HOW MUCH CAN A PANDA BEAR?
Fiat’s birthday edition of its landmark model comes with some puzzling surprises, says Chris Knapman
Me: “What did you do for your 30th birthday?” Panda: “I got plastered.” Me: “Really?” Panda: “Yes, with stupid penguin stickers.” Oh, if cars could talk. I’m going to try my best to keep this balanced, but it is hard to write about this little Fiat 4x4 without becoming distracted by the fact that it has penguin stickers on the doors. Car manufacturers have shown that it is possible to do this kind of thing well. Just last week I was driving a new Jeep and spotted what I thought was a splotch (technical term, I know) in the black border at the base of the windscreen. On closer inspection, however, it transpired that it was, in fact, a tiny depiction of an original Willys Jeep reaching the summit of a mountain. As a design detail, it was subtle, knowing and thoroughly pleasing. None of which could be said of the penguins. “But why penguins? I don’t understand,” said every single person I spoke to about it. If you’re going to have stickers of an animal on the side of your Panda, then surely it should be a big, black and white bear. There is, however, a reason. As alluded to earlier, it’s 30 years since the Panda 4x4 first went on sale. To celebrate, Fiat has built this special edition of the latest model, called the Antarctica. Like all these special editions, it’s essentially a standard model with a few extra options bundled in to make it distinctive. For the Antarctica, these include only one colour scheme (so not much of an option at all), which is white bodywork, a black roof and orange detailing for the wing mirrors and 15in wheels. The interior trim is in grey and orange fabric, and you get other bits, such as a height-adjustable driver’s seat, tinted rear windows and 60:40 split/ folding backrests as standard. Just 300 are coming to the UK, each costing a few hundred pounds more than a standard Panda 4x4, and available either with Fiat’s 0.9-litre TwinAir twocylinder petrol engine or a 1.3-litre turbodiesel. This isn’t a car you buy for its quiet and comfortable driving experience, so you can’t really complain that it’s a bit on the agricultural side, particularly with the diesel on board. In fact, it Price: From £15,845 (as tested £15,950) Power/torque: 75bhp/190lb ft 0-62mph: 14.5sec Top speed: 99mph Average fuel consumption: 60.1mpg (claimed) CO2 emissions: 125g/km Star rating: