Way back in 2023, I turned fifty and the (soon to be departed) Mondial turned forty, so in celebration I drove across it Europe to see the Italian Grand Prix and to take it back to where it was born, Maranello. My base upon arrival in the Old Country was a lovely family-owned hotel near Lake Como, where I had the best spaghetti bolognese of my life. Away from the picturesque edges of the lake this area is quite rural and hilly with a lot of local businesses centered around burying various plants in the dirt and then yanking them out again several sunny months later.
During the three days I spent in the area, I counted seventeen Fiat Pandas out earning a living. Seventeen. And not the in-between second and third generation cars everyone forgets about. I’m talking about the original Fiat Panda that arrived in 1980. Over the remainder of the week, as I descended further into Italy, I had to stop counting. They were all over the place. Have you even been to Italy if you’ve not spotted a Panda haphazardly hammered into a tight parking space on a narrow medieval Italian side street?
The original Panda was a singular work of genius from Giorgetto Giugiaro. The brief was to design a cheap, classless modern car that both weighed and cost the same as the rear engined 126 it was replacing. What emerged was as pure a piece of industrial design on wheels as has ever been seen. Flat panels maximized the interior volume and made it economical to stamp out by the million. Flat glass all round was meant to achieve the same effect but hilariously Fiat struggled to find a supplier with the required expertise. The seats were modular hammocks that could be reconfigured in a variety of way, one of which was an impromptu double bed. Very Italian. Fortunately the seat covers were also removable, so they could be washed free of sin. Carry over engines from the 126 and 127 meant every mechanic, working in the shade of an olive tree in Italy, could fix a Panda with little more than a vermouth and a hammer.
Later versions spawned a four-wheel drive version with power-take-off, a van variant, and in 1990 even a battery powered model, the Elettra, with a 60-mile range that was unsurprisingly a failure. Overall Fiat sold about 4.5 million first generation Pandas until production finally ended in 2003, one of the longest ever production runs for a European car. No wonder the bloody things were all over the place. The follow up models were more conventional small five door hatches but not without their charms – as well as continuing with a chunky four wheel drive model, the second generation also gave us a hot skateboard in the 100bhp model which had a body kit, upgraded suspension and brakes, and a ride to put your spine through the top of your skull. There were also collaborations including tie-ups with homeware manufacturer Alessi and motorcycle gear company Dainese. Incredibly the third generation is still on sale in Italy as a basement special called the Pandina. Clearly there is a lot of merit in Giugiaro’s ‘plain steel box on wheels’ idea.
How Do You Improve On Perfection?
That the 1980 Panda is a stone-cold classic is undisputed but how do you recapture that magic in a brand-new model? The Nuova 500 was deservedly a runaway smash hit, but trying to spin the aesthetic of such an iconic car into a broader range proved tricky as Fiat, and also Mini have discovered. Likewise reverting to a purely functional design like the original wouldn’t work as the market has moved on the last four decades. If you’d have asked me a decade or more ago what features I required in a daily I’d have said room for my 34” inseam legs, a pedal box than can accommodate my size 11 feet, power steering, a decent stereo, electric windows and climate (or at least air conditioning). All I can really add to that today is wireless CarPlay. And if you hadn’t noticed, nowadays this is all pretty much standard stuff even in the basest of basest econoboxes. We’re all soft and coddled now, so a super stripped out car wouldn’t have enough appeal for the mainstream customer. No one wants crank windows apart from cranks. I may or may not have upset Slate design director Tisha Johnson over dinner with my thoughts on that approach to bringing such a car to market.
One of Giugiaro’s innovations in vehicle packaging with the Panda was the use of vertical space – reorienting passengers into a more upright seating position to reduce overall length and liberate internal volume for cargo. This is the defining characteristic that links the brand-new Grande Panda back to the original, and it’s probably the thing that causes lack witted people into commenting the Grande Panda is a big car, or an SUV. It is categorically neither of these things.
