I drove the hybrid version of the new Fiat Grande Panda a few weeks back, but naturally I was anxious to sample the fully electric version, and my wish came through last week.
At the Irish launch of the new versions of the Grande Panda in April, John Saunders, the Fiat MD in Ireland, said that an employee of Fiat had come up with the novel idea of locating a 4.5-metre retractable spiral charging cable integrated beneath the front bonnet. The built-in cable supports up to 7 kW AC charging, but at the rear of the car you get a modern CCS charger. That 4.5-metre retractable cable might come to your aid in an emergency.
Fiat produced the first version of their famous Panda in 1980, and we have had a few upgrades since then. And no doubt there is a lot of homage to the original Panda in this new Grande Panda.
Irish drivers have waited a long time for the new car; the wait was caused by production problems with right-hand drive versions. But I think this car was definitely worth waiting for.
The mild hybrid and EV versions are similar, and they are both available in very bright and attractive colours. The car come in three different trims: Pop, Icon and La Prima.
My test car came in an old-fashioned Henry Ford black. But you will see a lot of Fiat’s attractive Limone Yellow cars around. You get a few nice touches of yellow on the dash and around the area between the front seats where you would normally find an old-style handbrake and gear-lever. You now get an automatic handbrake and mobile phone charging point in that space.
The interior is really colourful, light blue seats with yellow stitching and a Bamboo-style glove compartment. Apparently, the Bamboo look is a nod to the real Pandas, who live almost exclusively on Bamboo. The only dark part of the interior is the roofline and my female passengers said to mention that no vanity mirrors are provided!
The car doesn’t have an old-style handbrake, but it does have an old-style ignition key which is rare nowadays, especially for electric cars. With most electric cars you just sit in, foot on the ‘gas’ and away you go. At nighttime it’s really attractive with those pixilated lights at the front and back.
Externally, the car looks impressive and normally when I am driving new cars, I get people coming up to me in supermarket car parks asking what brand of car it is. But in the new Grande Panda, the word Fiat is printed on the front and back and there are Fiat badges and logos on both sides of the car. Also, on the side doors, the word Panda is embossed across both doors and Fiat is also printed on the alloys; so no doubt about it, it was a Fiat. Two roof-rails add to the rugged look.
The boot is a reasonable size, officially 361 litres, but no Frunk. I liked the high driving position; there is a little bit of road noise, but not too much. The claimed range with a full charge in the 44-kWh battery version is 320km, but I reckon 300km is more accurate.
Prices for the electric version starts at €22,995, while the hybrid is slightly more expensive, with prices starting at €25,800.
When asked what market Fiat are targeting with this new car,MD John Saunders simply said ‘everybody.’ I reckon the car should be attractive to first time buyers and empty nesters for starters. |And Fiat say they expect to sell at least 600 units in Ireland in a full year.
