Fiat Panda Eco Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Fiat Panda ECO range
Prices: £7,665 - £8,565 - on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 1-2
Emissions: 119g/km
Performance: [1.2 8v] 0-60mph 14.0s / Max Speed 96mph
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 42.8mpg / (extra urban) 68.3mpg / (combined) 56.5mpg
Safety: Driver and passenger airbags
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height 3538/1589/1540mm

Earth-friendly Cruiser

Our Rating: No Rating Available

Fiat has won countless praise for the Panda. It has even won the European Car of the Year Award. People from all walks of life have heaped accolade after accolade on the car. People love the Panda because it offers power, performance and comfort. Is there anything else that Fiat could do to make the Panda even better? Most people would say no, but the Fiat engineers would say of course.

The next evolution in the growth of Fiat clean engines is the Panda Eco. Fiat is offering the Panda with two low CO2 emitting engines. There is the 1.1-litre Active and the 1.2-litre Dynamic. The best offering of the two is the 1.2-litre 60bhp engine that combines decent performance and good emissions. The main reason for this is the 1.2-litre Panda ECO is a 4-cylinder engine that will allow for a little more comfortable drive if one needs to take it on a long trip.

Emission levels for CO2 hover around the 199g/km which is not earth shattering, but Fiat is currently working to make the third generation Panda Eco engine a bit better. Gas mileage funs 42.8mpg in the city, 68.3 on motorways and combined at about 56.5mpg. Top speed for the 1.1-litre is about 93mph and about 96mph for the 1.2-litre and both will get you from 0-60mph somewhere between 14 and 15 seconds. Again none of these are earth shattering numbers, but they are decent. The Panda ECO really shines compared to other cars in the class with the standard equipment.

The Panda ECO Active comes with a decent list of standard equipment that includes airbags for the driver and passenger, an imobiliser, anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, ?Follow Me Home? headlamps and power front windows. Upgrade to the Dynamic you get the stronger engine and a remote locking system, CD stereo with MP3 connection and colour coded bumpers.

Fiat is proud to pronounce that the interior of the car is the only one in its class that has lining on 99 percent of the cabin. This fact allows the car to drive at motorway speeds while keeping the wind noise to a minimum. Overall space is what you would expect for this range. The back seat can fit two adults, but there isn't much leg room and might prove to be uncomfortable in long trips.

The exterior styling has been kept rather simple. This will help it appeal to a wide range of people who like to drive their cars in relative peace. Fiat, as usual, has added a few pieces of impact design that include the shape of the glazed area that swings over to a neat quarter window that then meets with the overly large vertical rear taillights. The front also tapers back over the wheel arches to meet the nice looking hips at the back of the car. This creates a perpetual motion type look that makes the car seem as if it is moving even when standing still. A tip of the hat should be given to the design team for designing a tiny 5-door car that actually looks good and holds its proportions.

While there are better ECO versions out there in this class as far as actual earth-friendly features, but now of them come with eco-friendly engines and decent equipment. The negative for a lot of these other cars in the ECO class is that their engines don't have enough power to take the owner out of the city. The Panda ECO can take a driver anywhere they want to go.