In its 40th anniversary year, Fiat is updating the Panda for the 2021 model year, and will now include a new Panda Sport version as part of the lineup.
Panda Life range
That lineup kicks off with the Panda Life range, which comes as standard with body-coloured bumpers, 14-inch steel wheels, air conditioning and DAB radio with MP3 compatibility and USB connectivity. There's also a City Life model, which adds front fog lights, new front bumpers, a brand-new insert in the side skirts and 15-inch dark metal alloy wheels. There are also various black exterior elements, including the roof rack, side protection, door mirror housings and external handles.
Inside, the City Life gets two-tone grey seats and an anthracite-coloured dashboard complements the exterior, while leather steering wheel and audio controls, manual air conditioning and Uconnect system complete with DAB radio, Bluetooth and a smartphone mount in lieu of a touchscreen.
Topping the Life section of the Panda range is the Panda Wild 4x4 which gets the same exterior and interior features as the Panda City Life, but adds all-wheel drive, rear differential gear locking, and front and rear skidplates.
Power for all of the life models comes from the new 1.0-litre mild hybrid unit with 70hp that debuted earlier in 2020, while the 4x4 versions come with the 900cc 85hp Twinair turbo two-cylinder engine.
That 1.0 mild-hybrid engine is a three-cylinder unit from the 'FireFly' family with a Belt-integrated Starter Generator (BSG) electric motor. The latter recovers energy during braking and deceleration, stores it in a lithium battery with a capacity of 11Ah, and uses it at a peak output of 3.6kW, to restart the engine in Stop&Start mode and boosts power under acceleration.
New Sport model
The new model in the Panda lineup is the Sport, although those hoping for a revival of the classic Panda 100hp will be disappointed - it gets the same 1.0 mild-hybrid engine as the rest of the range. You'll spot a Panda Sport from its 16-inch alloy wheels, red brake callipers, darkened rear windows, and body-coloured door handles and door mirrors. A new dedicated matt grey paint is available exclusively on Panda Sport with the option to choose glossy black roof top and door mirrors.
Inside, there's a a titanium-coloured dashboard, door panels in eco-leather, black roof and new seats with dark grey upholstery, red stitching and eco-leather details and a techno-leather steering wheel with red stitching.
Four-wheel drive Panda Cross
Then there's the Panda Cross range, which comes in either two-wheel drive (City Cross) or four-wheel drive (Cross 4x4) forms.
On the outside, of the City Cross you'll find LED DRL headlights, black door mirrors, handles, roof rack and side sills, 15-inch alloy wheels, body-coloured bumpers and skidplates, while a new ceramic blue pastel paint is available for the first time. Inside, new there's blue and black two-tone eco-leather upholstery on the door panels and seats with silver stitching and fabric side panels. Automatic climate control is also standard. The City Cross comes with the 1.0-litre mild-hybrid engine.
Meanwhile, there's the Cross 4x4 with its 900cc two-cylinder turbo Twinair engine, which comes with an all terrain selector with three modes (Auto, Off-road, Hill Descent Control), all-wheel drive, rear differential gear locking and rear parking sensors. The standard specification also includes red front tow hooks, electrically adjustable and heated body-coloured door mirrors, front and rear bumper with silver skid plates, silver side mouldings and roof rails and dark tinted rear windows. Inside, the new dashboard is made from processed waste wood, while the new black and grey two-tone seats feature fabric in the centre panel made from at least 37 per cent recycled material.
We don't yet have Irish prices nor arrival dates for the new Panda as yet, but we'll update you when we do.