Fiat PANDA
The Runaway Winner Of The European Car Of The Year 2004 Heralds A New Era Of Citycar Sophistication. June Neary Reports.
The old Panda was always a favourite of mine and served me very well during my student days at Durham University. Often packed with up to seven friends in various stages of inebriation, it survived all manner of college high jinks until it was finally put out to pasture by an errant gritting lorry. It was therefore with some excitement that I heard about Fiats plans for a replacement. I knew it couldnt match the back to basics appeal of the Giugiaro styled original, but times have changed and so have the demands of modern motorists.
Seats that resemble hammocks just wont cut it in a market of growing sophistication. The latest Panda may be linked to the original in name only, but it could well prove an enduring favourite. The shape is cheeky without lapsing into cutesy pastiche and the equipment levels are far beyond the citycar norm. Its a car thats virtually impossible to dislike.
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The term citycar usually denotes a vehicle thats cramped, insubstantial and rather uncomfortable to drive. The Panda is a long way from this stereotype. Despite measuring only 3540mm from bumper to bumper, the Panda offers a decent amount of interior space, helped by a generous height of 1530mm and that wheel at each corner design. Room up front is fine for two big adults, but rear legroom will naturally be a little pinched if four burly blokes squeeze in.
Still, for two adults and two children it works very well. Luggage space is adequate, access to the hatch being helped by a very low loading sill. A split folding rear bench helps when transporting long or bulky items. Its worth noting that despite the tall looks of the Panda, the sunroof option that can be fitted robs the car of a fair amount of headroom.
A 63" colleague gave his head a good whack when getting in on the sunroof surround. The other thing to watch out for is that its very easy to wedge the
seat belt between the anchor and the seat, giving you the impression that youre belted in. The pedals are mounted quite high and as you depress them to the carpet, its easy for a driver with small feet to slip off the bottom of the accelerator pedal.
Three engines are offered, opening with the entry-level 1.1-litre for those on a tight budget. Few will regret shelling out a few hundred pounds extra for the more powerful 60bhp 1.2-litre 8v unit which looks set to be the most popular engine option.
For those who want a little extra poke to get away first at the lights, theres a 16v version of this engine. Also bound to be much in demand is a 70bhp 1.3-litre Multijet diesel engine that returns quite astonishing fuel figures and theres a 4x4 version for the more adventurous of spirit. The diesel feels very smooth at idle, so you neednt worry about your neighbours slapping you with a noise abatement order on chilly mornings.
On the road it feels lively and a good deal stronger than the petrol engines. In fact, its easy to forget youre driving a diesel and reach for the green pump. Fortunately, pulling into fuel stations is an occurrence that doesnt happen too often with a car that can average 65mpg. Thats just as well as the last long term car I last ran was a V8
Jaguar and the effects of succumbing to regular Peperami temptation meant that I was starting to pile on the pounds.
So much for the Atkins diet.
Prices start at £6,295. Measured in terms of trim for trim, a similarly specified
Citroen C2 will work out a good deal more expensive. The added cachet of the European Car of The Year award should guarantee healthy residual values. Running costs are likely to be minimal, with a range of economical engines offered and minuscule insurance ratings on the cards.
The citycar sector has just been given a good kick up the backside and theres nothing to match the Panda in terms of value for money on the near horizon. One suspects that this little car will be a big success for
Fiat. Although its obviously built to a price, Fiat have specified the car very well and its fun to drive. Few cars are as instantly likeable.
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