At under 4m (157”) long, 1.7m (69”) wide and 1.5m (61”) high this new Panda (I’m dropping the Grande bit because everyone else does) sits firmly in the Euro Sub-B category, roughly equivalent to the EPA mini-compact class. Dimensionally the Panda is slightly longer than a three door Mini and shorter than the dearly departed Ford Fiesta. Allow me to repeat this for the cheap seats: the new Panda is not a big car.
At the moment, you have two powertrain options with an enthusiast pleasing third soon to be added, which I’ll talk about later because I’m a terrible tease–for now you’re just getting a flash of thigh. Our friends at Stellantis UK offered me a Panda in either pure EV or mild hybrid flavors – I opted for the latter, not out of any anti-EV militancy but because there’s nowhere local I can charge on a timescale that doesn’t involve the date changing. When asked if I had a color preference, of course I said black, but there’s none on the press fleet. With hindsight it probably wouldn’t have photographed as well as the optional metallic Lago Blue (£650 or about $870) I did get, although that did mean my personal style suffered somewhat. Honestly the sacrifices I make for you people.
Under the Panda’s square hood is the familiar Stellantis 1.2-liter triple with a six-speed dual clutch DCT gearbox and an electric motor, for a combined total of 108bhp and rather pleasingly over 150lbs ft of torque. Which the Panda needs because its curb weight is a pass-me-another-plate-of-carbonara 1347kgs (2970lbs). This powertrain stars in a variety of Peugeots and Citroen tiddlers – in fact the Smart Car Platform the Panda sits on is directly shared with the Vauxhall/Opel Frontera and the Citroen C3 and is related to the underpants of the Jeep Avenger. All this component sharing allows for incredible economies of scale, but you must be careful to make sure platform buddies have distinct identities. And man alive have Fiat ever pulled that off.
Pretend You Are Michele Alboreto
You start the Panda by conducting a prehistoric ritual that involves inserting a length of metal into a slot on the steering column and twisting it, something that will either thrill or utterly perplex the Zoomers. If there’s enough charge in the battery this will have the discordant effect of doing absolutely bugger all. You simply click the center console mounted toggle switch into D and pull away in total silence. The Panda is a mild hybrid with only a vestigial battery – you don’t get far on pure electric power alone. Rather, the electric motor is used for reversing, regen braking, and to help the petrol motor under load.
At first I thought the transition from electric to petrol power was a bit abrupt and the regen was making the brakes feel grabby. The steering and pedal weights felt overly light as well. After my first day snatching and pogoing around Coventry, I realized the mistake was mine: I had forgotten the First Rule of Italian Driving – namely drive it like you are late for morning mass. This version of the Stellantis powertrain doesn’t have the ‘keep the grey bureaucrats in Brussels happy’ calibration found in its platform mates. Instead, Fiat have appropriately given the Panda the ‘Saturday afternoon qualifying’ powertrain calibration. Stomp the gas and brakes with a heavy foot, twirl the wheel like you’re Michele Alboreto whipping through the Variante Ascari and suddenly it all comes together. That switch between power units smooths right out, the eager three cylinder buzzes away in the best small Fiat tradition and the light steering means you can wind the lock on and off quickly with just one hand, leaving the one other free for making appropriate Italian hand gestures at other drivers. With its wheel at each corner stance and front corners visible through the windshield, the Panda is perfectly tuned for urban combat.
It’s surprisingly nippy, too. Although on paper the figures are not especially skirt raising, around town and on the open road the Panda gets going smartly. Thanks to the electric motor there’s plenty of step-off performance for the stop light Grand Prix and it’s not lacking on fast roads either. 0-60 is quoted as 10 seconds with a top speed of 99 mph, both of which feel extremely conservative. On one occasion when I was – ahem – running a little late, I had no problem romping past dawdlers on the A46 dual carriageway, and the ultra-dicey Coventry ring road with its stupid 100 yard distance between on and off ramps proved no problem. Spot a gap, aim, squirt and go. Driving in this Italian manner will still see you getting an easy 55 imperial mpg combined (46 mpg US).
