Fiat Grande Panda Review (2025)

Introduction

You could be forgiven for thinking Fiat is pulling out of the UK.

In recent years, we’ve lost the Tipo, the Punto, and, just last year, the popular Panda. A few months ago, the Fiat 500 city car was also discontinued.

But that only tells half the story.

The 500 is still around, now in the form of the all-electric 500e, while the Tipo and Punto are being replaced with new cars, although admittedly not like-for-like.

It is the same story with the Panda.

You see, cars are generally getting bigger - or, at least, bigger cars are becoming ever more popular - and the explosive rise in Britain’s eagerness for SUVs has left manufacturers scrambling to find solutions.

Fiat is no exception. Following in the footsteps of the new 600 SUV crossover, the outgoing Panda will be replaced by the 30cm-longer Grande Panda.

Technically, it's classed as a supermini, but the roof rails, cladding and rugged bodywork give it SUV-style looks.

But is it any good?

Well, on paper, the leasing price looks too good to be true.

Like the 500e, the Grande Panda is an electric car (though a Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid will also be available) and one certainty with an electric car is a disproportionately high price tag. Yet this new Fiat costs very little to lease.

Can such a cheap electric car really cut the mustard?

At A Glance

What’s interesting about the Grande Panda's looks is that they're very contemporary and stylish. However, from some angles, they remind us of the original, boxy, first-generation model, which dates back to 1980.

Modern touches mean its edges are more rounded than the right-angled original, but the nod to the past is quite cute, like one of those retro-styled digital radios, toasters or kettles you sometimes see in the shops.

At the front, square pixel LEDs illuminate the headlights and day-running lights, the latter lighting up in a widened “X” shape.

A panel, replacing a traditional grille, features more patterned squares that thin into small rectangles in the middle. 'FIAT' lettering is visible off-centre.

Beneath that, there's a lower grille mesh made up of square holes, while the general shape of the bodywork is horizontal lines.

Thick cladding surrounds the wheel arches around the sides, which appear square rather than round. The 'PANDA' name is unusually indented in large letters along the bottom of the doors.

Another notable feature is that the steel wheels on the entry-level model look very stylish, again suiting the car's retro appeal, although the model we're testing has alloys.

There are other bulges and creases in the bodywork, too, which add quirkiness to the design. The back of the car appears to descend in steps, with a largely blank panel beneath the rear windscreen sitting further in. The bodywork beneath it sticks out, and the lower cladding bumper beneath the number plate protrudes even more. ‘FIAT’ lettering is indented on the boot lid, too.

Certainly, Fiat has done a great job with the Grande Panda's looks. Just as it did when it reintroduced the Fiat 500, it's mastered the art of making something old new.

The Grande Panda won't be to everyone's tastes, and it's a bit leftfield in places, but we like the Fiat for its uniqueness.

Key Features

Two trim levels are offered on the Grande Panda Electric.

The entry-level RED has 16-inch white steel wheels, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.0-inch digital instrument display, and rear parking sensors.

You also get several other safety features and driver assistance systems that we’ll cover later.

The top-of-the-range La Prima gets 17-inch alloy wheels, satellite navigation, a wireless charger, heated seats, automatic air conditioning, ‘Bambox’ dashboard upholstery, front parking sensors, and a rear-view camera.

Only one electric motor is offered, producing 113PS, with front-wheel drive.

A hybrid model will soon be available. It will consist of a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, a smaller electric motor with 130PS, and an automatic gearbox.

Range & Batteries

The electric Grande Panda has a 44kWh battery.

Most electric car batteries are lithium-ion, but here, it's LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate), which copes better with repeated charging and discharging, so its maximum capacity shouldn’t degrade as quickly.

The range is claimed to be 199 miles, which is about on par with rivals, although, in practice, around 150 miles is more realistic.

It is disappointing that Fiat has no large battery option - the Renault 5 offers two choices, one of which is a 52kWh battery with a claimed range of up to 255 miles.

Performance & Drive

With only 113PS from its electric motor, the Grande Panda does 0-62mph in 11.0 seconds, although in our La Prima test car, that figure extends to 11.5 seconds.

That is not very quick - it tops out at only 82mph. Many electric cars are considerably faster: even the lower-powered version of the Renault 5, with 120PS, can do it over three seconds quicker.

However, the Fiat still feels like it accelerates reasonably well. It is particularly good for driving in town, even if it lacks the instantaneousness of some rivals.

