Fiat, now a part of the sprawling Stellantis empire, has revealed its new Grande Panda compact SUV in petrol-electric hybrid and all-electric forms.
The new Fiat Panda has been revealed at last – although this time, it’s called the Fiat Grande Panda. The name makes it sound like an overly complicated drink from Starbucks, but the design of the just 3.99-metre-long supermini is inspired by the original Panda of the 1980s.
The bold, wedge-like shape of the Grande Panda, along with its vertical front end and sloped rear windscreen, are all nods to its ancestor, which was famously designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. More subtle callbacks include the X pattern of the 17-inch alloy wheels and ‘Panda’ lettering along the sides – a nod specifically to the classic Panda 4×4.
But the Grande Panda also borrows a lot from the ‘Mega-Panda’ concept revealed a few months back. The square pixel LEDs and X-shaped daytime running light signature are among the details carried over, as well as the Fiat logo being offset on the Grande Panda’s gloss black grille panel and its X-shape tail-light design.
Fiat has given the Grande Panda a robust, SUV-like aesthetic courtesy of pronounced, boxy wheelarches – also from the Mega-Panda – along with skid plates on the front and rear bumpers, black cladding, and roof rails.
The Italian marque hasn’t released any images of the interior, but is promising the Grande Panda – which it’s referring to as a “compact family mover” – can carry five people and employs “innovative and smart use of the space, a cool personality, and novel features.”
The Grande Panda will be available with a choice of hybrid and pure-electric powertrains, and sits on the Smart Car platform used by the new Citroen C3 and Vauxhall Frontera, so should feature the same running gear.
As an evolution of Stellantis’s e-CMP platform, the Smart Car architecture means we can also expect some commonality with the Jeep Avenger – which is also available in hybrid and EV forms and is only slightly larger than the Grande Panda.
That means EV will probably use the same 44kWh battery as the e-C3, which offers a range of up to 199 miles (320km), although Fiat has yet to share an official figure for its car.
Meanwhile the mild-hybrid powertrain in the Citroen and Vauxhall is a three-cylinder petrol engine, mated to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with a 21kW electric motor built-in. This allows for short periods of pure-electric driving and helps with fuel efficiency.
Will the Fiat Grande Panda come to Australia?
The local Stellantis arm has yet to confirm the Fiat Grande Panda for Australia, but the company has declared it a “worldwide offer”, with launch plans locked in for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
While ‘worldwide’ can sometimes mean a brand has forgotten Australia exists in the world, for now we can only trust they know what the term means and that an Aussie debut is therefore on the cards.
Pricing is still under wraps for now, but based on prices for the Citroen C3/e-C3, we expect the new Fiat Grande Panda will start from around £18,000 in the UK ($35K Australian) in hybrid form and closer to £22,000 ($42K) for the electric version.
Actual Australian prices would likely be higher, with the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 500e both positioned here from around $52,000.
More details about the Grande Panda will be announced in the coming months as part of Fiat’s 125th anniversary celebration.
New Fiat Panda family
The Grande Panda is the first in a new family of Panda-inspired models, with Fiat pledging it will launch one new addition every year until 2027. They will all use the same Smart Car platform and design language, and share a common philosophy of “functionality should never exist without fun”.
Based on the other concept cars Fiat unveiled in February alongside the Mega-Panda, the line-up will eventually include a family SUV, fastback and campervan, however exactly which of those is arriving next is still unclear.
In an exclusive interview with Auto Daily partner Auto Express earlier this year, Fiat CEO Oliver François told us that this new model range will “share that approach of practicality, roominess and simplicity, obviously borrowing some of the iconic cues of the Panda of the eighties, that’s for sure.”
Ellis Hyde & Auto Daily