We Heard You Like Pandas So We Put A Panda In Your Panda
This fun attitude continues the inside as well, which is full of what us designer wankers call ‘surprise and delight.’ Your highlight color is neon yellow which contrasts well against abundant blue found on the seats and door cards, all made from recycled materials. A neon yellow clear panel wraps around the instrument displays and contains a tiny model of the original Panda. The rounded rectangle shape represents the test track on the famous Lingotto factory roof, and a similarly shaped neon yellow ring surrounds the center console and wireless charging mat. On the seat backs the words ‘Panda Made With Love In Fiat’ are written in same color, but the awkward syntax makes me think the interior design team woke up an actual Panda and let it loose on the keyboard. Even Italian models have the exact same text written in English; I didn’t expect Fiat to localize this little detail for every market but writing it in Italian would have been a bit more authentic. Running across the width of the dash there’s a sort of cylindrical bar, covered in recycled bamboo that contains an additional lidded storage compartment on the passenger side. With a storage shelf underneath, a conventional glovebox, capacious door bins, seat back pockets and center console storage there’s plenty of space to lose your rosary beads.
Remember my comments about needed enough space for my supermodel legs? Initially I struggled with the seat adjustment. Despite being tall I like to sit high in a car – something about subconsciously always enjoying towering over other people, I guess. Having the seat cranked up moved it too close to the steering wheel and left me with little to no under thigh support. Lowering the seat moved it back improving leg room and put the base cushion under my thighs better but left me lower than I ideally like. After a day or two it stopped bothering me–I was having too much fun to care.
Everything about the driving experience is just refreshingly straightforward–the controls on the chunky steering wheel are all haptic, as are the toggles below the center screen for climate, the heated seats and heated steering wheel. There are no confusing drive modes, no adjustable regen or daft added complication. The twin displays are crisper than a cold martini and cleaner than the thoughts of a nun. Being a brand-new car, the Panda has the usual EU mandated safety systems, but the Fiat is the first car I’ve driven where I didn’t need to turn them off – even the speed limit warning is completely unobtrusive. The only time they were slightly bothersome was waiting to back out of a parking space at the supermarket with a car right behind me. That was one layer of bleeping to which a second layer of blooping was added as punters walked behind the car, setting off the rear blind spot monitoring. Maybe the Panda was sick of my goth music and thought I should try some Italian disco.
Understanding The Design
The first time I clapped eyes on the Panda in the metal was at a Scramble at Bicester Heritage during the summer of last year. That car was a LHD base EV Pop trim with bright red bodywork and white steel wheels. It immediately struck me as just being a really funky, modern design – so much so that I went back later and took more pictures of it.
The main reason I think it all works so well is that it captures something of the original Panda’s virtues – its rugged simplicity, highish ride height and use of vertical space – without leaning into performative nostalgia. The cladding around the wheel arches and along the rockers helps hide some of the height and provides protection from bumps and scuffs. The sculpting of the bodyside allows the fenders to flare giving the car that wicked four-square stance – and what pain the designers went through to get PANDA stamped into the door panels I can well imagine. It’s a genuinely impressive bit of surfacing for something that’s going to be punched out by the hundred thousand.
It would have been easy for Fiat Centro Stile to knock out a crowd-pleasing facsimile of the original with unpainted bumpers, naked steel wheels and ribbed bodysides but Fiat have already got the heritage angle covered with the 500. The 1980 Panda was modern Italian industrial design at its finest – and it’s the same thing with the new one. Someone online described it to me as ‘tiny Brutalism’ and I think that’s perfect. It’s a sharp rolling sculpture elevated by bold colors (Fiat has a ‘No Gray’ policy) and playful detailing – witness the lenticular badge on the C pillar that when viewed from one angle shows the classic Fiat four bar logo and from the another the FIAT wordmark. If I had one small criticism of the exterior it’s that it might be a little over-branded. The four bar Fiat logo appears 8 times, the Fiat wordmark 8 times and the word Panda 5 times.
