It's a bear among small cars; The latest Fiat Panda has amazing performance BILL CAVEN takes to the road in the Fiat Panda 100HP. This is his verdict

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), August 22, 2008

SMALL cars are big business these days, and the battle to become the funkiest little vehicle in town is now firmly on.

First Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen teamed up to develop their city runarounds: the Aygo, 107 and C1.

Then Vauxhall and Suzuki formed a partnership to come up with the new Agila and the Splash.

In the meantime, Renault brought its lovable Twingo to these shores, and soon Ford will up the ante with the next-generation Ka.

But, of course, you can't talk about city cars without mentioning Fiat, who have a real knack for delivering the goods in this sector.

Lately, the Italians have stolen the limelight with a new take on the iconic Fiat 500. But while this cheeky chappie is going down a storm, I reckon the Panda remains the star of the Fiat family.

Although square in appearance, the Panda is far from square when it comes to driving - especially if you plump for the 100HP version.

You can really whiz up and down the six speed manual to work up a rapid head of steam. And while the 1.4-litre petrol engine is truly amazing in terms of performance, it still manages more than 43 miles to the gallon.

The Panda 100HP also has a "Sport" button. When activated, the steering offers improved feedback, while the throttle becomes more sensitive to driver input.

To distinguish the flagship Panda from the standard model, it comes with sporty bumpers, body-coloured door handles and wing mirrors, big wheelarches that show off the 15-inch alloy wheels, front foglights, a tailgate spoiler and a chrome tailpipe.

Inside the surprisingly spacious cabin, standard spec includes automatic climate control, front sports seats and Bluetooth connectivity.

All of which makes the pounds 10,260 price tag look perfectly reasonable.

Facts and figures

Make: Fiat Panda 100HP Price: pounds 10,260 Mechanical: 100bhp, 1,368cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels. Max speed: 115mph 0-62mph: 9.5 seconds Combined mpg: 43.5 Insurance group: 5 CO2 emissions: 154g/km Warranty: 3 years/60,000 miles, 3 years paint, 8 years anti-rust

CAPTION(S):

MORE SPORTY - the Fiat Panda has a sensitive throttle