FIAT Panda Trekking

 

 

Italian car maker FIAT has had a chequered history in Australia. Like Alfa Romeo and Renault, their halcyon sales days here,were back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
Models including the Fiat 500 Bambino, the Multipla people carrier, the sporty mid engined X19, the 125 sedan and 850 coupe, all added some spritz to everyday motoring, a world away from more mundane offerings. 

A mate once owned a marvellous FIAT 124 S coupe. What a fun car that was.Terrific looks and handling, with a rorty, whiz bang twin cam engine,blasting out a very distinctive crackling exhaust note.

 

FIAT's more recent foray into the Australian market has been led by the new 500,a cute, practical and surprisingly roomy small car, full of unique styling detail.  

And so to FIAT's latest Australian offering, the Panda.
New to our shores, it's already sold over six million worldwide in 33 years of production.

There are four models, Pop, Easy, Lounge and Trekking, with engine options ranging from a one litre, two cylinder petrol, a four cylinder 1.2 litre petrol, to a four pot  1.3 litre turbo diesel.
This is the Trekking diesel and what a marvellously entertaining car it is.
The diesel, while only producing a modest 55 kw and 190 nm, pulls strongly and briskly under acceleration, accompanied by a not unpleasant growl.On the highway there is some tyre noise but little else. The five speed manual shifter is situated below the  dash, not on the floor. It feels light and selects each cog without effort. Even though it's a tiny car,the Panda feels steady and composed on the highway,unfazed by crosswinds and the like. A stop/ start idle feature saves fuel. Average city/highway consumption is just 4.2 litres per hundred kilometres. Panda has a 35 litre fuel tank. It's front wheel drive only, but FIAT has provided a special traction control mode for extra grip on loose surfaces. 
There's a dead pedal for the driver's left foot, but it's tucked away in a recess on the side of the console tunnel and not easy to get to. I found myself resting my size twelve on the clutch pedal, which is not ideal.
The ride is reasonably comfortable, but the seats are of the sit on, not sit in variety, there's very little side bolstering to keep you in place. Then again, it's not meant to be a racing car.
The blurb says you can fit up to five adults in the Panda, but they would have to be very small adults. The car is very narrow. From the driver's seat I can easily touch the opposite door with my fingertips. With the front seats fully in the aft position, rear seat leg room is about three centimetres, so parcels or pets only there, if that's the configuration. Head and leg room up front is good.
Front windows are electric with auto up/down on the driver's side, but rear passengers have to manually crank their own. Visibility is also good, thanks to the large glasshouse.                                
Based on the FIAT 500 platform, the Panda's engineered to be a little more versatile.The cargo area is quite small, but enough for a city runabout and the rear seats lower for more space.
There's quite a bit of hard plastic inside the cabin, but in this respect it's no different to a lot of cars in the class. You'll find efficient air conditioning, a reasonable sound system and plenty of cubbies for  loose items. Sat nav is optional and was fitted to this test car. Some niceties are missing. No cruise control, grab handles aren't damped, the sunvisor mirrors are not illuminated,the steering wheel is adjustable for rake only and there are reversing beepers but no camera.
But, while it might not have all the trimmings, the Panda has personality in spades.

The dashboard style will impress. There's no mystery about what the various buttons do and there's a large open shelf for odds and ends above the glovebox. 
The dials and buttons are shaped like "squircles" (FIAT's name for square circles.)
The test car had a rather uninspiring, sparkly grey dashboard and steering wheel boss. There are more snazzy colour combos available and I'd be inclined to go with one of those.

Panda's perky, upright styling will ensure you are noticed in the traffic, and it has a 9.3 metre turning circle, just right for city driving. There's a "city" steering mode that makes twirling the wheel even lighter than standard. The one touch lane change indicator has five clicks instead of the usual three, giving those behind more time to read your intentions. You might have noticed I always check the efficiency of the headlights of the cars I test and the Panda is one of the best, for spread, brightness and penetration on high beam.
                                 

You'll pay 16 and a half K for the base Pop, up to 24K for the Trekking.

I tend to agree with the sentiments of some testers elsewhere, that the Panda could be somewhat overpriced, especially in the top end models, compared to other new arrivals in the class, such as the previously tested Peugeot 2008, but the market will soon decide if that's the case.
However, if you like the way it drives and appreciate the styling and features, that shouldn't stop you from enjoying what is one of the world's most sought after light cars.
Peter Sellen