Fiat Nuova Panda

The Fiat Panda is Fiat's smallest offering, and is a five-door hatchback. Released in 2003, the Panda trades on Fiat's excellent reputation as a builder of small cars, and its success has been due to a cheap price, decent build quality and a characterful and quick range of engines.

The Nuova Panda (as marketed in Italy) has been labelled as 'the saviour of Fiat' by the press, and has put Fiat back on the map as a small-car force to be reckoned with. It is built in Tychy, Poland, by Fiat's Polish division, and is sold throughout Europe.

As a testament to the thorough design and quirky character of the Panda, it was named European Car of the Year in 2004.

Recent Changes

 * For 2010, the Panda recieves some very subtle changes.

Introduced to European markets in 2003, the Panda range remained rather stagnant until 2005.

2005 saw the introduction of a four-wheel drive variant, named the Panda 4x4, as well as a reshuffle of colour charts and options lists. Inside, a passenger airbag was offered as standard, along with ABS, to meet European legislation. The end of 2005 saw the unveiling of the Panda Alessi, which marked a collaboration between the Italian product design company and Fiat. The product was a Panda with vivid hues of orange, black and green as the only paint options, along with matching interiors. White cladding was added below the doors, and the bumpers were painted white. A new wheel-trim design was offered, painted white with the Alessi logo.

The Panda range saw its next modification in 2007, with the addition of the Panda 100HP - the spiritual successor to the Fiat 500 Abarth and more recent Sporting models. As the name suggests, the new car has 100hp, and is fitted with a bodykit and alloy wheel design which is impossible to order on lesser Panda models.

Styles and Major Options
The Panda range is quite expansive, with a number of models for different markets. Detailed below is every model of Panda which Fiat sell. The range is systematic, with each successive trim level building upon the one before. All Pandas are offered with the option of a manual transmission or a semi-automatic transmission. There is only one body style offered - the five-door hatchback - but it is offered in both road and off-road guises.

The Actual and Active
The Actual edition was introduced in January 2004 as the base of the Panda range. Offered only to mainland Europe, and aimed specifically at developing markets such as China, the Actual is extremely basic. Defining features include black plastic bumpers, manual windows, manual mirrors and a full-size spare wheel. A limited engine range is offered with the Actual.

The Active edition is the base of the UK range, and builds upon the Actual. The black plastic bumpers are still present, but electric front windows, central locking, CD player and power steering are all fitted as standard. This edition was launched in May 2004, and marked the arrival of the Panda in the UK. The only engine offered on the Active is the 1.1 litre petrol.

The Dynamic
The Dynamic trim range adds body coloured bumpers and an enlarged engine and option range to the Active. Options include Skydome glass roof, twin-zone climate control, alloy wheels and MP3 compatibility. A sound package is also offered, with the factory fit option of a subwoofer.

In the UK, the Dynamic can be fitted with the 'AirCon' package or the 'Skydome' package, which both add their named options to the car, but at a discounted price. The Dynamic can be specified with the 1.2 litre petrol or a 1.3 litre MultiJet diesel.

The Emotion or Eleganza
The top of the conventional Panda range, the Emotion model adds metallic paint, alloy wheels, MP3 CD player and automated climate control to the Dynamic trim level. The model, sold as the Eleganza in the UK, is offered the full compliment of engines (with exception of the 100hp example).

The 500,000th Panda to be produced was a light blue Eleganza with the 1.3 litre MultiJet diesel engine.

The 4x4
The Panda 4x4 has a different range of trim levels to the road Panda. In the UK, only one trim level is offered, named simply '4x4', but mainland Europe is offered two distinct trim levels - the Climbing and the Cross. The 4x4 is easy to distinguish from other Pandas - it has raised ride height, plastic cladding, strengthened bumpers and a unique alloy wheel design with high-profile tyres. The 4x4 can only be ordered with a manual transmission.

The Climbing is the base 4x4, introduced in December 2004. Model features are similar to those of the Dynamic.

The Cross is the higher trim level of the 4x4, and builds upon the features of the Climbing. Geared more for off-road usage, the car features a differential lock-up with reductor.

Pricing
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Gas Mileage
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As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Engine and Transmission
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Performance
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If using information gathered from Road Test articles from a reputable automotive source, then please make sure to cite the quote.

Reliability
Every Fiat Panda model is supplied with a three year/30,000 miles manufacturer's warranty, and by all accounts is extremely reliable. Service intervals are limited to 12,000 miles.

As a measure of customer satisfaction, the Panda was placed highly in Top Gear Magazine's JD Power customer satisfaction survey - and was in fact the highest ranking Fiat, beating even the Porsche Boxster. No major recalls have been launched by Fiat, and few horror stories of unreliability have circulated.

Safety
The European crash testing body, EuroNCAP, rates the Panda as having a three-star crash performance, out of a possible five. This is below average for this class of car, with rivals such as Toyota's Aygo gaining four, and Renault's Clio a maximum five stars. The EuroNCAP blames the poor scores due to high loads on drivers and front passengers chests in the frontal accident, and that a door on the struck side opened during the side impact test. The overall scores for the test were :


 * Front - 10 points (63%)
 * Side - 10 points (56%)
 * Pedestrian - 6 points (17%)
 * Child protection - 21 points (43%)


 * Overall - 20 points, three stars.

