Fiat Panda Cross Hybrid 2020 first drive

An electrified version of the Fiat Panda Cross: the boxy, loveable, small Italian hatchback that seems set on trying to convince anyone who claps eyes on it that it really is a proper, mud-plugging SUV.

Only it isn’t really. It might have plenty of black plastic cladding and a slightly raised ride height, but beneath it lies a front-driven, slightly puffed up city car. But we knew that already. Of greater importance is the fact that this new Panda Mild Hybrid represents the first stage of Fiat’s quest to redefine itself as a maker of small, electrified city cars. 

Of course, being a mild hybrid it does seem to be more of a tentative toe-dip than a bonafide head-on dive into the waters of Lake Electrification. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and in any case it’ll soon be followed up by the fully-electric 500e that’s expected to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in a few months’ time. So it’s not like Fiat is lacking intent on this front.

The Panda Mild Hybrid is being launched alongside the new 500 Mild Hybrid, and makes use of the same 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine and 12v belt-integrated starter generator as its more diminutive sibling. This harvests kinetic energy during braking and deceleration, which is stored in a 11Ah lithium battery. This enables the engine to shut down to conserve fuel when coasting or at a standstill, and can also be used to assist acceleration. All up, the Panda Mild Hybrid makes a relatively humble 69bhp and 68lb ft.

In more sedate town driving the Panda is easy enough to operate, with the electric architecture providing a faintly discernible level of additional poke to help get you moving smoothly.

Past this point though, the Panda’s power deficit becomes a bit more conspicuous. There’s a need to really keep your foot in to get the car up to speed, so much so that you often find yourself driving about for extended periods with the accelerator completely flattened. Doing so is quite fun - in part because the Panda’s engine seems up for a thrashing - but also because you’ll never really be in any great danger of grossly exceeding the speed limit. 

That said, driving in such a manner likely won’t do your fuel consumption any favours. We saw a fuel consumption figure of about 35mpg at the conclusion of our time with the car - some way off its 49.6mpg WLTP rating.

Its tall sides, raised ride height and higher centre of gravity are apparent through corners, too. It bounces its way over undulating road surfaces, and even if you tip the Panda into a bend at relatively sedate speeds it responds with fairly a significant amount of body roll. Meanwhile, its tyres seem to struggle to maintain their purchase even on dry roads so that its chassis will push into understeer with relatively little provocation. The stability systems then promptly step in to shut things down with a fairly heavy hand. Not that you’ll be able to feel any of this through the wheel, mind, as the Panda’s steering is completely mute and not quite as intuitive as you might like.