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On sale 17th January 2004 By Sue Cooke The company that has a sixty year pedigree in the manufacture of small cars, recently received the automotive industry’s most prestigious award “Car of the Year” for its new breed of Panda, which went on sale on 17th January this year. There are six versions priced from £6,295 otr and Fiat expects to sell 10,000 this year. There are three trim levels – Active, Dynamic and Eleganza. The Panda has definitely come off the forest floor and up into the trees, offering levels of equipment more usually associated with cars of a far higher segment and quality too is superb. The entry level model includes electric front windows, central locking, dual drive electronic power steering, two front airbags and a Blaupunkt stereo radio cassette player with 4 speakers. Follow me home headlights stay on temporarily to light your way up the garden path. There are tinted windows and a height adjustable steering wheel. The rear seat folds and on the more expensive models, the rear seat moves backwards and forwards to provide more leg room or more boot room. The rear seat back also adjusts in three positions, to provide more rear passenger comfort. With such a range of attributes, the Panda will appeal to young and old alike. The seats are at hip height, which makes it easy to get in and out of and gives the driver a good view of the road ahead. It has an extra window at the rear so it is an excellent car for visibility when reversing. It also has four doors, which is better for accessibility. Optional extras include the availability of up to six airbags, automatic climate control, steering wheel audio controls and a stereo CD with MP3 player. The sophistication continues with parking sensors, although the car has such good visibility and is so small at less than twelve feet long, and is so easily manoeuvrable, that they’re not really a necessity. The more expensive model has a sunroof for rear passengers, as well as for front passengers, which makes it very light and airy. There are also three optional packs to choose from, the Dynamic Air Con, Dynamic Sky Dome and Dynamic Sound, which are self explanatory. There is a tremendous array of safety features, which include anti lock brakes complete with electronic brakeforce distribution, ASR to limit wheel slip during acceleration and MSR to modulate engine torque whilst changing down and a sophisticated ESP to control stability while cornering. Vehicles fitted with ESP also benefit from hydraulic brake assistance and a unique hill holder function to facilitate smooth hill starts. Competition will come from the Vauxhall Agila and the Daewoo Matiz but Fiat is planning to bring out a diesel version in June this year, which is unusual for the small car market. There are two engine sizes, a 1.1 litre and a 1.2 litre petrol, which are mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox, whilst Fiat’s innovative Dualogic gearbox with sequential or fully automatic operation is also available with the 1.2 litre FIRE engine. The 1.1 litre will accelerate from 0-62mph in 15 seconds and says Fiat, goes on to a top speed of 93mph and will achieve 49.6mpg. CO2 emissions are 135g/km for the 1.1 litre. The 1.3 litre MultiJet turbodiesel will achieve a fantastic 65.7mpg. Fiat’s Panda will be increasing its bloodline, with the launch of a 4x4 version, set to become the UK’s most affordable off roader, says Fiat, at the end of this year and look out for a hot hatch in 2005. I road tested both the 1.1 litre and 1.2 litre petrol engines and found them to give a sprightly performance. Gears are easy to select in manual mode and I found the Panda to be very easy to drive. Speed sensitive power steering provides good driver involvement and minimum effort, ideal for urban driving and low speed manoeuvring. Fiat is increasing its dealer network, adding a further 20 this year, which will take the network up to 200. The Panda may be a rare breed on UK roads currently, but careful nurturing will soon see it multiplying. OTR £6,295 to £8,095. PLUS : FOR A WHOLE WEALTH OF MOTORING ARTICLES GOING BACK MANY MONTHS, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUR PREVIOUS ARTICLES ARCHIVES If you wish to contact us either : PHONE
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