Car Deal Alert! New Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid Pop is one of UK’s cheapest cars
The new Grande Panda Hybrid Pop will be available this summer, priced from just £18,035
Order books for the Fiat Grande Panda are due to open very soon and when they do, the funky supermini will be among the 10 cheapest new cars on the market, as prices are to start from a fraction over £18,000.
Originally, the hot-ticket Fiat was set to get under way from closer to £19k, but a new entry-level model called the Grande Panda Hybrid Pop has now been announced, and will be priced from £18,035 to be exact.
As well as providing a near-£1,000 price cut, this means the Grande Panda will be cheaper than its sister car, and our reigning Supermini of the Year, the Citroen C3. Importantly, though, the base version of the Citroen comes with a pure-petrol engine. The equivalent C3 Hybrid costs more than £20k.
Pop trim will offer a 10.25-inch central touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, cruise control, rear parking sensors and LED lights. One area where Fiat has saved some cash is by fitting 16-inch steel rims with aero covers, compared to the pricier Icon and La Prima trim models, which will sport alloy wheels.
Under the bonnet is the same hybrid set-up as in the Citroen C3 and countless other Stellantis products, including the Peugeot 5008 seven-seat SUV. It uses a 108bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that has a 28bhp electric motor built-in.
The e-motor is powered by a small 48-volt battery and this allows for smooth, silent pure-electric driving at speeds up to 18mph, which is ideal for manoeuvring, city driving and stop-start traffic. It also gives the combustion engine a helping hand when you put your foot down, and recuperates energy when the car is slowing down to charge the battery.
Fiat says the Grande Panda Hybrid emits 115g/km of CO2, and while it hasn’t shared any official fuel economy figures yet, the C3 Hybrid that uses the same powertrain can supposedly average up to 56.5mpg. We expect its Italian cousin will boast similar stats.
Meanwhile, the Grande Panda Electric now costs from £21,035, which is slightly higher than when pricing was first announced earlier this year, but will still make the Fiat one of the cheapest electric cars on the market when it also goes on sale this summer. The EV version offers 199 miles of range from a 44kWh battery and a 111bhp e-motor.
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