The car tested, however, was an early example, dating from 2004. Fiat claims to have added extra airbags since this test, but the EuroNCAP have not tested the newer models.

Colors


Main Competitors
The Fiat Panda is in the hotly contested hatchback market - the largest selling sector in Europe. The Panda Active goes head to head with similarly-priced offerings from Citroën, Toyota and Peugeot, in the shape of the Citroën C1, Toyota Aygo and Peugeot 107. Previous competition included the Peugeot 106, which was discontinued soon after the Panda's arrival.

The Panda Dynamic, a mid-range supermini, is in competition with the Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and Seat Ibiza, and the Eleganza version, although higher specified than the Dynamic, has similar competition.

The 4x4 and 100HP have no direct competition due to their low price points.

Hybrid Models
Fiat do not sell a hybrid Panda, and there is not one in development - Fiat reckon that the Panda is economical enough as it is. A biofuel powered example will go into production soon. However, the Panda MultiEco Concept was unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow in 2006, and promises to be the most environmentally friendly Panda yet.

The MultiEco has a dual fuel engine, running on both petrol and methane, and fuel economy should increase sharply due to a significant weight reduction, of nearly 100kg. The bodywork and interior fittings will be made from 'eco-compatible' materials - materials which are either recycled, recyclable or of natural origin. The bodywork has been lightly redesigned to improve aerodynamic efficiency, thus improving fuel economy.

The engine is future-proof - developing technologies ensure that hydrogen can also be used as a fuel - and is fitted with a BAS (Belt-driven Alternator-Starter), which makes for simpler starting and more efficient electricity generation. A Dualogic robotised gearbox is also specified, programmed for optimum fuel consumption. The gearbox also controls the clutch, and this means that the Panda MultiEco can stop and start the engine seamlessly while the vehicle is stationary at a junction, for example.

Fiat promises that carbon dioxide emissions from the MultiEco will be 42% lower than that of the petrol driven example.

Unique Attributes
The Fiat Panda is one of the most economical and cheap cars in its class. What it loses in safety, it makes up for in character, fun and owner satisfaction. The Panda concept, despite already being four years young, looks set to take on a new life with the promise future additions to the range in the form of a brace of eco-friendly bio-powered models - something which its competition lacks.

Also, the 1.3 litre MultiJet diesel has been loudly acclaimed by automotive critics as the best diesel you can buy for less than £15,000.

Interior
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Resale Values
The Panda has shown an average amount of depreciation, retaining around 42% of its original value after three years. This is a range wide statistic, although it has been said that the expected residuals for the newly released 100HP are much higher than this.

Criticisms
'''WhatCar? Magazine''': 'Reasonable headroom but legroom is tight in the back. Some creature comforts are missing from base models. The controls are well laid out but tall drivers may suffer.'

Autocar Magazine: 'The Fiat's controls look a bit plasticky.'

Autoexpress Magazine: 'As soon as you start to specify desired options like air conditioning, the Panda gets expensive.'

Jeremy Clarkson: 'But the Panda is a very small car, which means it has a very small engine, which means it is absolutely hopeless on the motorway. And James May, my colleague from Top Gear, has bought one, which means there must be something wrong with it.'

Current Generation: (2003–present)
The Nuova Panda has few ties to its successor apart from the name and original design brief. No styling cues were drawn from the original, which is significant - Fiat wanted the Nuova Panda to look forward, not back, and to open a new, more successful chapter for the company.

First Generation/Origins (1980–2003)

 * Main article: Fiat Panda

Unveiled in 1980, the Giorgetto Giugiaro penned Panda was a basic, simple and no-frills utility vehicle. Amazingly, with little alteration, the original Panda was built right up to the introduction of the Nuova Panda. There is more information about the original Panda on the Fiat Panda page.

Worldwide
The Panda is sold throughout Europe, and also in Japan, where the Alessi version is reputed to be the largest seller. The Panda is not sold Stateside, due to Fiat not believing that the USA want such small vehicles. This belief may ring true just now, but as fuel prices increase, Americans may begin to yearn for vehicles as fuel-efficient as the Panda.

Since the Panda is built in Poland, the Polish Police force felt patriotic and ordered 40 Actual models for active service as Police cars. Obviously not for high speed pursuit purposes, however.

Design quirks and oddities

 * Top Gear presenter James May owns a Fiat Panda. In Season 11 Episode 4, in response to the release of the limited edition Panda Mammy, May joked Fiat should do a special edition model for him, as he regularly ferries his young nephew and niece, called the Panda Unsuitable Uncle which he says would simply feature "a very sharp kitchen knife just laying around".

Awards

 * Autocar Magazine - 2004 Car of the Year
 * European Board of Motoring Writers - 2004 European Car of the Year