Fiat Panda hatchback review

The Fiat Panda is a more practical and utilitarian alternative to the Fiat 500 city car. However, given it was launched back in 2012, the Fiat Panda is starting to look and feel dated compared to major rivals.

Those considering the Panda will also have plenty of alternatives to choose from in its class. There’s the Volkswagen up!, Peugeot 108, Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto – all of these cars are closely matched on price and specifications. The Dacia Sandero Stepway is also a more spacious alternative with raised SUV-esque styling. There’s also a raft of electric superminis now on the scene, including the Fiat 500, Honda e and MINI Electric. That said, the Panda does offer a slightly different take to rivals with its upright shape providing plenty of space and an airy feel inside.

The Panda’s conventional petrol engine was replaced with a mild-hybrid petrol drivetrain in 2020, but it’s still not particularly efficient. While the newer 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine with mild-hybrid assistance produces 70bhp compared with the discontinued 1.2-litre engine’s 68bhp, you still have to use all its power just to keep up with traffic. There was also a Panda 4x4 that we reviewed separately.

The mild hybrid system is a 12-volt starter generator that can harvest energy as the Panda slows down, storing it in a small battery and then re-deploying it to give the engine a small boost, or help the stop and start system work more effectively in traffic.

The Panda has been designed to excel in the city, and it shows, with light steering and supple suspension that soaks up potholes. A tall roofline makes visibility excellent, but the car’s shape also means that at higher speeds you experience crosswinds more than in less upright vehicles – the more compact Volkswagen up! feels more stable on the motorway, for example.

On the flipside, there’s lots of headroom for a city car, but there isn’t a huge amount of space for rear-seat passengers, even though the back seats can slide backwards and forwards, which is pretty unique for a city car. The main advantage of this feature is the ability to increase boot space, but it’s worth noting split-folding rear seats are an optional extra on all but the top two trim levels.

The Panda range was quite broad before, but as of mid-2022 it’s been largely slimmed down – the standard Panda is only offered in City Life trim, and then there’s the Panda Cross and two special editions which are based on it. These are the (Red) and Garmin editions. The Fiat Panda 4x4 is no longer available. It’s possible to end up with quite an expensive Panda, but we’d recommend sticking to more affordable trims, particularly as the little Fiat can depreciate (or lose its initial value) quite rapidly.

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With Euro NCAP running more stringent testing, the Panda received a zero-star rating in the latest tests. This is due to the safety standards set by the newest cars on the market. The Fiat Panda had previously been awarded four out of five stars for safety, with standard kit including anti-lock brakes, traction control and tyre pressure monitoring. In our 2019 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey (the last time it appeared in our results), the Panda came 67th out of 100 models, scoring well for front-seat comfort, interior versatility and visibility. Owners were less impressed with infotainment and the sat nav (if fitted) - they were rated 97th and 98th, and many similarly cheap city cars are much better connected.

It's characterful then, but overall the Fiat Panda is hard to recommend and badly in need of replacing with a newer generation. Compared to rivals, it's slow, lacks technology and has a poor safety rating. The Dacia Sandero Stepway is cheaper, more powerful and has a more spacious interior with a better infotainment setup.