2025 Fiat Panda: small SUV gets mild hybrid and electric power

On sale 2025 | Price from £17,000 (est)

In the wild, Giant Pandas are notoriously shy, only venturing into areas where humans live if they’re driven by hunger or fleeing from danger. The new Fiat Grande Panda, on the other hand, couldn’t be more sociable if it tried.

From its bright green paintwork to its rufty-tufty body cladding, the new Grande Panda is a small SUV which will have no trouble attracting attention. People won’t even need to ask what it’s called, because the Panda name is stamped into the doors and spelt out on the boot lid. The car’s headlights are LED units which form part of a checked visor running the width of the Panda – and transform into indicators when you signal to turn.

Based on new underpinnings already in use in the recently launched Citroën C3 and e-C3, the Grande Panda will join that car in being offered with electric and mild hybrid power from the outset.

The mild hybrid option is expected to take the lion’s share of sales in the UK, and is based around a 99bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine and small electric motor. That same combination is due to be launched in the C3 later this year. We've already sampled that engine in the C3 without the mild hybrid assistance, and though it can struggle on faster roads, it has no trouble in providing peppy performance around town.

While technical details of the electric Grande Panda are under wraps for now, we know from the Citroën e-C3 that its battery is likely to be a 43.7kWh unit offering a range of around 199 miles – more than you'll get from a Dacia Spring, but less than the BYD Dolphin or MG4 can offer.

Given the Panda’s positioning as a global model for Fiat, and that its new underpinnings can support a wide range of power options, it’s likely that a plug-in hybrid version of the Panda will also be offered.

While we’re yet to see inside the new Panda, it’s expected to feature sustainably sourced materials, a small digital instrument cluster and a central infotainment touchscreen. There will also be seating for five inside.

Among the innovations brought to the new Panda will be infotainment features partly driven by artificial intelligence. Among these will be a smart assistant which can offer music suggestions based on where you're going and the time of day, for example, and will allow you to ask questions of your car using natural language. 

The Grande Panda is only the first of a new line-up of models inspired by the classic Fiat Panda. Eventually, it will be joined by a smaller electric car based on 2019’s Fiat Centoventi concept car, and a larger SUV. The full line-up should be on sale by 2027, and all will be available with both hybrid and electric power.

Prices have yet to be confirmed, but historically the Fiat Panda has been priced below most rivals. We'd therefore expect prices for the mild hybrid version to start from around £17,000, with the electric model priced from around £22,000. In both cases, those prices would make the Panda one of the cheapest small SUVs around.

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