FOR A LIMITED TIME YOU CAN DRIVE AWAY A BRAND NEW FIAT PANDA FROM PALMERS WITH UPTO £1000 SAVING FROM ONLY £8550 FOR ONLY £64.79 PER MONTH  AND £500 PAID TOWARD YOUR DEPOSIT BY PALMERS WITH FIAT I-DEALS. 

This offer is only valid at Palmers Fiat and must end on the 30th June 2013

The new Panda is here and it emulate’s the functional, carefree approach of the original 1980 Panda – a car that had flat glass, hammock-style seating and an open-plan dashboard. And it’s become Italian again – with production switching to Fiat’s Pomigliano d'Arco factory near Naples. 

Technical highlights?

Under the skin the new Panda has a development of the previous car’s platform, with larger and softer suspension bushings, a stiffer rear torsion beam and front strut top mounts which decouple spring from damper. Mere details? They are important, as we shall see. Engines mirror those of the Fiat 500, with a 68bhp four-cylinder 1.2, an 84bhp 0.8-litre two-cylinder turbo ‘TwinAir’ and a 74bhp, 1.3-litre turbodiesel, all mated to five-speed gearboxes. 

Unusually in a small car, there's an optional automatic braking aid which triggers if you're travelling under 18mph and the Panda thinks you're going to drive into the obstacle in front.

There's a sliding rear seat option which reduces rear legroom for a bootspace gain, and three trim levels (Pop, Easy, Lounge). 

All three engines have low official CO2 figures, the TwinAir combining its 99g/km with a 11.2sec 0-62mph time.

What's it like to drive?

The last Panda was good fun in a basic, chuckabout way but a bit crude, especially if bends or bumps were involved. This new one feels much more solid and refined, isolating road shocks well while feeling keener to change direction. It grips well, doesn't flop into roll and feels agile enough to be fun on a twisting road.

The TwinAir version, whose two-cylinder thrum suits the Panda's cheeky character well. The power and torque figures are unchanged from those in the 500, but a revised throttle map (or rather the valve-opening map, because the TwinAir has no throttle as such) sharpens the initial response and makes the Panda feel extra-sharp and lively.

You sit quite high, with the high-mounted gear lever in easy reach. Pressing buttons can disable the stop-start system or switch the steering to super-light city mode. The handbrake resembles a computer mouse with the release button on the side, but it's a proper mechanical lever and the ergonomics work well. 

For more information and to avoid missing out contact us today on 01923 227000.

*Based on a Panda 1.2 Easy

Basic list price       £9550

Palmers Price       £8550

Deposit                £2500.09

Amount financed   £6049.91

29 payments of    £64.79

GFV                    £4171

Interest charges  0.0

Total payable      £8550

APR                   0%

THIS OFFER CAN BE TAILORED TO SUIT ANY DEPOSIT OR FINANCE TERM. CALL NOW ON 01923 227000