Fiat Grande Panda review

Interior:

Dashboard & tech

Where its sibling and rival the Citroen C3 does feel rather spartan inside, the Fiat Grande Panda feels slightly more substantial. There’s no groundbreaking tech here, but everything most buyers would expect is present, and its simplicity makes it easy to get on with.

There’s a crisp, clear digital instrument display for the driver, which shows basic information such as speed, petrol or electric charge levels and temperature or power input, depending on how you set it up. There aren’t many configurable options here, but that can feel like a relief in electrified cars that can all too often overload drivers with unnecessary information. Touch the end of the right stalk and you can see extra data such as a little readout showing whether you’re running on electric or petrol power (in the hybrid) and mpg and other trip information, should you wish.

The infotainment display in the centre of the dash is equally basic, but Fiat clearly knows most drivers will connect their phone and use wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay instead – that’s a good thing, because it’s a solid system that will feel familiar to most drivers. The system itself is incredibly quick and responsive, and I had no gripes using it during my week with the car.

Importantly, Fiat has made sure to include physical climate controls below the infotainment system. I’m not a fan of cars that insist you tweak these through a touch screen, as it can get fiddly and hard to adjust on the move without getting distracted. In the Grande Panda this was easy to do and made for safer driving.

Comfort

The Fiat Grande Panda’s seats were very comfortable and supportive. Because of the car’s tall stance you sit quite upright with plenty of room for front passengers. In the back, legroom is a bit tighter – but again, because you sit upright with lots of headroom and no need to stretch your legs out in front, it’s not uncomfortable. Children will be more than comfortable sitting in the back, though taller adults might struggle on longer trips.

Quality

Quality is an area where Fiat has been rather clever with the Grande Panda. This is a budget car, so we make no bones about it – the interior plastics on the door cards are very scratchy and low-quality and comprise one large molded piece each. However, the genius here is that the Italian brand has used bright and interesting colours that distract from the cheapness – our car’s interior was a turquoise blue colour, which is miles more fun than dull, dreary black.

The same cheap blue plastic is used for the dash, but this is contrasted by a large white panel made of recycled plastic bottles which doubles as a shelf, and an extra storage compartment finished in Bamboo on top-spec La Prima models, or a funky textile fabric on Pop or Icon grades.

The seats are made of what felt like hard-wearing, quality fabric topped with a soft, almost leather-like material for the headrests. It looks and feels great, and by focusing on the quality of the elements you’ll be touching and interacting with, such as these, perceived quality really is boosted.

By far, the lowest point of the interior is the shiny piano-black plastic in the centre surrounding the gear selector. It’s just all too easy to scratch – my test car only had around 2000 miles on it and this piece was already scuffed and worn.

Aside from that, the Grande Panda did feel well built and sturdy – there were no squeaks or rattles on the move, which is vital in the EV version as there’s no engine noise to cover that up.

Practicality & boot space:

Interior space

It would be a stretch to call the Grande Panda an SUV, but like its Citroen C3 cousin, it’s got a more upright stance and shape compared to most other hatchbacks. I’m happy to report that this makes it incredibly easy to get in and out of – a fact highlighted by my own mother, who’s in her 60s, and who quickly fell in love with the car as a result.

Up front, there’s loads of space for the occupants, but things are notably tighter in the back. That’s massively made up for by way of headroom, and the high seating position does mean your legs fold in fairly comfortably as a result of sitting so upright.

I took the test car on a trip with a friend who has a toddler and a six-month old baby, and she found getting the children in the back was a doddle. There are ISOFIX mounts for a car seat, neatly concealed under a zip at the bottom of the side rear seats, and the high stance made getting the kids in and out, complete with their baby and booster seats a breeze.

Boot space

Boot space is a low point in the Grande Panda. Official figures are 412 litres in the hybrid and 361 litres in the electric models, which is more than the Renault 5’s 321 litres and the Citroen C3’s 310, but the shape of the boot is a little awkward.

The boot has a high load lip, so lifting heavy or cumbersome items in or out is a bit difficult. We lifted an average-sized fold-up pushchair into the boot of the hybrid version, along with a small scooter for the toddler, but had to remove the parcel shelf and spend a few minutes shuffling things around like Tetris before we could get them to fit. Due to the electric model’s higher boot floor and thus tighter space, it’s unlikely we’d have got both of these into the EV.

