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Fiat Nuova Panda

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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 Nuovo 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, 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).

Pricing

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