be the biggest Fiat to wear a Panda badge, but it’s not a big car by today’s standards. However, it does make good use of the space available. There’s a decent boot which is larger in the hybrid than in the electric version with fractionally more room inside too. Passengers get plenty of space regardless of where they are sitting with ample head- and legroom even in the back. Upfront is also spacious, with decent storage compartments and the bonus of a dashboard cubby. On La Prima models this is partly upholstered with real bamboo fibres adding additional character to the interior. Fun is a theme throughout the car with pops of yellow and a range of different materials, textures, and motifs to make the Grande Panda stand out. Notably the blue plastic used for the door cards is made from plastic and aluminium found in drinks cartons which can’t usually be recycled, and each Grande Panda helps to recycle 140 cartons. While we found the ride quality in the electric Grande Panda could be rather jiggly, the hybrid felt noticeably softer and coped much better with rough surfaces. In fact, it wasn’t far off the Citroen C3’s level of comfort, which is high praise indeed.

The hybrid Grande Panda has three trim options: Pop, Icon and La Prima. All cars get a 10.25-inch central touchscreen with CarPlay and Android Auto integration, which is a solid start. Not everyone will agree but we’re calling it a shame the base level Pop version doesn’t get the cool retro steel wheels you get on the electric equivalent, Icon adding roof rauls and skid plates for a more rugged, junior SUV look. Meanwhile, range-topping La Prima gains bigger alloys, sat-nav and a handy wireless phone charger on top of the standard four USB-C ports throughout the car. The infotainment doesn’t have a huge range of features, but the layout is much simpler to use than the 600’s. We appreciate the physical heating controls which get upgraded to climate control with heated seats in La Prima models. The Grande Panda brings a slice of Italy to Britain’s streets with its choice of seven paint colours, none of which are grey, and you can add to the robust looks by adding inserts to the Panda lettering imprinted on the doors.

Fiat talks a lot about the “easy drive philosophy” of the Grande Panda and whether you go for the electric or the hybrid version, it is a breeze to drive as there’s no manual gearbox to worry about. The hybrid combines a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a small battery and electric motor designed to make the car more efficient in stop-start traffic. While this doesn’t provide the electric boost of a full hybrid, it does allow the car can run in electric mode for very short periods on start-up and when manoeuvring at low speeds. There’s also an ‘L-mode’, to increase the engine braking and put some power back into the battery when you come off the throttle but, for all the cleverness, the Fiat’s hybrid system feels more refined and conventional to drive than those in some Chinese-built rivals like the MG3 or Chery Tiggo 4, with less to get your head around. Which we’d consider a good thing, for the fact you just slip it into D and go. Out on the open road the steering is very light, and despite only having 110 horsepower the Grande Panda has enough go to feel confident pulling out into busy traffic. Our test route didn’t allow for us to try the car on a motorway, though, so we’re looking forward to a longer go with it to see how it fairs on a cruise.