Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid Review - Old Fashioned but in a Good Way

Many years ago, I had one of my most enjoyable experiences behind the wheel of a car. I’m guessing around the late 1990s. I live on a hill in the North East of England and snow was forecast. There was a ‘showy’ sort of bloke who lived a couple of doors further up the hill from me (I never liked him) and he had a 4x4 with enormous tyres. I spoke to him on the previous day and he said he’d be fine in the snow as his car was all-wheel drive. 

The next day, everyone awoke to about six inches of snow. All I could hear was the sound which resembled a mosquito. The high pitched sound was actually the bloke desperately trying to climb the hill. His car was probably doing about 5000 rpm. The wheels were thrashing around and, if anything, he was drifting backwards. The huge tyres simply sat on top of the snow rather than cutting through it. 

Cue me in my Fiat Panda 4x4 test car with skinny tyres. 

I waved as I trundled past. What a joy. I resisted making any sort of hand gesture. 

Fast forward to May 2026 and I have another Fiat Panda sat on my drive. My hand gesture this time would be a massive thumbs up.  

Hybrid or Electric?

The big difference is that this new Fiat Panda is the Fiat Grande Panda. As the name suggests, it’s much bigger than the previous Panda and there’s no 4x4. Yet. 

Two versions of the Grande Panda are currently available — hybrid and 100% electric — and apart from the obvious badges and a battery charge port, they’re identical. Both are front wheel drive, although rumours abound that Fiat will produce an electric Grande Panda with an additional motor for the rear wheels, which means, bingo, you have a 4x4. I do hope it snows when I have it. 

Performance

The version I had was the hybrid model (I’ll hopefully have the electric Panda in a month or so here on Driven), which means you get a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine that develops 110bhp. Everything goes via a 6-speed auto ‘box. Top speed is 99mph, while 0-60mph takes around 11.2 seconds. Fiat reckons you can get 55.4mpg, but I drove like a saint for a week and got close to 60mpg which I was quite proud of. Fiat also reckons that 50 per cent of town journeys can be done using hybrid battery power alone. 

Price & Trim Levels

Here’s the important figure. The Fiat Grande Panda kicks off at £18,995 (May ’26). If you want the electric version, add £2000, which makes it one of the cheapest battery powered cars in the UK. 

Three trims are available in both versions: Pop, Icon and the one I had, top of the range La Prima, which translates to ‘the first.’ If you go for the top trim, the price rises to £21,995 (May 26), which is still extremely competitive. 

Exterior & Space

The previous Panda was 3.65 metres long, while this Grande version is a whisker away from four metres. Time will tell whether Fiat launches a new, smaller car closer to the old Panda, but I wouldn’t be surprised because if there’s one thing that Fiat does seriously well, it’s designing and building small cars. 

This is a really funky car which looks different and harks back to the original square Pandas both inside and out. It’s reasonably roomy too, with sufficient space for four adults. The seats are comfy and supportive. The boot is also a decent size, measuring up to 420 litres. Even though this car is labelled as a supermini, it makes a decent fist of being a small SUV.  

Interior & Kit

La Prima trim gives you a 10.25 inch central touchscreen, DAB radio, sat nav, powered windows and mirrors, roof bars, privacy glass, 17-inch alloys, front and rear parking sensors, LED headlights, climate control, cruise control, height adjustable driver’s seat, wireless charger, rear-view camera, heated steering wheel and heated front seats, a 10-inch screen for the driver and a load of safety equipment. That’s a decent list of kit for the price. 

Bearing in mind that this is a budget car, you can tell in a few places where savings have been made. While the central touchscreen works okay, it isn’t particularly sharp and some of the materials around the cabin do feel a bit cheap. But everything looks good and is nicely styled. There’s even some bamboo (Pandas can’t resist it!) on the dashboard trim. 

Driving Experience

Out on the road, the Fiat Grande Panda feels nippy. The hybrid set-up means you get underway quickly. The ride is nicely judged and easily soaks up lumps and bumps. Okay, it tends to roll a bit if you’re hard cornering, but the car still feels composed, positively fun even. The regenerative braking is surprisingly strong when you lift off the throttle, but after a while, you learn how to juggle things and can maintain smooth progress. Everything is reasonably quiet when cruising and this is definitely one of the better-sounding 3-pot engines.

Concluding Thoughts

Fiat is onto a winner with this Grande Panda. If anything, it feels a bit old fashioned…but in a good way. The interior is roomy, well-equipped even in entry-level trim, looks good and is simple to live with. The exterior is smart and oozes character.  

Chuck in the fact that the Fiat Grande Panda is well priced even in top of the range La Prima trim, is economical and fun to drive, it’s hard to see how it won’t be a success. As I mentioned earlier, Fiat is a master when it comes to building and designing small cars. The Fiat Grande Panda is proof. I loved it.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Fiat