Category: City Cars 
Price Range: £7,350 to £12,850
Amusing to drive, ideal for city life, lively 1.2 8v engine, sharp handling, low running costs, plain and simple
Unadventurous design, lacks visual charm of Seicento, Cinquecento and earlier small Fiats, poor NCAP crash test scores
The Panda is not a technological tour de force, nor does it set any new benchmarks in the city car sector, but it's (almost) everything you'd hope it would be, and is in the spirit of earlier, much-loved small Fiats.
Fiat has done extensive work on sound-proofing and insulating the Panda, and it shows. Engine noise isn't completely suppressed, but it's kept to an acceptable level (and pleasant tone), and even with roof rails fitted, wind noise is low and tyre noise subdued.
The Panda copes well with potholes, speed bumps and road surface imperfections, with a ride that's absorbent, if a little bouncy; that said, any unsettling feels more like a joyous yippee-here-we-go than the wearying, whining resonance you often get in cheap cars. The seats are supportive and well-shaped, but somewhat short under-thigh; the driver's seat comes with varying degrees of adjustability according to specification.
On the visual/tactile side, the cabin environment is pleasant, though the swathes of grey plastic and cluttered dials/centre console aren't that special, and the (optional) yellow seat fabric is rather lurid.
Given its exterior dimensions, the Panda is spacious inside. Of course, rear seat passengers will have to be fairly intimate when travelling four- or even five-up, and adults don't have much space to stretch their legs out in the back, but it's more than roomy enough to accommodate two adults and a couple of kids, with plenty of headroom front and rear.
The boot is small, but good enough, and this can be expanded if the sliding rear seat is specified. A split rear seat is also an option, in combination with ISOFIX child seat mounting points; this gives two larger rear seats, instead of a three-person flat rear bench, and a further option allows for these seats to slide backwards and forwards. They don't completely tumble and fold flat, however.
The stereo set-up we tested had an entirely acceptable sound for this class of car. Dynamic Sound versions have a six-speaker CD player with 100W sub-woofer, sat-nav is a £1000 option.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Fiat Panda
wrote on 19 11 2008
wrote on 18 10 2007
wrote on 25 08 2007
wrote on 22 06 2007
wrote on 17 12 2006