Fiat Grande Punto

Road test

There is not a lot wrong with the brakes, although they are only drums at the back and only the diesel gets ventilated discs up front, the others have plain discs. Using the light clutch is a piece of the proverbial and only a permanent rustle of wind noise from the A-pillars mars the Panda's autostrada performance.

Back in town, life's a breeze on this easy Sunday morning. We photograph, we cruise around and we lunch. With bellies full of fine pasta and nicely warmed by yet another coffee, we think what a fine little city car the Panda is. But there is another breed of Fiat Panda customer who may not prove so easily satisfied. The type that doesn't ponce around drinking coffee all day and is wont to sling something more substantial in the boot than a thick-stringed Prada shopping bag.

On day three, we head out of the city for the mountains, the valleys and the farms. Here's a strange thing. While the Panda's handling feels disjointed and jerky around town, it comes together much better on a twisting mountain road. Once the steering is loaded up in a corner it feels more informative and if you're careful, you can make the body-roll work for you, not against you. It can even be, as our American friends might put it, 'kinda fun'. The ride's the really clever bit. We find an atrocious section of tarmac that has been maintained in a very half-arsed fashion and the Panda simply laps it up. Even gravel tracks don't phase it. And if you do want to fit a couple of bags of spuds in the back or maybe a whole live hog, the back seats split and fold forwards to increase luggage space from 206 to 775 litres. There will also eventually be an optional sliding rear seat available.

With the car not going on sale in the UK until January, final spec and prices are yet to be set. The United Kingdom won't take the base level Actual, so the next model up, the Active, is likely to cost around £6,000. The three model line-up, which will include the Dynamic and possibly Emotion tags should top out at around £7,500. Overall the new Panda doesn't make any huge technological leaps over its rivals. I just can't see them stripping it down with furrowed brows in Ingolstadt and Stuttgart to see what makes it tick.

Even though I think it should have had at least slightly more risky styling, I couldn't help but like it and from the reactions of the people we met, I'm not alone. It's impressive in many areas, including space, comfort and price. The new Panda is a very good little car, fit for both city and country life. Even if does look a bit grumpy at the front.

Angus Frazer