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Fiat's Panda aims at being all the car some buyers will ever need. It's large where it matters, yet still small enough for its urban purpose. It's more efficient - especially in with the 1.0-litre mild hybrid engine that featured as part of the 2020 model year update version we look at here. And it's very manoeuvrable. It can even head off road in 4x4 form. You can get one that's trendy - or choose one that's super-affordable. The Italians have always done this kind of thing very well. The final version of this MK3 design proved that they still did.
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History
Almost every car you can think of on the market can be pigeonholed into a specific market segment. And even if it can't be, it's likely to appeal to a very specific group of customers. In many ways, the Fiat Panda's different.
Though sized and priced as a little city car, it's so versatile and class-less that it can really function as.... well, almost anything you want. Depending on the flavour you choose, it's a design as suited to city living as it is to the needs of a mountaintop farmer. It can be eco-conscious transport for Friends of the Earth. Perhaps a second vehicle for older empty-nesters. Or the sole car for a rural family. Less a city car. More an 'essential' car, it is, in the words of one top Fiat executive 'the official car for doing whatever the hell you like'.
This is the Italian brand at its very best. A modern-era MK2 Panda design was launched back in 2003 to replace a first generation model that sold for over twenty years from 1980. The MK3 design we look at here was originally launched back in 2011, but in early 2020 was significantly updated with the option of 1.0-litre mild hybrid power; it's this improved Panda that we're going to take a look at here. Functional, solid, intelligent and free spirited, it's still, we're told, a car that thinks outside the box. The Panda 4x4 finished at the end of 2021. The mild hybrid version sold until 2024.
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What you get
In many ways, the Panda has been one of most influential car designs we've seen this century. The MK2 version of 2003 redefined just how versatile a small car could be, qualities usefully evolved by this third generation car eight years later. By this century's second decade, customers were tending to want their small runabouts with trendier packaging, which is why an increasing number of Panda buyers wanted the more fashionably presented 'Cross' version with its SUV-style front spot lamps and more prominent under-bumper sections.
Whatever form of Panda meets your fancy, it'll come with what Fiat hopes is a 'friendly look'. That's based upon what the Italian brand's designers call a 'squarical' theme, rounded rectangles in vogue everywhere from the headlamps to the front air intake, from the wheel arches to that trademark extra third rearward side window. There's still something of a feeling of tiny MPV about this model - something that was carried over from the old second generation version.
At the wheel, it's all very functional - and very Noughties. This was one of the very last new cars on sale without any sort of centre dash infotainment screen. To some extent though, you can forgive the Panda that because its design feels a little quirky and fun. The 'squarical' touches we mentioned earlier continue on in the cabin - you see them everywhere. And the dashboard is enveloped in a colourful frame with a roomy storage pocket in front of the front passenger supposed to evoke a nod towards original Eighties Panda motoring. There's plenty of space to put things too. Fiat claimed there were actually fourteen different receptacles of various kinds scattered around the interior,
And in the back? Well thanks to the slim seats, rear seat passenger space is perfectly adequate for a couple of fully-sized adults. It really feels old school to find wind-up windows here but there's plenty on the plus side; the low, glassy waistline means that kids will be better able to see out and may as a result be less likely to feel car sick. Plus the central transmission tunnel is notably low, so if you absolutely had to fit three adults back here, you absolutely could. And all three of them would have enough ceiling space to wear elaborate headgear, should a wedding visit be on the agenda. Bear in mind that if you do want the option to seat three people in the back, you'll have to find a car whose original owner paid extra for a third centre seat belt - that's if you want the standard-shape model. The Cross variant gets this as standard.
Let's finish by considering the boot. Lift the light tailgate and you'll find that the trunk area is a reasonable 225-litres in size. Fold the rear bench and you'll free up 870-litres of space.