I’ve managed to get this far into the review without mentioning the large French cockerel in the room so let’s get it over and done with, because the connection between the two cars runs a bit deeper than them being within farting distance of each other dimensionally and being modern interpretations of well-loved models from the past. They are both the work of one man –François Leboine. Another graduate of guess where – the Royal College of Art, he spent twenty years at Renault, seeing the 5 through to design approval before crossing the alps to Italy. Far from being a one trick pony, having reviewed both cars there is a clear difference in their identities. Despite being a fantastic design and a wonderful modern EV hatch, the 5 leans much harder on retro appeal than the Fiat does. Apart from that little 1980 Panda in the instrument panel, there’s nothing retro about the new Panda at all. Non-Fiat weenies are not going to get the Lingotto reference until the salesperson points it out to them. The 5 has a slightly more louche feel to it, both in seating position and general vibe. The Panda needed to be, by Fiat’s own admission, a pragmatic new hero car. It’s slightly roomier and has more trunk space than the 5 at 412 liters (14.5 cu ft.) although the EV model knocks that down to 360 liters (12.7 cu ft.). And of course the 5 is slightly more expensive and EV only.
What It Costs
The Panda I borrowed was, as the way press fleets always are, the top spec La Prima model. Putting this wheeled slice of Italian Modernism on your drive will require smashing the piggy bank open for a paltry £21,995 ($29,582 as of Thursday afternoon) including all taxes and delivery to the dealer. The free standard color is Limone Yellow – all the other hues are £650 ($874). Drop down to basic Pop spec and you lose the alloy wheels, roof bars, center console, heated seats and steering wheel, and the recycled bamboo trim on the IP is swapped for darker stripy fabric and the seats have a black material – both of which I prefer. You also have to suffer without front parking sensors, rear blind spot monitoring, a rear parking camera and the automatic climate control is ditched for old fashioned cooker knobs (although you still get air conditioning). That version costs £18,995 ($25,547) and my suspicion is at that price, this basic model is the pick of the range. Additionally, there’s a mid-range Icon trim slotting in-between top and bottom at £19,995 ($26,892). There are no option boxes to tick other than color.
I’ve said it before, but the Fiat back catalog is bursting with bona-fide small car classics. They’ve revolutionized the prosaic Euro small car many, many times over. The passenger car is a much more mature product now, so such packaging and mechanical revolutions are not really possible, but what Fiat have done is taken all that knowledge and flair and given us a brilliant new small hatch perfectly attuned to the needs of the 21st century European family car buyer. It’s superbly easy to use, unburdened with superfluous features, fun to operate, splendid to look at and crucially cheap to buy and run. More than that it adheres to the classlessness of the original car, cutting straight across socio-economic boundaries. My car designer mates all loved it, and I could have sold the Panda probably four or five times on the spot to members of the enquiring public. But none of this is the best bit.
Remember I teased you earlier on in the review? On the continent there’s an even cheaper version available. It comes with a pure petrol powerplant and a six-speed manual gearbox. And it’s coming to the UK.
That I cannot wait to try.
Authors note: It will not have escaped your attention that my output on these hallowed pages has not been as prolific in recent months. This is by design. Don’t worry. It isn’t, as it has been in the past, for medical reasons – thanks to the miracle of modern pharmaceuticals I’m currently feeling better than ever.
Over the last four years or so I have very much enjoyed writing long-form articles for you. The problem is those pieces take a lot of time, effort, research, networking and planning to put together, and over the last six months or so all that has become, for various reasons, much harder to do. I also realized quite some time ago that my glittering media career was not going to take off in the way I hoped it would when I started in this torrid business, and that my life needed more stability in every sense of the word. To that end I took a permanent job teaching automotive and transport design at Coventry University (it had previously been an ad hoc arrangement), which I started back in February – and it’s something I enjoy very much.
In future you won’t be seeing as much of my writing here as you have done in the past, but I will still be popping up from time to time; to quote the immortal Hugo Drax “with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season”.