The Fiat has a reasonably firm suspension setup, which is still comfortable, but those wanting a softer ride should look towards something like the Citroen e-C3.

The benefit of a firmer setup is that the Grande Panda feels nimbler around faster bends, tackling twisty rural roads with relative ease. However, that doesn’t mean the handling is excellent.

The steering doesn’t weight up much at speed and lacks feel, and there’s more body roll around corners than we'd hoped. As a result, while the Grande Panda is capable, it’s mainly unexciting to drive and lacks the sense of occasion that you’ll get from some small electric cars, like the Renault 5.

At least the light steering makes light work of navigating the slow, 90-degree bends of town centres and city backstreets. It doesn’t do a bad job of soaking up potholes and ridges, but it tends to bounce around a little on poorly maintained roads.

Admittedly, the 17-inch alloys of our La Prima test car likely don’t help - the entry-level version's 16-inch steel wheels will be more forgiving.

The Grande Panda's regenerative braking is very tame compared with most electric cars, even in its maximum setting, so you can't use it for one-pedal driving.

Road and wind noise are only a factor at higher speeds, and even then, the Fiat is relatively hushed compared with some of the competition.

Charging

The Grande Panda Electric can be charged at up to 100kW. According to Fiat, a 20-80% top-up is achieved in 33 minutes.

A 20-100% charge using a 7kW home wall box will take around three and a quarter hours, or just under three hours, if you choose the optional 11kW charging capability.

Unusually, the Grande Panda also features an integrated 4.5-metre-long charging cable behind the Fiat logo at the front of the car, although the cable limits charging speeds to 7kW. This can be plugged into your wall box, although if you want to take advantage of faster top-ups from public chargers, you'll have to use the cable supplied with the charger, which connects to a socket within the flap above one of the rear wheels.

Running Costs & Emissions

With a very low leasing price and running costs, especially if you charge it at home, there's a lot to like about the Grande Panda Electric, which is as kind to your wallet as it is to the environment.

The forthcoming hybrid version will return 52.3mpg and emit 118g/km of CO2, but the Electric’s zero emissions mean it’ll be attractive as a company car, given that it's in the bottom band for Benefit in Kind tax. You could say the same about any other electric car, though - and there’s no shortage nowadays.

Road tax is changing imminently, too, but even when the new charges come into effect on 1st April, you'll still only pay £10 for the first year and £195 a year thereafter.

Fiat hasn't fared well in recent reliability surveys, coming towards the lower end of the league tables, although its luck may change with this latest all-electric offering.

Interior & Technology

Much like the exterior, the Fiat Grande Panda’s interior is quirky and full of personality. It looks lovely, with a funky flat-bottomed and flat-topped steering wheel. The wheel has only two spokes that run horizontally at nine and three o’clock.

A single unit houses the infotainment screen and digital instrument display next to each other - the unit is entirely round at the sides. The dashboard it sits on also has very rounded shapes on either side - a nod to Fiat’s historic rooftop test track at its former headquarters in Lingotto, Turin.

A couple of rectangular air vents sit vertically on the left and right, with two more horizontally in the middle. The dashboard’s natural shape effectively creates a shelf, of which one of two gloveboxes is a part.

A bamboo fibre-coated textile glovebox - known as the ‘bambox’ on our La Prima-trimmed test car - sits on top of the passenger side of the dash, with a second glovebox underneath in its more traditional place. The upper glovebox on the entry-level RED trim still exists, but it's covered in dark-patterned upholstery instead.

The infotainment system's 10.25-inch screen features attractive graphics, a clear display, and an intuitive menu layout. It is also reasonably responsive to touches and prods from your fingers. Clunkiness is a common complaint of infotainment systems in cheap cars, so we're pleased to see Fiat has made sure it’s an exception to the rule.

The digital instrument display is also decluttered and provides useful information with attractive graphics, although its layout isn’t very customisable.

We are also grateful for the physical controls for the air conditioning, which sit in a panel beneath the middle air vents, hovering above the centre console. This makes adjusting the temperature very convenient on the move, so you won't have to tap away at the screen to get to a sub-menu to turn up the heat.

The materials are okay, although some feel cheap and plasticky in places. For the modest leasing price, it's more than acceptable - and at least it looks uniquely appealing.

Environmentally conscious lessees will be interested to know that many of the plastics are made from recycled drink cartons - around 140 per car, Fiat says.

We challenge you not to smile as soon as you see the Grande Panda’s cabin - its natural aura will brighten your day.

