Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid Review

Introduction

There were gasps amongst motoring writers when Fiat announced it was retiring the Panda.

But then, we were suddenly promised a new one.

After some confusion about this apparent contradiction, the answer suddenly became clear when the Grande Panda was born.

Is it a Panda? Or is it even more? Well, it depends how you look at it.

It is indeed an entirely clean–sheet design. This car has been built from the ground up to be an electric vehicle, albeit the version we're testing today has a combustion engine underneath the bonnet.

The model is also bigger than the old Panda, and its cladding suggests it's trying to be an SUV.

But, as we’ll cover shortly, this new vehicle bears more than a striking resemblance to the original Panda of 45 years ago, thanks to its shape.

It’s built on the ‘smart car’ platform derived from parent company Stellantis’ CMP architecture – the same platform used on the Citroen C3 and e-C3, as well as some newer Vauxhalls.

Despite the more rugged off-road appearance, we doubt the Grande Panda will be much good at treading the murky depths of a swamp. Land Rover can sleep easy, then.

But in an era when everyone is abandoning traditional hatchbacks and saloons for larger, more practical vehicles, it makes sense for Fiat to jump on the bandwagon - even if, by SUV standards, the Grande Panda is still on the small side.

Is it any good, though? First impressions indicate so – it certainly puts a smile on your face, as you’ll see.

At A Glance

Ignore the fact that Fiat is nowadays owned by a company based in the Netherlands.

Of course, by heritage, Fiat is Italian - the manufacturer's headquarters is still in Turin, where it’s been based for over 125 years - and if anybody knows style, it's the Italians.

On that note, Fiat has managed to pull off a clever trick: it makes the Grande Panda look a bit like the original, boxy, 1980s Panda while appearing ultra-contemporary.

Square-pixel LED lights sit at the front, accommodating X-shaped day-running lights and an illuminating Fiat badge offset to the side.

The rest of the front end has very straight edges, and rectangles of different sizes populate the lower grille beneath the number plate.

There is thicker cladding on the sides, especially around the chunky, slightly square wheel arches. The centrepiece is the large 'PANDA' indentations on the doors - the car spells its name out in its own bodywork.

The wheel designs look funky, too.

There is also a stepped rear end, starting with the roof spoiler above the rear windscreen.

The glass then extends further out, followed by the bottom of the tailgate, which sticks out even more. The cladding underneath the numberplate is even more protruded, while there’s silver colouring at the bottom, housing the fog lights.

Fiat's name is also spelt out in indentations on the tailgate, just beneath the rear windscreen, while the boxy taillights feature a pixellated ‘X’ shape when illuminated.

The Grande Panda is a wonderfully funky car that screams playfulness.

It is as cutesy and cuddly as you'd want such a vehicle to be.

Key Features

The Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid is available in three trim levels.

Entry-level Pop gets 16-inch steel wheels, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 10.0-inch digital instrument display, LED headlights and taillights, air conditioning, and rear parking sensors.

The mid-range Icon trim gets 16-inch black alloy wheels, roof rails, skid plates, a central armrest, and rear privacy glass.

The top-of-the-range La Prima upgrades to 17-inch alloy wheels and adds heated front seats, front parking sensors, a rear-view camera, and a Bamboo Fiber Tex glove box called the 'Bambox'.

There is - as we’ve alluded to - an electric Grande Panda, but we're focusing on the even newer hybrid version. It has a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine connected to an electric motor and a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, providing front-wheel drive.

It produces a total of 110PS.

Performance & Drive

We are test-driving the top-of-the-range La Prima trim, but regardless of which version you pick, the Grande Panda Hybrid does 0-62mph in 10.0 seconds flat and on to a top speed of 99mph.

The 0-62 time isn’t great, but it’s not terrible either – maybe the bubbliness of its personality is responsible for us swearing it feels quicker than it actually is.

Besides, you'll move away with electric power in most cases, with the engine only kicking into life when you reach around 20mph.

When it does, it feels and sounds pleasingly refined for a three-cylinder unit.

You will get a screech if you work it hard - and you do need to in order to get any real performance out of it - but generally, the engine feels as though it's coping just fine.

