Fiat Panda Pop carpool

Price: $16,500 drive-away.

Vital statistics: 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol; 51kW/102Nm; 5-speed manual; FWD; 5.2L/100km and 120g/km CO2.

Why we’re driving it:

This is Fiat’s cheapest Panda, a city-sized hatch with quirky style at an affordable price.

Likes:

The Panda has style in spades, thanks to its liberal use of “squircles”, or squared off circles, which appear everywhere from the windows to the heater controls and gearknob. It’s a fun little machine with interesting touches such as interior plastics that forgo conventional leather-look mouldings in favour of textured text that repeats “pandapandapanda” across the dashboard and doors.

Compact dimensions and a tiny turning circle made the Panda an excellent companion in the city, where the Fiat’s alert steering was helped by its slender weight. The Panda looks curvy, but it must all be fluff as it weighs just 950kg.

Space in the rear is acceptable for adults, and an optional TomTom navigation system helped keep us on track.

Dislikes:

Outputs of just 51kW and 102Nm make for tediously slow progress at times, though it is entertaining to pedal flat out just keeping up with traffic.

The Panda’s ride can be sharp at times, and it doesn’t offer the refinement of larger cars.

A large, flat handbrake shaped like a computer mouse was a little awkward to use, and didn’t offer as much leverage as a conventional handle.

Boxy styling and low weight meant the little car was quite susceptible to crosswinds and had one of our testers looking for shelter.

The TomTom showed an Alfa-Romeo logo on startup, which felt out of place in a Fiat.

Would I buy one:

It’s hard not to love the Panda, a car with unconventional appeal. But the Pop’s engine feels undernourished, can be addressed by sister cars such as the 63kW/145Nm TwinAir and 55kW/190Nm Diesel models.