Fiat Panda Pop

About this car

The third-generation Fiat Panda arrived in 2012 and took everything people liked about the old one — the tall, boxy shape, the big glass area, the sense that nothing is wasted — and gave it a softer, more rounded look. This one is finished in white, has five doors, the 1.2-litre petrol engine and a manual gearbox, and has covered 81,750 miles. Pop was the entry point in the range, so it keeps things simple and focused on the essentials rather than gadgets, which is part of the appeal for a lot of buyers. Where the Panda really earns its keep is in town. It is genuinely small on the outside, so tight multi-storey bays, narrow terraced streets and awkward parallel parking spots stop being a problem, yet the upright roofline and high seating position mean there is far more head and shoulder room inside than the footprint suggests. Visibility is excellent by modern standards, with slim pillars and a big windscreen, and the turning circle is famously tight. For a commuter, a second car for the household, or someone learning the ropes after passing their test, it is an easy thing to get comfortable with quickly. As a family car it has limits worth being honest about. It is a four-seater city car at heart: five doors make it much easier to fit a child seat or load a toddler in the back than a three-door would, and the rear doors open usefully wide, but rear legroom is modest and two adults in the back on a long journey will be aware of it. The boot is small by family hatchback standards, though the high, square shape means it swallows a weekly shop or a pushchair, and the rear seats fold to free up a surprising amount of space for flat-pack runs and tip trips. The 1.2-litre FIRE petrol engine is one of Fiat's long-running, well-understood units — unstressed, simple in design and with a good reputation for durability when it has been serviced regularly. It is not quick, and it prefers to be worked a little on motorway slip roads, but it is willing around town and pulls cleanly through the manual gearbox. Running costs are one of the Panda's strongest cards: small-capacity petrol power means sensible fuel economy, typically in the high forties to low fifties on a steady run, with insurance and servicing costs that sit at the affordable end of the scale. On safety, this generation of Panda was awarded four stars by Euro NCAP when tested in 2011, with electronic stability control, multiple airbags and ISOFIX child seat mounting points part of the car's design from the outset. The driving experience is light and cheerful rather than sporting — soft suspension that shrugs off speed bumps and poor surfaces, light steering that makes manoeuvring effortless, and enough composure at motorway speeds to handle an occasional longer trip. This Panda has been prepared and checked by Tico Motors, and we are happy to go through everything we know about it with you, in person or over the phone, before you decide.