Practicality & Boot Space

The Grande Panda's seats are fairly comfortable and offer decent support for the back, thighs, and sides. Visibility is pretty good out of the front, although the large, thick rear windscreen pillars obstruct rearward visibility.

Finding a comfy driving position is relatively easy, but no electric seat adjustment is available. Also, given that this is a 'Grande' Panda, the seating position is naturally higher than in a regular Panda, although it'll still feel low if you're used to driving a proper SUV.

There is a lot of headroom and legroom in the front, and even though the cabin is reasonably wide, the central armrest isn't, so expect to be banging elbows if both front seat occupants simultaneously stretch themselves out.

There is sufficient legroom in the back for two reasonably tall adults to sit comfortably, but fitting three grown-ups in the rear will be a tight squeeze. However, a couple of adults and three kids in the back should be fine. Although the middle seat is narrower than the outer two, the difference isn't as stark as in many cars.

The boot space measures 361 litres, while the forthcoming hybrid version will add around 50 litres to this figure. Still, 361 litres is bigger than some electric rivals and just a couple of litres smaller than the MG4 EV - and that's only a couple of litres smaller than the Volkswagen ID.3.

The capacity expands to 1,315 litres with the rear seats folded in a 60:40 configuration, which isn't as versatile as the 40:20:40 split you'll get in some cars, but that's to be expected for a vehicle of this type and price.

The boot floor isn’t adjustable, so you’ll have to live with a loading lip. There's no 'frunk' either, so you won't get any additional storage under the bonnet next to the electric motor.

In addition to the two gloveboxes we mentioned earlier, the cabin has plenty of other storage spaces, including pockets on the back of the front seats and reasonably large door bins.

Four USB-C ports are included, too.

Safety

The Grande Panda has yet to be crash-tested by safety experts at Euro NCAP.

However, Fiat hopes to improve its underwhelming scores in recent years, including the zero-star rating of the previous Fiat Panda in 2018 and the zero-star grade of the Fiat Punto in the year before that.

The last Fiat to be tested was the all-electric 500e, which earned a much-improved four-star rating, scoring 76% for adults, 80% for children and 67% for safety assists.

The Grande Panda has a suite of driver assistance systems, encompassing automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, driver attention warning, rear parking sensors, cruise control, and a speed limiter. The La Prima trim also adds front parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

Options

The onboard charging speed can be upgraded to 11kW if you’re happy to pay extra.

Fiat offers over 100 accessories, including customised stickers, which can be used to decorate and personalise your Grande Panda.

Apart from that, it’s just a case of picking the body colour. The shades offered are red, bright lemon yellow, light blue, bronze, azure, white, and black.

You will have to fork out if you want anything other than the default colour, which is lemon yellow on the La Prima trim and, unsurprisingly, red on the RED trim.

Rival Cars

Underneath, the Grande Panda is very similar to the Citroen e-C3 - they’re built on the same platform provided by parent company Stellantis.

The Citroen will be more suitable for those prioritising ride comfort, although that comes at the cost of handling, and the e-C3 lacks the Fiat’s cutesiness.

Those wanting more excitement should go for the Renault 5, while the new Hyundai Inster is also an excellent all-around package.

The Dacia Spring is worth considering, too. It is actually cheaper than the Grande Panda - as is the Leapmotor T03, which you might not have heard of.

It is also worth checking out a Vauxhall Corsa Electric, the MG 4 EV, and the BYD Dolphin and Volkswagen’s ID.3.

Verdict & Next Steps

Overall, the Fiat Grande Panda Electric has lots going for it, ticking plenty of important boxes.

It has funky looks, inside and out, with the cabin providing a bright, welcome change from the blackened norm of the average family car.

It is also reasonably practical for a small car, offering sufficient cabin and boot space. In addition, the Fiat is cheap to lease, economical to run, and handles reasonably. However, the Citroen e-C3 can beat it for ride comfort, while the Renault 5 is far more engaging to drive.

The sluggish performance and limited range may be off-putting to some - the forthcoming hybrid version may offer a better option if range is an issue - while reliability isn't a traditional strength of Fiat.

We would stick with the RED trim, which is reasonably well-equipped. The La Prima trim we tested adds a few nice touches, but the price jump is a tad too much to justify.

Regardless, the Grande Panda Electric is a fine little car that brings a smile to your face - and, in that respect, it’s one you'd be hard-pressed not to like a lot.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Fiat Grande Panda.