Two faces. One brand. A plot to fix Fiat’s stagnation.
At Stellantis Investor Day 26 they dropped a surprise. The new model is the Grizzly. Well two of them really. An SUV and a coupe-SUV.
The Grizzly is designed to bring Panda tech into the big league.
It’s basically a larger brother for the Panda. Olivier Francois said as much in Michigan. He called it a “bigger animal.” Built on Smart Car DNA but grown for three regions.
They wanted a different name. ‘GigaPanda’ was too obvious. So it’s the Grizzly now. Boxy charming stuff. Francois warned back in 24 that they wouldn’t just slap ‘Panda’ on bigger bodies. It needs that retro charm without looking cheap.
Looks like a beast, sells like bread
We knew they used Smart Car underpinnings. Now we see both shapes uncovered ahead of Paris in October. The coupe-SUV leans hard into that swoopy roofline while keeping the chunky Grande Panda vibe.
Pixelated lights wider than the Panda’s. Thick wheel arches. A raked rear. It’s rugged but trying to be stylish. A tall order.
Frankois said this moves the needle on margins. Brand too. He wants to attack the Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage. Even the Dacia Bigster.
How much? Probably around £25,00O. Affordable spacious desirable. Those were his words.
The platform proved itself already. The Grande Panda won Auto Express Car of the Year. Costs less than £19k through special deals. If the big one keeps those costs down the math works.
Inside is where you live
Space matters. The Grande Panda squeezes a bit. Not enough for growing families.
Fiat extends the wheelbase. More legroom. Rugged interiors. Easy to clean. Hard wearing. They want to beat the Duster at its own game of utility but add some Italian flair. Heritage touches. Lingotto factory nods. Oval shapes returning from the small brother.
Tech stays standard. 10 inch driver display. 10.25 inch touchscreen. Fixed climate buttons too. No buried menus there.
They keep recycling materials. Bamboo fiber mixes. Bright stitching. Plenty of spots for phone chargers and coffee cups. That clever cable in the front bumper stays. Why fix what works.
Power for the mass market
Petrol dies hard. So here it stays.
A 1.2 litre three cylinder engine powers the non-electrics. Hybrid versions pair that with a 6 speed automatic with an e-motor integrated inside.
Then the batteries.
Two sizes. 44 kWh or 54 kWh. Similar to the C3 Aircross e-Variant.
Ranges sit near 18O and 25O miles. Charging hits 1OO kW max. Thirty minutes for 1O to 😯 per cent. Not blistering. Just good enough.
A front-mounted 111 bhp motor likely drives the wheels. Maybe Fiat amps it up. Needs a little kick for that extra weight.
The real test
Fiat lagged lately. Too few new cars. Quiet updates. The industry forgot about them.
Now they wake up. Smart Car platform solves the money problem. Synergies with Stellantis help too.
Grande Panda was the start. Bold weird loved. These SUVs aim higher. Volume sales in Europe. Real numbers.
Can boxy charm save a brand? We will see. The cars arrive soon. The prices might too.
Are we ready for big pandas again? Probably not. But maybe we should be.