It is helped by the transmission, which is very smooth and has reasonably quick gear changes, aided further by a dollop of additional poke from the electric motor.

Bury the throttle, and the transmission does take a while to figure out it needs to change down. But overall, the performance is fine, if a little unexciting.

There are other positives, too. Its steering feels well weighted, the brakes are sharp and consistent, and the handling isn't bad.

It controls body roll reasonably well around faster bends and remains well-planted. In fact, for a car that's not really designed to be sprightly around corners, it turns in quite keenly - especially impressive given that it looks a little top-heavy.

Ride comfort somewhat lets the side down, feeling slightly unsettled over lumps and bumps in the road surface.

It can be a comfortable cruiser and suits long motorway journeys better than running about town.

There is little road and wind noise, although it picks up as the going gets faster.

Running Costs & Emissions

The Fiat Grande Panda returns 55.4mpg, emitting 123g/km of CO2.

That is not bad, but plenty of rivals can do better. The Suzuki Swift, a mild hybrid, returns 64mpg with CO2 figures of just 99g/km of CO2, although it's slower and less powerful.

If you're after a company car, the Grande Panda Electric is a must. There is no point in forking out lots of extra money in Benefit In Kind tax for the hybrid when you can have a zero-emissions version, which saves you lots of money.

Reliability-wise, the Grande Panda hasn't hit the roads yet, so only time will tell how well it will do. Fiat as a brand tends not to perform well, though.

Interior & Technology

Step inside the Fiat Grande Panda, and it almost wouldn't matter if it wasn't very practical because it's bound to put a big smile on your face.

It is quirky and screams 'fun'.

The colours and the unusual shape of the steering wheel - flat top and bottom and horizontal middle spokes - are striking.

In fact, straight and horizontal are the order of the day when you look at the dashboard, which looks carefully designed and has rounded edges near each side window.

It is adorable and well-made.

The infotainment screen and digital instrument display sit next to each other in one unit, part of which looks carved out from the dashboard.

The centre console, too, is the same basic shape – straight with round edges. It is actually a tribute to Fiat's old test track, which was located on the rooftop of its historic headquarters in Lingotto, Turin.

The outer air vents are a couple of squared-off boxes on either side of the dashboard, and there are not one but two glove boxes – one underneath the dash as per convention and a second one covering the passenger half of the dashboard.

On our La Prima test car, the upper glovebox is known as the ‘Bambox’ as it’s covered in a bamboo fibre coating.

The 10.25-inch infotainment system has a sharp display featuring clear graphics - and it's embedded into the dashboard rather than sitting on it like a tablet. It responds to your inputs and features a reasonably easy-to-use menu layout.

We would have liked the screen to have been a touch bigger to remove the rather ugly, thick black borders at the edges, but this is the only bit of the entire car that looks dated. After all, we’d much rather the system inside the screen was fine – and it is.

Behind the steering wheel, the digital instrument display is clear. It prioritises the most important information rather than filling the screen with unnecessary data. It is not exceptionally customisable, but it's okay as it is.

Even better, physical controls for the air conditioning are maintained, making it easy to adjust the temperature when on the move.

The fit and finish are of decent quality, although some of the materials, especially lower down, feel cheap. But then, this is a very affordable car to lease, so some corner-cutting is inevitable.

Fiat is keen to point out that many of the plastics used in the cabin are made from recycled drink cartons – around 140 for each car.

Overall, the cabin is as appealing as the exterior – maybe even more so – it’s just a vibrant and happy place to be.

Practicality & Boot Space

It is easy to find a decent driving position in the Grande Panda, although, given its leasing price, you won't be surprised to learn there's no powered seat adjustment.

Still, the seats are comfortable, offering plenty of support to your back and wrapping around you nicely.

Although you’re not lauding it over other motorists, the seating position is slightly higher than in the old, discontinued Fiat Panda hatchback.

Forward visibility is good, as the pillars aren't especially thick. However, your over-the-shoulder view will be heavily obstructed by mightily thick pillars, mainly because the rear side windows don't go very far back.

Headroom and legroom in the front are acceptable, although the centre console is quite slender, so you might find yourself competing with a front-seat passenger for elbow room.