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What to look for
The Panda has earned a decent reliability record, helped in no small part by its reliable engines. Many will have been used as driving school cars, so check for slipping clutches. We've come across other issues with trim rattles (the driver's door handle has been known to easily break) and problems with the heating and ventilation system. Check for upholstery damage caused by child seats in the back, typical supermarket dents and scrapes and ensure all the electrical functions work as advertised as these can be expensive to fix. The Panda isn't bad on consumables like brake pads and most people should be able to park it without nerfing the extremities. Look our for electrical faults like warning lights and infotainment issues. We've heard of jammed tailgate mechanisms. Look out for squealing rear brakes, rattling rear seats and dashboard rattles. On 4x4 models, check the underside for damage and be aware that the rear differential can weep oil, usually caused by a worn or damaged seal.
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Replacement parts
[based on Panda 1.0-litre mild hybrid petrol - 2021 - autodoc.co.uk - ex VAT] Expect to pay around £4-£9 for an oil filter, around £12-£22 for an air filter and around £4-£16 for a wiper blade. Front brake pads vary in price between £22-£72 for a set; for front brake discs, think around £22-£37. A radiator costs in the £56-£125 bracket. A water pump is in the £43-£138 bracket; a thermostat is around £17-£110; a starter motor is in the £68-£274 bracket. An alternator is in the £297-£491 bracket.
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On the road
The Panda's exterior packaging here couldn't be more different from that of its Fiat 500 showroom stablemate but as ever, the engineering's just the same - including the provision of the mild hybrid 1.0-litre petrol engine that featured from 2020 onwards. At the time of the 2020 model year update, a few older powerplants still lingered in the range but it was this electrified three cylinder unit that the Italian brand was concentrating on for Panda buyers. It features a 12V Belt Starter Generator (known as a 'BSG'), along with an 11Ah lithium-ion battery. The Belt Starter Generator harvests energy during braking and deceleration and stores it in the system's little integrated battery so that it can be used in two ways. Either to aid acceleration. Or to power the car's auxiliaries as the engine stop/start system activates when you're waiting at the lights or in a traffic queue. There'll never be enough charge generated to power the car without the aid of its combustion unit; and even if there was, the battery wouldn't be big enough to store it.
What this is then, is less a Hybrid powerplant and more an embellishment to combustion engineering that boosts efficiency - by up to 30% in terms of CO2 emissions, according to Fiat. Which brings us to the WLTP-rated figures, 50.4mpg on the combined cycle and up to 126g/km of CO2. Initially with the 2020 model year update, this kind of mild hybrid efficiency was restricted to Panda Cross models. The standard shape model continued temporarily with the older 1.2-litre 69hp four cylinder petrol unit. A third engine, a 0.9-litre two cylinder petrol TwinAir turbo powerplant with 85hp, was used on the pair of AWD variants that featured at the top of the range - the Panda 4x4 and the surprisingly capable Panda Cross 4x4. Whatever Panda variant you decide upon, on the move, you'll find that a few things rather betray the age of this design - notably the ride, steering feel and the shift quality of the manual gearbox (which in this updated Panda got 6 speeds). But loyal Panda customers tend to forgive this car much for its friendly looks, spacious cabin, cheeky engine note and turn-on-a-sixpence manoeuvrability - there's a super-tight 9.1m turning circle. And parking's simple thanks to the square, glassy body.
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Overall
Loved by small car people the world over for more than thirty years, in this updated 2020 form the Panda continued to define everything that a very compact multi-purpose model should be. It had to evolve of course, with more efficient engines and clever technology. But its heart remained simple, functional and innovative. Which is why, while other city cars will please only city car folk, you could imagine this one being bought by.... well, just about anyone.
A few other rivals from this era may be a little cheaper, more refined or slightly trendier but we still think that few push the boundaries of design quite like this Fiat. It happily challenges just about every tiny car perception in the book. That you can't get really impressive fuel and CO2 figures without forking out loads of money for a diesel. That you can't seat five in this class of car. Or carry really large items. Or head for the hills in a citycar.
Panda people think differently thanks to a car that lets them do just that. It's got tough competition, no question. But in a segment full of talented offerings, it's a key contender you just can't help liking.
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