Fiat Grande Panda review - Interior & comfort

It’s funny how times change and design conventions come in and out of fashion. The Grande Panda now flaunts an angular, boxy design reminiscent of its original predecessor, but it looks all the better for it and really stands out of the crowd. 

The Grande Panda is just as striking on the inside, but in a different way. The dash gets an oval shape that makes reference to the famous Lingotto test track on the roof of the company’s headquarters. There’s even an easter egg by way of a small Fiat Panda motif driving around the oval next to the infotainment screen.

The whole interior is a testament to how you can make a car’s interior interesting, fun and attractive without working with high quality materials – the Grande Panda is a budget car, after all, but who cares when there’s so much design flair and love that’s clearly been put into it? There may not be wide use of padded, soft-touch material, but we like the fabric upholstery which has been used to keep the Grande Panda from feeling spartan or cold. A Renault 5 will admittedly feel more premium, but the top-spec Grande Panda costs the same as an entry-level Renault 5, so expectations are lower.

Is the Fiat Grande Panda’s infotainment and sat-nav system easy to use?

The Fiat Grande Panda gets a twin-screen combined infotainment and driver’s display. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a tried-and-tested setup that buyers will easily get used to. The 10.25-inch touchscreen is mounted in an easy-to-reach place on the dash and feels easy to use.

The software itself can be slightly laggy and the menus and submenus could be better laid out, but we’re glad to see that Fiat has kept some physical climate control knobs and buttons which will make them easier to use on the move. The driver’s display doesn’t offer a huge amount of customisation but the information displayed is useful enough.