The legroom in the rear isn't bad either - it's undoubtedly a step ahead of the old Panda - and you can tuck your feet underneath the front seat.

As a result, even a relatively tall rear-seat passenger sitting behind a tall front-seat occupant won't cause anyone to feel claustrophobic.

The Fiat Grande Panda is quite tall for a supermini, so despite a slight slope in the roofline, taller rear-seat passengers will feel well accommodated.

Back seat passengers will be more comfortable in this than the Grande Panda Electric, which, because of the batteries underneath the floor, has a raised floor which robs you of under-thigh support.

Despite a reasonably sized middle seat, it isn’t suitable for three adults on longer journeys, but it feels pretty spacious for a small car.

Nevertheless, the rear seats can't be reclined, nor can they slide forward and backwards.

Boot space is 412 litres, 51 litres more than the pure electric Grande Panda.

The cargo capacity expands to 1,366 litres with the rear seats folded in a 60/40 split, which isn't bad. However, there's no adjustable boot floor, so you'll have to put up with the loading lip, which might be awkward if you regularly lift heavy items in and out.

The new Fiat’s cabin has lots of storage space, too, with accommodating door bins, dual glove boxes, and pockets on the back of the front seats.

There are four USB-C ports dotted around the interior, too.

Safety

Fiat is yet to get the Grande Panda assessed by the crash-testing body Euro NCAP.

It needs to get it tested soon and deliver, as Fiat is one of the few manufacturers that consistently fails to score highly.

In 2018, the old Panda scored zero stars - a far cry from the five stars achieved by most cars tested. The only other car in Euro NCAP history to accomplish the same zero-star rating was another Fiat, the Punto, in 2017.

The last Fiat to be assessed did okay - the 500e scored four stars when crash-tested in 2021 - but most can count on a five-star rating nowadays.

The 500e scored 76% for adult occupants, 80% for children, and 67% for safety assists, so Fiat hopes to continue the upward trend here.

The safety assists include various systems, such as automatic emergency braking (active safety brake), driver attention alert, lane keeping assist, speed limiter, cruise control and rear parking sensors.

Our top-of-the-range La Prima-trimmed test car also gets sensors at the front and a rear-view camera.

Options

Fiat offers plenty of options across its range, although nothing has been explicitly announced about the Grande Panda Hybrid yet.

Extras on the electric version include a selection of bodywork stickers, which can be used to make your car unique to you.

Generally speaking, Fiat sells everything from rubber mats and sunshades to multimedia upgrades, mud flaps, safety kits, wheels and styling packs.

The Grande Panda Hybrid offers several body colours, notably azure blue, light blue, bronze, red, bright yellow, white, and black.

White is considered the default colour on all trims, with others costing more, although this may change. The electric version has bright yellow as the standard hue, with RED trim (exclusive to the electric model) being, rather unsurprisingly, red.

Rival Cars

If you're considering leasing a Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid, it's worth pausing before you commit because there are plenty of competitors for your money.

The Citroen C3 shares the same platform and engine options as the Grande Panda.

There is also the Renault Captur, MG ZS, Ford Puma, Kia Stonic, Suzuki Ignis and the value-focused Hyundai Inster.

Dacia offers a duo in the Spring and Sandero, while Toyota has the Yaris Cross and Aygo X.

The newly arrived Chinese brand Leapmotor has reached the UK and is now offering the T03.

If you like Fiat's quirky, modern-retro styling, you might also want to check out the Renault 5 E-Tech.

Verdict & Next Steps

Nobody was sure what to think when Fiat announced it was overhauling the Panda that we knew.

The Fiat Grande Panda has provided the answer with a wonderfully quirky, personality-filled replacement that's loveable inside and out.

It is practical for a supermini, too, and the leasing price is right on point to attract plenty of interest.

The downsides? It is nowhere near as fun to drive as it looks, and despite its hybrid power, it's not outstandingly economical - this fact especially lets it down.

The all-electric version, which, although slightly more expensive to lease, will likely earn back the extra expenditure through more efficient running costs without much effort.

If you’re after a budget car, the electric version is far more tempting for those who want to keep their wallets in check throughout their time with it.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid.

**Correct as of 20/06/2025. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £2,151.18 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.