Thank you for all for reading, your kind words and support over the last four years.
Hope you find time to keep feeding us your expert complaints.
I mean insights.
The spleen must be vented for safety reasons.
Your safety not mine.
Drop off the key, Lee. And set yourself free. Best of luck to you. When someone needs a good verbal thrashing we’ll think of you. As a matter of fact, I have a list.
Looking forward to the next tediously unloved season. Also, a Panda 4×4 is the Fiat most likely to sell decently in the US and yet they’ve never given us one…baffling.
There’s been a concept 4×4 of this so it’s a no brainer one is coming.
If they do and ship it over here maybe they’d sell more than 15 cars a month in the US…
Congrats for the job, Uncle Adrian, and for this review.
Let’s just hope that you still make time to write. Your articles are utterly enjoyed.
I could be wrong, but this seems to be Uncle Adrian’s most favorable review; ever. Well done. 40 years ago, this US driver found himself with a free weekend at the home base of my German employer, where I rented a Panda to drive as far away as I could for the weekend. I was amazed that such an awesome car existed. the handling was exceptional. The best feature that I remembered was that I could reach the passenger roll-up window easily from the driver seat.
It took me a couple of days but once I clicked with this car I really clicked with it. Out of everything I’ve reviewed here, this and the BMW M240ixDrive are where I would put my own money.
I can’t justify a new car at the moment because my beloved Mini is still providing faithful service. But one of these is almost certain to replace it when the time comes.
The question begs. When Britt wit forages greener pastures, what becomes the yankee doodle doppelganger twin brother? Must Jason embrace the righteous rant with renewed vigor? Will it wilt his willy for all that is silly?
Tune in next week!
I followed Jason here when he left the old site because I share a mental infliction. Adrian, Your writing has the same pub banter of fond memories, and I wish you all the best! Please toss a few bones in our general direction.
“Fiat has a ‘No Gray’ policy”
That’s so awesome!
Congratulations on your teaching job that you enjoy!
Decades ago one of my previous girlfriends said to me “you would make a really good teacher”
We eventually end up where we are supposed to be, I guess. It just took me a few diversions to get there.
Adrian, I simply want to give you my good wishes. I will always read your work with relish. The Panda piece was so much fun and I am very happy to see the word “salary” associated with you. Check with me if you need someone to explain to your students how fortunate they are to be learning from you.
My first day with the final year students back in February, actual conversation that happened:
Student: Oh you’re Adrian from The Autopian!
Me: Yea, for my sins I am
Student: oooh do you know Jason?
For fuck’s sake.
That’s when you whip out a near-impossible pop quiz, which you will have prepared in advance, and you arbitrarily announce will count for one-third of their grade.
I didn’t see the words “Jeep Renegade” posted anywhere and I’m surprised.
Those rear doors having full sized drop down glass without the annoying piece that doesn’t move impresses me.
I really like the Renegade and have a soft spot for them. Just needs a small tweak to the C pillar and it would be a cracking little design.
Welcome back Adrian, you have been sorely missed.
You are my favourite write on here, possibly because I’m a fellow Brit but mostly because your writing and analysis is so good.
I’m sorry to hear you won’t be around as much, but at least I’ve got your back catalogue to re-read.
Good luck in your new career. And I hope you can get a good price for the Mondial and find a lovely Capri. In black, of course.
And the new Panda is fantastic. As were all – yes all – of the previous ones. Fiat does quite amazing small cars.
Edit – I would love to hear your thoughts on the Ferrari Luce, as the exterior images were released today.
Yes I saw it late last night. I will do a Twitter thread probably tomorrow when I’ve had time to analyse and digest.
But it’s bad.
I don’t think it’s a bad car, just a bad Ferrari.
It would be a lovely Renault.
Not just anywhere can I see content like this. Grazie.
I sincerely hope that this article was Adrian’s palate-cleanser for the (hopefully) upcoming excoriation of the new Ferrari Luce that just dropped.
