Fiat Nuova Panda

Fiat Nuova Panda
Fiat
aka	Fiat Panda
Production	2003 onwards
Class	Economy Compact
Body Style	Five-door hatchback
Length	Panda - 3538 mm Panda 4x4 - 3574 mm
Width	Panda - 1578 mm Panda 4x4 - 1605 mm
Height	Panda - 1540 mm Panda 4x4 - 1632 mm
Wheelbase	Panda - 2299 mm Panda 4x4 - 2305 mm
Weight	Panda - 860kg Panda 4x4 - 980kg
Transmission	Five-speed manual Five-speed semi-automatic
Engine	1,108 cc inline four-cylinder petrol 1,242 cc inline four-cylinder petrol 1,248 cc inline four-cylinder diesel 1,368 cc inline four-cylinder petrol
Power	1.1 - 54bhp 1.2 - 60bhp 1.3 MultiJet - 70bhp 1.3 100HP - 99bhp
Similar	Volkswagen Fox Citroen C1 Toyota Aygo Peugeot 107
Designer

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

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

Panda Trims
Active	Dynamic	Eleganza	4x4	100HP	Alessi
MSRP
£6905	£7305-£8145	£8505	£9510	£10010	£7250

Fuel Economy

Engine
1.1 Petrol	1.2 Petrol	1.3 Diesel	1.4 100HP
MPG
49.6 mpg	50.4 mpg	65.7 mpg	43.5 mpg

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.

Photos

• 

  Shown in Eleganza trim.

• 

  Shown in Dynamic trim.

• 

  The Bigusto Edition - an Italy-only limited edition.

• 

  The Panda 4x4.

Colors

Exterior Colors

Metallic Colors

Special Colors

Solid Colors

Electro Grey

Rumba Red

Mambo Yellow

Surf Azure

Capoeira Green

Cumbia Beige

Goa Orange

Samba Orange

Darkwave Black

Electroclash Grey

New Orleans Blue

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 Citroen, Toyota and Peugeot, in the shape of the Citroen 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

If there are hybrid versions of this vehicle manufactured, then please elaborate a little bit on it here.

Unique Attributes

If there are any features of this vehicle that sets it apart from other vehicles in its class, then mention those unique attributes here.

Resale Values

Add more fields as necessary.

<MODEL> Year
Year X	Year X-2	Year X-3	Year X-4
Resale Value
$	$	$	$

Criticisms

Please make sure to keep critiques in a third-person point of view. If using criticisms from a reputable automotive source, then please make sure to cite the quote.

Generations

Fill in as many as appropriate. Add more if necessary and pictures wherever applicable.

Please make sure NOT to use copyrighted pictures.

Current Generation: (YYYY–present)

Fifth generation (YYYY–YYYY)

Fourth generation (YYYY–YYYY)

Third generation (YYYY–YYYY)

Second generation (YYYY–YYYY)

First Generation/Origins (YYYY–YYYY)

Worldwide

If the vehicle is sold in other markets worldwide, then this is the section to mention that information. Also, mention if the <MODEL> goes by another name in these other markets.

Design quirks and oddities

Refer to any pop-culture tidbits about the vehicle in this section.

Awards

List out notable awards that the model has recieved while in production. Boldface the company or orgainization that gives out the award, and Italicize the name of the award.

See also

External Links