Fiat Grande Panda Electric review

While the word “Panda” is written in big letters across its side, the new Fiat Grande Panda Electric is a far cry from Pandas of old. This new take on the famous nameplate is a larger, more SUV-like fully electric car.

In fact, mechanically speaking, the Grande Panda Electric is closely related to the Citroën ë-C3 and, like that model, you can have the Grande Panda as a petrol-sipping hybrid car too. As such, if you’re hesitant to make the switch to fully electric motoring or want to save yourself some cash, you’re in luck.

The price jump from hybrid to electric is reasonable though, and the electric Grande Panda will be one of the cheapest electric cars you can buy once it goes on sale this spring. It’ll undercut our Car of the Year – the Renault 5 – and the rival Hyundai Inster. Only the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 come in at lower prices.

But is the Fiat Grande Panda Electric’s low pricing its only strength or is there more bamboo to chew, if you will? Here we put it to the test against the best electric car rivals...

The Fiat Grande Panda Electric has a 111bhp electric motor that drives the front wheels and provides a 0-60mph time of around 11 seconds.

Those numbers are tame by electric car standards, but in reality the Grande Panda Electric proves quick enough, certainly around town. It zips smoothly and mostly silently, with just a faint whine from the electric motor.

Meanwhile, road and wind noise only creep into play during motorway driving – and neither ever reaches Dacia Spring levels of annoyance. 

The Grande Panda Electric’s 44kWh battery provides 199 miles of official range, which is good at this price point, although it's  disappointing there's no larger battery option (as there is with the Renault 5). The Grande Panda is only two miles down on the Citroën ë-C3 and miles ahead (literally) of the Spring’s 149-mile figure.

While Citroën chose a more comfort-focused approach with its ë-C3, Fiat wanted to provide its Grande Panda with more agility. As a result, the Grande Panda’s suspension is firmer than the ë-C3’s, making it suitably nippy around city streets and decently composed on a twisty road.

We’d stop short of calling the Grande Panda sharp or fun to drive. The spongy feel of the steering, somewhat weak-feeling brakes and noticeable body lean mean the Grande Panda is no dynamo in the bends. It’s safe and secure enough, but that’s the extent of it. If handling is a priority, you’ll be better off with a Renault 5. 

What’s more, the Grande Panda’s firmer suspension makes for a less forgiving ride than that of the ë-C3. It’s not uncommon to find yourself jiggled around in your seat while the car thumps over bumps and potholes.

True, it’s rarely jarring, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re choosing between the two cars: do you want slightly better handling at the expense of some ride comfort? If it were us, we’d lean, so to speak, on the side of the ë-C3.

“I have my niggles with how the Fiat Grande Panda Electric drives: it doesn’t feel as polished as a Renault 5.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

We prefer the Fiat Grande Panda Electric’s interior to the one in the Citroën ë-C3. The e-C3 is fine, with its smart design and good use of fabrics, but has a rather dark, almost old-fashioned look to it.

The Grande Panda is the opposite, with bright colours everywhere and a modern, stylish look. In some ways, it feels reminiscent of the excellent interior of the Renault 5 but with generally cheaper materials used and slightly less robust-feeling build quality.

You sit up higher in the Grande Panda than in your typical small car – a VW Polo for example – so it feels a bit like a small SUV. The seats are good for thigh support but a little lacking in side support, meaning you have to brace yourself when cornering even semi swiftly, otherwise you can feel as though you’re falling out of the seat. We wish the seats had a bit more padding too (the ë-C3 is good for that).

All Grande Pandas come with a 10in digital driver’s display, which is not very configurable but has more modern-looking graphics than the ë-C3’s display.

You also get a 10.25in infotainment touchscreen with intuitively laid-out menus and generally a good response time to your inputs. Plus, you can bypass the built-in software by using the standard Android Auto or Apple CarPlay phone mirroring.

In entry-level Red trim, the Grande Panda comes with manual air-conditioning, while La Prima trim gets automatic air-con. Either way, you have a dedicated panel with physical controls, making them easy to operate while you're driving – unlike in the MG4 EV, where you adjust air-con settings on the touchscreen.

“I think the Fiat Grande Panda Electric’s interior is one of its best qualities. It’s perhaps the definition of cheap and cheerful.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

While some drivers might feel a tad perched up in the Fiat Grande Panda Electric and want their seat to go lower than its lowest position, that’s not to say your head will be pressed up against the ceiling. Both in the front and back, 6ft individuals should have at least a couple inches of room to spare.

Six-footers should feel fairly comfortable in the back seats too, with just enough leg room to stop their knees rubbing against the seatbacks. For more room in the back, consider a Hyundai Inster.

The Grande Panda is wide enough to fit a third person in the middle rear seat without too much discomfort, although it's not an ideal set-up for long journeys.

Rear-seat passengers don't get a central armrest, but there are large storage pockets on the front seatbacks, plus smaller ones for phones. In the front there are effectively two gloveboxes – one in the usual spot and one higher up. There’s also enough space in the door bins and central storage area for a few cans or bottles. 

The Grande Panda's boot space has a volume of 361 litres. That's similar to the MG4 EV while the BYD Dolphin and Citroën ë-C3 have smaller boots. As in the ë-C3, there's no adjustable boot floor, and the rear seats don’t do anything clever, such as slide and recline like in the Hyundai Inster. They just split 60/40 to fold down.

“For your average family, I think the Fiat Grande Panda Electric offers more than enough space.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

As we've said, the Fiat Grande Panda Electric will enter the market as one of the cheapest electric cars there is. Looking at the list price in Red trim, it’s only undercut by the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03. Even the similarly budget-focused Citroën e-C3 is more expensive. 

The other Panda trim – La Prima – does push the price into Hyundai Inster and Renault 5 territory, but it remains well priced, especially considering the kit you’re getting. While Red could be seen as a bit basic, with its 16in steel wheels and manual air-con, La Prima gets luxuries such as a wireless phone-charger and heated seats. It’s just about worth the extra cost. 

DC charging speeds for the Grande Panda Electric are up to 100kW, which is faster than an equivalent BYD Dolphin or Hyundai Inster but slower than an MG4 EV. At that speed, you’ll see a 20-80% charge in 33 minutes. A standard 7kW home charger will charge the Grande Panda from 20-100% in about four hours.

In terms of reliability, Fiat underperformed in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, finishing 25th out of 31 brands. That said, we don’t have specific data for the Grande Panda yet, so we’re still waiting to get the full picture.

Fiat gives you a standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty on the Grande Panda. The Grande Panda Electric’s battery is covered for eight years and 100,000 miles. 

The Grande Panda has not yet been tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP but as standard it comes with lane-keep assist, speed-limit recognition, a driver attention alert system and automatic emergency braking (AEB).

“The Fiat Grande Panda Electric is a bargain, but I wouldn’t consider it a bargain-bin product – not at all.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

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