I ran to the internet to search for this and what in the actual fucking fuckery is that
It’s the Ferrari Charger!
That’s what happens when you dump Pininfarina for the iPhone guy.
To be fair, I do like the interior design, but that exterior… Did you see the yellow one with the aero wheels?
Oh yeah. I don’t hate the interior nearly as much as the rest of it. But the proportions are absolutely shambolic and the tricks they used to try to make it all work just… don’t. I almost like the aero wheels better because this thing doesn’t deserve lovely Ferrari five-spokes.
I just don’t understand how they could get the proportions of it so wrong. Each time I look at it I find something else that infuriates.
Why in the world recycled bamboo? If I’m not mistaken bamboo is not just a natural renewable but one of the fastest growing wood plants in the world. Heck I bet a bamboo stalk would grow big enough faster than you could replenish an old piece of bamboo even if it is undamaged
Recycled from what?
Chopsticks are the only thing I can think of.
Now that I have arrived at the hotel and the end of the article, happy for you, both health and work-wise.
I still dislike the car, but love your writing, so a bit of Adrian is better than no Adrian at all. And those pesky bills have to be paid, I guess.
Pop-down in the comments of other articles, if you want, for continued car-related banter. 🙂
Don’t worry I’ll be around in the comments to insult people. Deep down they love it.
Always enjoy your takes on modern designs. The panda seems like its done well. The electric version with the center onboard cable seems innovative but probably also looking at the past vehicles. Old solution for modern problems. This seems to be the way. Driving hybrids hard fixes a lot of the negatives detractors state and they can be more snappy then their cvt and slushbox equivalents.
These modern mild hybrids are genuinely terrific – and compatible with manual transmissions.
MHEVs with manuals are great, but diminishing unfortunately, even in Europe 🙁
I drove the ram mild hybrid and was sort of impressed by it. You could feel it from a stop. Having a manual behind it would make it much more interesting. Though I wonder if the Hyundai system with the motor between the engine and transmission might be a better way.
The Hyundai system works well but disengaging the transmission when you lift off at speed is weird.
Any regen is weird to get used to. But manual I guess more so. I’ve never driven a manual hybrid but a converted manual ev it was a bit strange but maybe so different and knowing it was modified it was like ok. I can remember the first time I drove a first gen Prius I thought the braking was weird because of the regen and they had some brake blending stuff they were still working out. The engine shutting off was strange too. I’m only unsettled by the stop start ice because of the delay, hybrid im just used to it. I think the same thing would happen with the manual ev or manual Hyundai hybrid.
I agree with start-stop on ICE cars, in roundabouts and road entrances you don’t want to be suddenly left without power. I was also wary of the engine (especially turbocharged ones) suddenly turning off at the first set of lights at the first set of lights.
With hybrids that is not so much a problem because even with the engine switched off you still have electric power to drive you along and I guess the engine was designed to be turned on an off constantly (and my hybrid has no turbos anyway). Ironically my car has no rev counter but does have an engine water temperature readout.
I have no problem with regen either… when you get used to it. At first it was weird because lifting off at the same distance as I would in my ICE car would result in my almost stopping in the middle of the street far from the lights. But once you get use to it is fine. I also play with it to use (mechanical) brakes as little as possible.
The Hyundai manual iMT is weird thought because it disengages the gearbox when cruising and lifting. For example if you are doing 80mph in sixth and lift off the car de clutches the gearbox from the engine. Now some automatics do the same nowadays and it’s fine but not sure about a manual. What if you go below the speed that particular gear can do without stalling before you are back on the throttle? Does it warn you? Does it re engage whatever gear you were in? Of course if you touch the brakes the car gets in gear again, but I don’t know, still weird…
Pardon? The motor between the engine and transmission has me bewildered. Isn’t the motor and engine the same thing?
Electric hybrid motor. Engineers get funny about calling an engine a motor. But I guess with modern language an engine could be called motor but a electric motor not an engine. Then you get into trains and everything gets funny. Electric engine.