Versatility

While boot space might be lacking somewhat, the Grande Panda does make up for it with lots of useful and interesting interior storage spaces. There’s a typical glovebox compartment near the floor in front of the front passenger seat, and a small extra ‘Bambox’ storage compartment up above this. The shape of the dash is such that there are also shelves to put things if needed.

There’s a small, but deep storage box between the front seats under the armrest. In front of the armrest there’s a cubby hole with two useful curved dividers which can be moved and clipped into place to the size of a drink bottle or cup of practically any size, or these can simply be taken out entirely to store other items. That’s simple but incredibly handy, and it’s clear lots of thought has gone into making the best use of the space.

The front door cards have a couple of storage bins in them, though they’re quite narrow – we wish these were the shape of the ones in the rear which are wider, giving extra space for more bottles or cups – especially if you’ve just gone through the drive thru with a family-sized order!

Driving:

Driving experience

I’ve driven both the electric and hybrid versions of the Fiat Grande Panda, and both are incredibly smooth on the move. The nature of the switch between petrol and electric power in the hybrid means it’s marginally jerkier than the electric model, but on the whole it’s not bad.

Don’t expect face-bendingly quick power delivery from the EV, because that’s not the Grande Panda’s forte. That’s a good thing, though, because a dab of the throttle means the Fiat feels comfortable and civilised as soon as you set off. It’s punchy enough, though, so city driving feels nippy and confidence-inspiring. Take the EV on the motorway, though, and the power does tail off at higher speeds.

The hybrid model is a better all-rounder. Around the city at lower speeds it can creep along with the electric motor, though not as often as Fiat might suggest. It’s not the most refined setup, as the electric motor makes lots of strange whirrs and hums at these speeds, but you might find that charming. I found the petrol engine kicked in rather often, but this will vary depending on whether you have things like the aircon on, as the extra strain on the system means the engine has to stay on to power it. Low-speed handling is good in all versions of the car, because the steering is light and nimble. The Grande Panda’s turning circle is very tight, which makes parking and manoeuvring around city streets a doddle.

On the motorway the hybrid Grande Panda is serene at a cruise, because the petrol engine sits at low revs and is mostly inaudible, but the moment you put your foot down, the 1.2-litre three cylinder’s gruff note does enter the cabin. Wind and road noise could be quieter, but I suspect this is an unfortunate trade off for the car’s cool, boxy shape.

In both the electric and hybrid models, the handling is excellent. It’s by no means a driver’s car, but on country roads the steering feels more communicative than in the Grande Panda’s cousin, the Citroen C3, despite being just as comfortable. Despite what the high stance might have you expect, the Fiat doesn’t feel wallowy at all.

Performance

The electric version of the Fiat Grande Panda is the most powerful with 113bhp, though this is only three more than that of the hybrid with 110bhp. However, due to the heavier weight of the EV’s batteries, the performance figures for the hybrid are quicker. While the hybrid will do 0-62mph in 11.2 seconds (depending on the trim), the electric version does the same sprint in 11.5 seconds.

The EV has a top speed of just 82mph, while the hybrid will go on to 99mph. In practice, though, those figures might not feel wildly different for most drivers, and the reality is that neither model is particularly quick. While we don’t expect you’d buy a Fiat Grande Panda to win a drag race, we found the sluggish acceleration can make overtaking feel a little daunting, and you’ll want to leave plenty of space to pass other vehicles.

Both versions feature brake regen technology, which uses the electric motor to slow the car down and harvest the stopping power to charge up the battery when you let off the accelerator. The force of this is not adjustable or configurable as it is in some cars, but it feels well calibrated in the Grande Panda, and in many cases I found myself simply letting off the accelerator without a need to touch the brakes to come to a slow creep, by which point the electric motor took over and the engine shut off.

Running costs:

Fuel economy & CO2 emissions

Many buyers will be looking at the Grande Panda as their first EV to keep fuel costs down. The range isn’t as impressive as some more expensive cars, with an official figure of up to 199 miles – we would caveat that by saying that a more realistic figure would be about 150 miles, and it all depends on how gently you drive it. Stick to city driving and you’ll get closer to the quoted figure, but without a heat pump to keep the battery at optimal operating temperatures when the weather gets colder, the range figure will also suffer. Don’t buy the EV if you plan to do regular trips farther afield, and make sure you can factor in getting a home charger if you want to keep costs down, as public charging can get expensive.

