Fiat Panda hybrid 2021: consumption test, price and technical data sheet of the mild hybrid

For about a year, the Fiat Panda has also been hybrid, to align itself with current regulatory requirements. But has the Panda remained itself? We are talking about the car that has dominated the Italian market uncontested since time immemorial. In this regard, it can become interesting to compare the fuel consumption of the new engine with those of the previous version, based on the glorious but now antiquated 1.2 engine that made its debut on the Punto 27 years ago, in turn an evolution of the Fire born in 1983 together with the Uno. . The purpose of our test is only this: to verify in real conditions of daily driving how much fuel is needed by the new “pandized” Firefly. Short answer? Definitely little.

How the Fiat Panda is made: the City Life trim

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The appearance of the Panda is always what we know. In particular, the sample of our test was in construction City Life. It is distinguished by specific bumpers, new 15-inch two-tone steel wheels, contrasting black elements for side skirts, side bumper strips, handles and mirror caps; the interiors show seats upholstered in two-tone gray fabric, anthracite dashboard, manual climate control, Uconnect Mobile radio and steering wheel controls. On request you can have the 7-inch touchscreen with radio compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The hybrid system of the Panda

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The system is now known but repeating does not hurt. The hybrid Fiat Panda, as well as the similar versions of 500 and Lancia Ypsilon, has a 1.0 three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, belonging to the Firefly family. The mild hybrid apparatus comes from a small electric motor connected by belt; it integrates the functions of starter, alternator and generator. It can deliver a net power of 2.07 kW (with a peak of 3.6 kW). Obviously it is not able to sustain the traction by itself; instead it assists the gasoline engine in acceleration. The small battery that powers it is recharged by regenerative braking, thus recovering and converting the kinetic energy from deceleration and braking. The maximum power is 70 horsepower.

Panda confrontation

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Let’s start with the data declared during the homologation phase. With the old Nedc standard, the Panda 1.2 (the latest version, updated in 2019) indicated 5.3 liters / 100 km in the combined cycle. The hybrid has a correlated Nedc value (i.e. obtained from the Wltp value through an algorithm coded by the EU) of 3.9 l / 100 km. So just over 27% less theoretically. Comparing instead the more realistic Wltp data we have the Panda 1.2 with 5.9 liters on the mixed, while the hybrid declares 5.6. Consequently, the comparison on the current homologation standard sees the hybrid consume about 5% less.

Fiat Panda Hybrid: the consumption test

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In our fuel consumption test of the hybrid Panda, we measured an average distance of 15.4 km per liter on strictly urban routes. We didn’t exaggerate with the accelerator, neither in one direction (too strong) nor in the other (unrealistically flat). Although it is a city car, even the Panda occasionally leaves urban centers, for example on typical commuter routes. Therefore, considering only the extra-urban sections, especially state roads and sporadically the motorways, we went up to about 19 km with a liter. It means an average on the mixed of 17.2 km per liter, a value that is equivalent to a consumption of 5.8 liters per 100 km. So very close to the 5.6 liters declared by the house in the Wltp tests on the combined cycle. Since the tank holds 38 liters of petrol, it is reasonable to expect a range of not less than 570 km with a full tank, considering a mainly urban journey without excessive regard for the accelerator (but not even mistreating it); in a mixed route you can easily overcome 600 km. In the city the savings are decent compared to the old Panda with the 1.2 which here traveled around 14 km / l. Consequently, on the routes where the car will be used for most of its life, the hybrid earns about one kilometer for every liter. For the rest, from a road point of view, the Panda remains the same: one of the best in the segment in terms of grip and braking.

Fiat Panda hybrid at a glance

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From the buyer’s point of view, in the end only the answer to the following question counts: is the new Panda worthwhile? More to the heart of the matter, given that the old car is no longer for sale except in the stocks of some dealers: did we make money or not? In summary, the new Panda consumes a little less, has performance at the same level (indeed, it is even slightly better at the start), some electronic updates, everything else is as we know it. Plus the engine is new. Yes, we have earned it.

Equipment and prices of the hybrid Fiat Panda

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The Fiat Panda Hybrid is offered in the basic versions, City Life, Sport, City Cross and Cross. The respective turnkey list prices start at 13,900, 14,850, 15,650, 16,450 and 17,250 euros. We remind you that the Panda is also always available in other engines: LPG with 1.2 from 69 HP, prices from 15,000 to 18,350 euros; methane with the twin-cylinder 0.9 70 hp turbo engine, prices from 17,200 to 19,600 euros; then the Panda 4×4, running on petrol only with the turbo twin engine increased to 85 hp, list prices from 17,500 to 19,900 euros.

Fiat Panda Hybrid City Life data sheet

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Engine: three-cylinder in-line petrol aspirated, 999 cc.
Maximum power: 70 Cv (51,5 kW) a 6.000 giri / min.
Maximum torque: 92 Nm a 3.500 giri.
Hybrid system: Bsg type mild hybrid (belt driven), 12 Volt battery, 11 Ah capacity.
Maximum electric motor power: 2,07 kW.
Transmission: six-speed manual gearbox, front-wheel drive.
Dimensions (mm): length 3.653, width 1.643 (1.882 with mirrors), height 1.551, wheelbase 2.300.
Trunk: 225 liters.
Curb weight including driver: 1.055 kg.
Performance: acceleration 0-100 km / h in 13.9 seconds, top speed 164 km / h.
Consumption declared: 5.6 l / 100 km mixed cycle Wltp (17.9 km / l); CO2 emissions 125 g / km Wltp.
Price: € 14,850 turnkey. Basic set-up 13,900 euros.