Great article. I am Panda obsessed and have been since my honeymoon to Italy 13 years ago. Love the first gen of course, but the second and third gens are also wonderful follow ups. I saw so many second gens in tiny towns between Rome and Como last summer, I actually thought about just buying one there and importing it if I could find the right MY.
Newest Panda seems to be a winner. If Fiat would import to the US, it might be a good solution for folks in cities and near suburbs that don’t drive a ton outside those environs. I know every time Fiat tries to import something it just fails, but nothing had this much usability combined with charm at the right price point. Panda seems to be an answer for the fun-but-affordable and practical new passenger vehicle that isn’t a pickup. Mini seems a cautionary tale, but then again Minis are no longer an inexpensive proposition.
I’m at that point where something as relatively basic/inexpensive with a little fun quotient like the Panda is becoming more attractive with each passing day.
There’s a third gen Panda Cross that lives a the bottom of my road. Which I completely forgot about for photo purposes until after the Panda was collected. D’oh.
Nooo… we more voices like Adrian to cut through incresingly dreary and intellectually lazy journalism (not talking about Autopian of course)
Honestly I’ve had so many UK auto journos compliment me on my writing and how much they love my stuff.
And yet none have commissioned me. I’m too outspoken, even when I tone it down.I obviously upset someone – probably GM, while I was at Hagerty. And I’m not in the cosy middle-class UK auto media club.
Don’t feel bad honesty and brutality worked for the TH and TGF guys.
I like to think there is an Adrian Clarke revival arc similar to Harris upsetting Ferrari.
I want to be clear that I don’t believe you have done anything wrong, strong opinion pieces are important and if you don’t want bad reviews, just make better products.
I’m at nearly 3000 Twitter followers and I have a blue tick.
They can’t ignore me forever.
The launch of the Luce agains proves why we need voices and perspectives like yours, who can cut through the bull
Someone just opined on Twitter that noone in traditional auto media was going to call out the Luce.
I replied it’ll be me, as it always is.
Fiat Panda? Hekin’ bouncy pogo stick! All it did was bounce, buck and jump, stall, and buck some some, hardly went anywhere.
Then again, that was 1982, my buddy’s girlfriend’s first car, and she did fail her DL test like nine times before her dad got her that MT Panda.
Well, ill miss your snark, but as long as you show up when you are needed to rip auto makers a new one over their crap design, I’ll be happy. But I’m glad you are taking a more direct route to keeping bad design off the road.
Dear Lord, Adrian has signed up for time in Coventry….
I love reading your work, so I’ll take what I can get, especially if you pop up occasionally to eviscerate or venerate designs that richly deserve it.
I sincerely hope that one offspring of your teachings (why did Professor Snape pop into my head just now?) arrives in Stuttgart and finds the plot that was lost. Because that new Mercedes looks like something that chavs would adore.
I want to say something sincere about how it’s good to have you back, even a little bit, but since I’m incapable of that please for the love of gott get your students in, through, and up at the German firms, ideally ten years ago.
There’s a new sheriff in town.
Looks like Fiat improved on perfection by turning a hatch into a crossover.
Except it’s not that, and the original had a lot of suspension travel.
More ground clearance, plastic cladding, roof rack …. classic crossover transformation. Seems I’m not the only one noticing. AutoCar says:
“Fiat chose to launch a ’utility vehicle’ rather than a supermini in the space once filled by the Punto because it offers more global appeal…..
Autocar are full of shit these days. They did a quick blog about the Buick Y job and Harley Earl the other day and it was completely wrong about everything.
I guess I shouldn’t believe carsized either which shows the new Grand Panda to be longer, taller, wider, and with more ground clearance than the old one.
No it is, but you couldn’t make a car that small these days. In the context of today’s market and EU/EPA classifications, the Grande Panda is a small car.
How much extra height, ground clearance and useless plastic cladding does take for you to turn a hatchback into a crossover? Also what is the regulatory spec in the EU – the US has some very clear measurements.