Unlike some rivals like the Renault 5 or Hyundai Inster, you also get the option of a hybrid with the Grande Panda. While you’ll still have to fill up with ever more expensive petrol, the great news is that it’s incredibly economical and cheaper to buy new – on the used market, however, it remains to be seen whether the electric version will depreciate quicker, and therefore become the more affordable option in time.

The quoted figure for the hybrid is 55.4mpg – our car was showing a figure of 48.7mpg over 1000 miles that had been logged just before we got our hands on it over a mix of different roads and drivers, and when I reset the trip computer for a motorway run from Penrith in the Lake District down to Cambridge, I returned 52.3mpg. That’s very impressive and close to the quoted manufacturer’s figures, which tend to be overly generous. It’s got a small fuel tank, too, so filling up on expensive petrol isn’t as painful each time, and you’ll spend a lot less time at the pumps doing so than you’d expect.

Reliability & warranty

Fiat doesn’t have the best reputation for reliability, but the reality is that the Grande Panda shares so much proven technology with its sibling brands Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall. EVs have much fewer moving parts and should prove reliable, and while the hybrid is more complicated, we’ve not heard of any horror stories about the system in other models.

The infotainment system never missed a beat in the Grande Panda, although we have to say there was one occasion where our car’s wing mirrors didn’t retract upon unlocking the car as they should, and the driver’s display flagged a fault with its traction control system on startup, though this went away immediately upon restart.

Safety:

Safety features

There are loads of safety features as standard on the Fiat Grande Panda, mostly because they’re now mandated by law. There’s traffic sign recognition tech and a speed limit warning, but in practice I found the Grande Panda would read these incorrectly or pick up from signs in adjacent roads and emit an annoying beep, thinking I was breaking the speed limit – this can be turned off easily by holding a physical button for it below the climate controls, though, which I was thankful for. Driver fatigue monitoring, lane wandering warning and emergency autonomous braking is also standard. Blind-spot monitoring tech would have been a nice addition on our top-spec car.

Euro NCAP is yet to put the Grande Panda’s safety to the test, and its Citroen and Vauxhall cousins are yet to be put through their paces, so time will tell how it fares. Oh, and if you’re wondering where the passenger front airbag is given the storage box on the dash is where you’d expect it to be, fear not – Fiat has placed it to deploy from the roof just ahead of the sun visor, which is why the visor’s set back slightly on that side.

Trims & engines:

Trim levels

The Fiat Grande Panda is available in three trims: Pop, Icon and La Prima

• Pop: This is the most basic of the Grande Panda lineup. These are easily distinguishable by the lack of roof bars, and steel wheels (on the EV), fitted with plastic wheel trims on the hybrid models. You get manual air conditioning, rear parking sensors, LED front and rear lights, cruise control, auto high beam, electric windows, hill assist, and a 10.25-inch infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard.
• Icon: In addition to the above, Icon models get small 16-inch alloy wheels, added gloss black A and C pillars, front and rear metal skid plates and roof bars for a more sophisticated, yet purposeful look. The steering wheel gets coated in a higher-quality soft-touch material and tinted privacy glass is added. An armrest with extra storage space is added up front, while rear passengers get phone holder pockets in the back of the front seats. This is probably the model worth springing for at least, and will probably become the most common version on the used market, too.
• La Prima: This top-spec model certainly looks the part with larger retro-futuristic 17-inch wheels. On the inside you get fancier blue fabric seat upholstery with soft white leather-like material on the headrests and the ‘Bambox’ storage box finished in sustainable bamboo wood. A heated steering wheel and heated seats are thrown in, and extra convenience comes by way of front and rear parking sensors and electrically folding and heated door mirrors as well as a wireless smartphone charge pad. The infotainment system gets integrated sat nav, though this might feel redundant given you can already use Google’s own system on the lower trims’ Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capability. This model might sway you based on the added style of the 17-inch wheels alone, but blind-spot monitoring would have been a welcome addition.

Engines

The Grande Panda launched with electric and hybrid powertrains, with 113bhp and 110bhp, respectively. These are solely automatic, though a 99bhp manual petrol model comes later down the line. It will likely be the least economical and most sluggish to own, but if you’re a die-hard fan of a manual gearbox, it might be the choice for you.

The hybrid is powered by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine and an electric motor. This same 1.2-litre petrol engine will likely serve as the basis for the 99bhp manual car, but without electric assistance, we’d expect it to feel underpowered.

Decided the Fiat Grande Panda is for you?

There are already plenty of Grande Panda examples for sale nearly new and used on Cazoo

Browse Fiat Grande Pandas for sale