Review – Is the Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid (2026) still making fun of everyone?

Up front: the new Fiat Grande Panda has a slightly different slant from the original and is not a direct successor. The Grande Panda is – the name says it all – meant to be a slightly larger model alongside the regular Panda. Nevertheless, the Grande Panda is indeed full of (visual) references to the original 1980 model. The model has also been given a similar mission. The original Panda had to provide practical and affordable transportation for the masses. The Grande Panda likewise, with an emphasis on the electric segment. Let’s review the points from the original commercial.

The one we are driving, by the way, is the Hybrid. Officially it is a mild hybrid, but in practice you do regularly drive bits of electric cars. Therefore, in this case we dare to speak of a noticeably electrified powertrain.

Are you still laughing at everyone at the pump?

Well, um… The laughter at the pump has gone out of everyone by now, no matter how economical your car is… At least the Fiat Grande Panda is still economical. The regular gasoline version has an official consumption of 5.7 l/100km (1 on 17.5) and the Hybrid comes out at 5.1 l/100km (1 on 19.6). The electric version has an average power consumption of 17.4 kWh/100km. In short, neat scores.

Now those are the theoretical WLTP values, but it manages to live up to them well in practice. We drove the Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid and noted an average consumption of 5.2 l/100 km after a week. Almost the factory specification. To be fair, we arrived at a slightly higher value in another recent road test. That was also a good score, but it just goes to show how driving style and other circumstances can influence it.

The commercial claims an average consumption of 1 on 17.2 l/100 km for the original Fiat Panda. The addition “at 90 kilometers” is interesting, and even then it was measured according to the then somewhat rosy method. Still, the Grande Panda beats it even according to the current, quite realistic WLTP cycle. It’s that the price at the pump has risen unreasonably hard, otherwise you’d be laughing even harder than with the original model.

Is it still laughing with the luggage space?

Depending on the powertrain, the Fiat Grande Panda has a boot volume of 350 to 361 liters. With the rear seats flat, that becomes 1,315 to 1,366 liters. That is on the generous side for the segment and also another clear step forward from the original. Officially, that fitted 272 to 1,000 liters. It should be noted that the Grande Panda is also much larger on the outside. But still: space is not at a premium.

Is it still laughing at the campsite?

In the original advertisement, the owner of the Fiat Panda is lying dry in his car, while it is raining heavily at the campsite and a tent is blown away. Yes, lying, because with all the backrests (including those of the front seats) reclined, a more or less level space was created in the little car.

We did not try sleeping in the Fiat Grande Panda. However, we can conclude that sleeping in the Grande Panda is at best possible with the front seat maximally reclined. Okay then, just trying how that lays. It has to be said: it is a lot more comfortable than it looks. But because your legs remain just in front of the seat, it is more something for a power nap and not so much for camping.

Can the police officer still laugh at you?

The original advertisement concludes with “its surprisingly high top speed of over 140 kilometers,” after which it is the motorcycle cop who is the last to laugh. The gasoline and Hybrid versions of the Fiat Grande Panda have a top speed of 160 km/h, but the electric version must acknowledge its superiority to the original. In fact, the Grande Panda Electric is limited to 132 km/h.

More important in practice, however, is acceleration. Depending on the version, the original Panda took from 15.4 to as much as 23.2 seconds for the standard sprint to 100 km/h. Moreover, there were also versions with a top speed of only 125 km/h. So in this respect, the new Grande Panda is more fun after all.

Because of the direct transmission of the electric powertrain, you will experience the Grande Panda Electric as a smooth little car anyway(road test). We have not yet driven the regular gasoline version, but in any case we can conclude that the Grande Panda Hybrid also has quite a bit of oomph. Even when sprinting on the highway. It may only be a mild hybrid, but the electric support is noticeable. So the same goes for the Grande Panda: be careful, because soon the cop will be laughing the loudest…

Other driving tests of the Fiat Grande Panda

Curious about the other aspects of the Fiat Grande Panda? You can read a full driving test of the Hybrid here. We previously drove the all-electric version.