It seems like we are in the same space as the Subaru Outback where some claimed it was still a wagon for decades and then Subaru made some purely cosmetic changes for this last generation and suddenly those same people suddenly decry it as a crossover.
There’s no official definition for a crossover under EU regs or NCAP, but the Grande Panda is 19mm (les than 1”) taller than the third gen car.
The Outback was previously a very obviously lifted Legacy. They shared enough interior and exterior items that it’s clear the OB was, in fact, a wagon based on a standard sedan.
The Legacy went away for the 7th generation model, and the OB growing in every dimension – most notably height – resulted in something that now looks and is very un-wagony. Tumblehome was decreased on the sides significantly, so it’s more boxy and upright from every angle.
You can claim these were “purely cosmetic changes,” but that doesn’t make it true.
The Outback became a crossover / SUV in 2005 based on the physical dimensions required in the USA to be classified as such. It has been one ever since. The height was 63 inches.
For the 4th gen it got even taller growing to 66 inches. It stayed there for the 5th and 6th gen and then grew again for the 7th gen to 67.5 inches.
For reference a 2026 Honda CRV is 66.2 to 66.5 inches tall depending on trim.
The USA classifications are garbage. Would you consider a PT Cruiser a light truck? No. Ignore them, and look at the things. It looked like a lifted wagon before. Now, it does not.
Nearly all vehicles grow dimensionally between generations, so I’m not sure what you’re getting at. Proportions matter as well. Losing the ties to a family sedan have had a bigger effect than just looking at numbers.
The PT Cruiser was classified as a light truck because the rear seat folded down. That loophole was later closed.
The Subaru Outback was classified as a light truck because of off-road capability.
Outback proportions haven’t changed since the 4th gen. The only major change was squaring up the front end. The purely cosmetic change I mentioned above that threw some people into a tizzy.
Never mind, I’m going to go talk to an apple instead. It might listen better.
We just have fundamentally different ideas on what makes a wagon vs a crossover. Mine is based on measurements and yours is based on vibes. That is OK, we can agree to disagree.
“a permanent job teaching automotive and transport design at Coventry University ”
Does that come with tenure? Or at least tenure track?
It’s Coventry, so hopefully a big bag of cans from Tesco for coping with the city.
Only if he renounces his opinion of the XKE.
I don’t understand or share his opinion but it’s his to have.
(although I will say I’d have preferred Jaguar had cleaned up the exhaust plumbing on that car.)
Frank Stephenson and Wayne Burgess (who I’m mates with) both agree with me.
Just a joke because Coventry is Jaguar’s historical home and there might be a bit of local bias there.
Well I like the 1st gen. Except for the weirdly exposed exhaust plumbing.
I’m not sure what tenure is as we don’t have it here. It’s a salaried position.
In this context:
Tenure: especially : a status granted after a trial period to a teacher that gives protection from summary dismissal.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenure
Based on my firsthand observations once you get it you basically can’t get fired, no matter how crotchety you become, how incompetent you are, how old you get or even how many young, hot students you bed. I dunno how common it is anymore at universities but damn if I didn’t see it being taken advantage of to it’s full potential back in the day.
Oh right. Yeah they can’t fire me unless I screw up badly, but that’s true of most jobs in the UK. You can’t fire people at will here.
Well La de Fn’ da! Ya think ya know where your bristles are bunched, then hear the dark prince has gone suede patched elbows! That’s it, finishing off the 80 proof, and start’n the 110!
Getting a wine box to keep on my desk.
Would you trust student you to not drain that and replace it with cool-aid, or worse? I’m sure the seasoned staff will clue you in on how to maximize liqueur storage in the locking bottom double drawer. *Square bottles*
I haven’t dug up the numbers, but I’m pretty sure this is significantly smaller than a Hyundai Venue. The Venue is about the smallest vehicle that (most) Americans would find acceptable. I don’t think it would be worth Stellantis’ effort to make the necessary changes for export to the USA.
It is not far off a B-segment car (e.g. Corsa). Which for a car it’s small but for a Panda is huge.