Road Test
Fiat Panda 1.2 Eleganza
Test date 17 February 2004
Price as tested £8,995
Fiat’s tradition of small car manufacture began with the 1938 500, known as the ‘Topolino’. Conceived by the legendary engineer Dante Giacosa, it helped mobilise pre-war Italy. In the early ’50s, Giacosa designed the rear-engined 600 and then in ’57 launched the classic Nuova 500, the tiny car that would capture the hearts of owners worldwide. The 500 would stay in production until ’75, while various developments of the 600 followed (the 850 and its replacement, the 127). In 1980 the original Panda was born and since then the ’83 Uno and ’93 Punto have been big small-car successes.
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