Fiat Group Automobiles South Africa has just announced the arrival of the third-generation Panda on local soil. With Fiat’s award-winning small-car expertise some three decades in the making, this can only bode well for the newcomer.
Despite its fresh face, the Panda is still unmistakable. But the extremely boxy dimension of its predecessors has been ditched in favour of a more rounded theme. The new look is not just for the sake of the new design language at Fiat, or even purely aesthetics – it also makes the Panda more aerodynamically efficient. The Panda now boasts a drag coefficient of 0,32.
As has always been the case with previous generations of Panda, the exterior dimensions don’t cover much ground, but it’s the optimum use of interior room that matters most in this segment. Measuring in at 3 650 mm long, 1 640 mm wide and 1 550 mm high, the new Panda has grown slightly inside.
There’s even space for luggage, the Panda swallows approximately 225 dm3, with 260 available if the sliding rear bench is in the fully forward position. When the rear seats are folded, there’s an additional 610 dm3 of room to be had.
The Panda is powered by a 1,2-litre petrol four-cylinder engine that produces 51 kW at 5 500 r/min and 102 N.m of torque at 3 000 r/min and sends that to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox. Fiat claims a zero to 100 km/h sprint of 14,2 seconds and top speed of 164 km/h, but the real figures that should get consumers’ attention are a 5,2 litres/100 km combined cycle fuel consumption figure and CO2 emissions figure of just 120 g/km.
There are two trim levels, Pop and Lounge, and they share a standard features list of ABS with EBD, four airbags, MP3 compatible audio system, height adjustable steering wheel, electric front windows, central locking, and electrically adjustable door mirrors with demister. The Lounge specification adds rear head restraints, automatic climate control and height-adjustable drivers seat and Fiat’s Blue&Me Bluetooth/USB/voice control system amongst others.
The new Panda comes standard with a 3 years/100 000 km warranty and maintenance plan, with prices starting at R139 990 for the Pop and R154 990 for the Lounge. (prices include VAT and CO2 tax).
The new Fiat Panda pricing starts at R139,990 for the Pop version and R154,990 for the Lounge, including VAT and CO2 tax.