Fiat Grande Panda review: cheaper than the Renault 5, but is it better?

This city-car-sized ‘utility’ EV is trying to offer retro cheeriness at a very low price. Has it succeeded?

You would be forgiven for thinking the Fiat Grande Panda Electric is the Panda’s electric replacement.

But no, it’s an all-new model, filling the hole in the Fiat range for a 4 metre-long (supermini-sized) car that has existed since the Fiat Punto's departure in 2018. The car known just as Fiat Panda lives on elsewhere, it’s smaller and even cheaper.

The Grande Panda is packed full of clever touches and original thinking that suggests Fiat has used the time wisely to create something far more interesting than a standard replacement might have been.

Fiat has chosen to launch a ’utility vehicle’ (think slightly raised hatchback; a Dacia Sandero Stepway to a standard Dacia Sandero) rather than a supermini in the space vacated by the Punto because it offers more global appeal.

Perhaps surprisingly, Fiat is Stellantis’s biggest brand globally, and the Grande Panda will appeal to and can be built in the markets in which it has a large presence (Brazil, Turkey and Algeria, for example) and with different powertrains.

But the Grande Panda isn't one of those 'global cars' that's built to appeal to everyone but ends up appearing to nobody, with all the joy sucked out of it. Instead, it has a habit of making you smile outside and in.

You can go Easter-egg-hunting for hidden details in the Grande Panda before you even get to turn the key to drive it – something that feels a novelty itself in an electric car.

On the outside, the silhouette is the first nod to the original Panda. The Fiat badge is stamped into the bodywork on the rear hatch, while the Panda name adorns the side in another nod to the 1980 model. The Panda badge's 3D treatment at the rear is far from conventional, too.

The model we're testing with the electric drivetrain is in Red trim, named as part of a charity partnership. Other colours are on offer (but not grey, after Fiat pledged not to do dull any more), but when you look at the contrast between our test car's white 16in steel wheels and red body, why would you go against anything else?

It looks fantastic – and there are clever touches beyond pure styling ones. A first appears on this car: a retractable charging cable in the front grille. Why has no car maker thought of this before? Great idea. It charges at rates of up to 7kW and there's good reach from a 4.5 metre-long cable. A more conventional charging port features at the rear, which can take up to 100kW.

Underneath, the starting point for the Grande Panda is Stellantis's new Smart Car platform, which can house internal combustion engine and electric drivetrains and is also used on the Citroën C3 and Opel/Vauxhall Frontera.

This architecture mimics Dacia in being built to a cost, and the price at which Fiat can offer the Grande Panda is headline-grabbing, particularly in EV form.

It differs mechanically from the C3 by not going all in on comfort with the hydraulic bump stops for the suspension and has a more conventional set-up instead.

Inside, there's more cheeriness. The Panda name is embossed into the seats. The Fiat logo is stamped into the door cards, which are in part made from recycled cartons. The oval dashboard is inspired by the test track on the roof of Fiat's famous old Lingotto facility in Turin, and there's an image of a little original Panda tucked in there too.

All these touches lift something that could otherwise be so plain and conventional. To do without them could have made the car yet cheaper still, so credit to Fiat for striking such a good balance.

It's not overbearing or over-equipped with technology. I didn't go looking for anything that I felt should have been there in the ‘Red’ trim. Perhaps the heated seats and rear-view camera of the La Prima model might be welcome, but a 3000 euro uplift feels a bit steep.

The 10.25in touchscreen infotainment system is kept simple, with crisp graphics and not a major number of functions that you need to work out in the first place.

It gets better inside too, because the heating controls are done by knobs on the centre console (remember them?!).

There's plenty of storage inside. There's a deep tray built into the dashboard that's particularly useful and yet more storage can be found in the dash itself – three litres of space on top of the passenger's side.

It's a spacious car, too. It doesn't feel necessarily airy, but you don't want for space in the front or rear. I'm average height and had a good amount of knee room behind my driving position and my head didn't touch the ceiling. It has impressive boot space, too, at 361 litres.

One downside inside is the seat comfort. It’s quite a hard seat and you can fidget around a bit trying to get comfortable. I didn’t have the longest uninterrupted stint behind the wheel, so this is one to watch on longer journeys.

Two versions of the Grande Panda are available from launch: a mild-hybrid model and an EV. We've only driven the latter so far, but it is the one we would recommend.

The EV uses a front-mounted electric motor with 83kW (111hp) and 122Nm (90lb ft) of torque, which is good for a 0-100km/h (0-62mph) time of 11sec and a 132km/h (82mph) top speed.

Performance is more than adequate in the EV at step-off and the Grande Panda then doesn't feel dwarfed by the traffic at motorway speeds, which isn't always a given among its small EV peers.

There aren't any meaningful drive modes in the car to cycle through, in keeping with its simplicity. The regenerative braking provides a good level of assistance, although you need to use the brake pedal more than in other EVs.

The way the car drives is probably the least notable part of the Grande Panda, but it doesn't detract from its appeal. It's capable enough for the job it needs to do, feeling rugged and robust, and is simple and intuitive to drive for the most part.

The handling is predictable rather than involving. Likewise the steering. They're fine. It also rides really well with the chunky sidewalls wrapping around the steel wheels.

The Grande Panda can really take some beating from rough city streets, without making the driver feel the worst of it.

Compared with the C3, the dynamic character of the pair still diverges more than you would think, for the Citroën is an even more comfortable car, and the Fiat slightly more involving to drive, but still not fun.

The Grande Panda range keeps things simple. Within the two different powertrain options, there are three trim levels.

On the electric side, you can get Pop, ‘Red’ or La Prima trim. ‘Red’ isn’t only offered in red… although it is the standard colour.

An electric Red is the trim we would choose.

Standard kit includes 16in steel wheels, air conditioning, that retractable charging cable, the 10.25in touchscreen, cruise control and rear parking sensors.

La Prima is a 3000-euro uplift over the 25,000 euro ‘Red’ and gets 17in alloys, automatic air-con, Bamboo trim for the dashboard, front parking sensors, heated seats and a rear-view camera.

Pricing is very competitive in the class. Apart from the much cheaper and less sophisticated Dacia Spring, it's the cheapest electric car out there – cheaper even than the ë-C3 that had only recently taken that crown.

While the C3 looks and feels a bit plain veering towards austere in places, the only thing the Grande Panda feels is good value.

As for range, the official claimed figure for the Grande Panda is 320km (199 miles). We were seeing around 300km (185 miles) on a surprisingly mild January day in Turin, with the kind of mixed-speed roads you would expect to give a good indication. That’s also in line with the ë-C3.

The Grande Panda is a triumph for Fiat. It's a very wholesome and feelgood car for the most part. It's not just another identical platform twin or another small EV that you would soon forget.

There are some really creative design touches in the car that make it a joy to be in. Considering it's not actually the most fun car to drive, it's still a remarkably fun car.

If we were being picky, we would like some more involving driving dynamics. But for its target audience, the car performs as well as it needs to. It’s spacious, too, and is given just the right amount of equipment.

But we actually think the Grande Panda is actually more in the style and spirit of the original 1980 Panda than the most recent Panda that still uses that as a name, and it doesn’t hold back on the references.

Throw in the excellent value of the EV and Fiat has created a car with real substance to match its smart design. It deserves to do well and shows that Fiat can do something other than making the Fiat 500.

Is it better than the Renault 5? We’ll have to conduct a comparison test to find out.

The Move Electric verdict: 9/10

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