The first Fiat Grande Panda electric cars are hitting the roads. In Italy alone, 1,082 units were registered in June 2025. New owners can finally get behind the wheel and discover the little electric SUV from the Italian brand.
But for one of them, the first experience was... mixed. Member of the Facebook group Auto Elettriche Club Italiahe says:
"I bought the new Grande Panda E... First freeway journey (first electric car), about 160 km range. Is this normal?"
Why does range drop so much on freeways?
On paper, the Fiat The Grande Panda Electric boasts a WLTP range of 320 km. This figure was obtained during tests in mixed conditions, with a moderate average speed and energy recovery phases during braking. In reality, you can expect a range of just under 300 km under normal driving conditions.
But on the freeway, the scenario changes completely. As with all electric cars, the higher the speed, the faster the increase in fuel consumption. Unlike combustion engines, which can sometimes consume less at constant speed, an electric car's range melts away on the fast lane. Aerodynamic resistance becomes a major factor: the faster you drive, the more resistance the air offers, and the greater the strain on the battery.
With its 44 kWh battery - a modest capacity compared with more long-distance-oriented models - and a silhouette not really cut out for aerodynamics, the electric Grande Panda is not in the best conditions to shine on the freeway. As a result, 160 km of range at 120-130 km/h remains perfectly coherent... even if this figure may seem low for a driver accustomed to petrol or diesel.
What manufacturers are doing to improve range
Brands are working hard on this problem. For example, the DS N8 Long Range, also from the Stellantis group, claims over 500 km on freeways at a constant speed of 120 km/h, thanks to optimized aerodynamics and a larger battery. Stellantis has even patents a gearbox for electric carsThe aim is to improve autonomy on the freeway.
Tips for owners
For long-distance use, the best tip is... to ease off the throttle. Going from 130 km/h to 110 km/h can already bring a significant gain in range. This allows you to space out recharging and travel more serenely, especially with a small battery. But the electric Fiat Grande Panda is primarily intended for urban and suburban use.
What's more, the unlucky owner of the electric Fiat Grande Panda also suffered a puncture on this first trip. An incident obviously unrelated to the car itself, but which didn't help make this motorway baptism any more enjoyable. Let's hope the next trip goes better.
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I've owned EV's for 7 years. All of them have reduced range at motorway way speeds, but that drop does seem excessive, I don't think the GP BEV is very efficient outside of city driving, same is true of e-C3. You do have to adjust your driving style somewhat in EVs, but for me I'd never go back to ICE
Yes, drive slowly and the autonomy will be good. In other words drive your EV in the city, but not on motorways
In der Stadt fährt man Straßenbahn! Die fährt auch elektrisch.
Die optimale Geschwindigkeit eines Autos, um den Luftwiderstand zu minimieren, liegt im Bereich zwischen 60 und 90 km/h, wenn es um Effizienz und Energiebedarf geht. Bei höheren Geschwindigkeiten, besonders über 100 km/h, steigt der Luftwiderstand überproportional an und führt zu einem deutlich höheren Energiebedarf. Der Luftwiderstand (F_D) wird mit folgender Formel berechnet: F_D = 1/2 * ρ * v² * C_D * A. Dabei steht ρ für die Luftdichte, v für die Geschwindigkeit, C_D für den Luftwiderstandskoeffizienten (cw-Wert) und A für die Stirnfläche.
Rein physikalisch betrachtet und egal ob Verbrenner oder elektrisch.
You have to drag yourself along at 110 km/h on the freeway, not turn on the air conditioning or heating too much, plan your journey, and stop often to recharge. Electric cars and long journeys don't go together.
I get over 350km of range out of my Cupra Born, driving it normally, and using heating where needed, so EV's have no issue with long journeys. But some cars are not as efficient, such as the battery in GP & e-C3. For comparison, my wife's i3 has a slightly smaller battery than GP & gets more range.
As it is, for this model without an instantaneous consumption indicator and planner, and with a small battery (the DS8's is almost 100kWh), I recommend using an OBD2 dongle linked to ABRP via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Otherwise, it's simply not viable and causes a great deal of stress.
it's incredible not to have the consumption. I was surprised when I tried out the Grande Panda. I was told it would come with a future update, but I don't know if that's the case today.
In town driving is there regenerative braking, thus more mileage as opposed to motorway driving, a lot less braking and more battery usage....
No need to dream... This winter, bad surprises also came from other brands, Citroën C3 e, Renault R5e, Peugeot 3008e, and even a Tesla! That's what happens with all batteries. CQFD. Not to mention the various and sundry bugs
Don't worry, one day it will be perfected, but not yet. That's all there is to it.
That's around 25 kWh per 100km on the freeway at 130. This is to be expected, given the truck's cx and its abysmal efficiency gap with Tesla (Kia and Hyundai are not bad, but at German premium prices).
A few thousand euros more for electric cars makes the difference between a car for limited use and low efficiency, and a high-performance, efficient car designed for long, comfortable motorway journeys.
What you save when you buy it, you often pay when you use it.
The M3 engine is quite efficient, so they should absolutely develop (without bugs) versions with the 54kWh battery for the Grande Panda and its clones (the R5 sells three times as many units) and try to install the 61kWh (58 net) battery for the Fiat Orso (and its Frontera and C3 Aircross clones). That would be the minimum viable.
Efficiency is another matter. Adac, for example, awarded the 308/Astra duo the prize for electric efficiency, ahead of the M3. However, it will be difficult to do more than 300 km of highway with it, which is less than the Tesla. Above 100 km, aerodynamics is decisive.
He should have gone for a hybrid version, even if it meant waiting for delivery.
Hello,
In my opinion, the greatest shame (apart from the puncture) is not the "dry" breakdown suffered by the driver, but the publicity he received...
All the test videos on YouTube, and the reviews in the motoring press, say it all: on freeways at 120 - 130 Km/h, you can't expect much range.
What's more, the battery charge level gauge and remaining range are clearly visible on the dashboard display, and a warning light with a sound should have made him realize it was time to recharge.
The fact remains that a long journey on the freeway at normal speed, with the air-conditioning occasionally switched on in the heat, is a nightmare with an electric car that doesn't have a long range. We're being sold WLTP ranges of 300 kms and more, forgetting to mention that this only applies to city journeys. This is not just a problem for the Fiat Grande Panda, but for all electric cars that don't have a big battery, i.e. all small and medium-sized electric cars.
Of course, if you were to do the same thing with a 30-liter fuel tank on a conventional highway, it's all a question of driving speed.
The manufacturer gives 320km, but I'd say 280km, and obviously 150 to 200km on the freeway, depending on speed...
It makes perfect sense!
At least with electric cars you don't risk speeding if you don't want to discharge too quickly, and you can stop all the time to eat, drink and pee while waiting to recharge. Except that, after a while, freeway service stations aren't so exciting that you need to spend 30 minutes there to recharge. A range of less than 200 kms is ridiculous, and these cars aren't suitable for anything other than short journeys.
It's not the Fiat Grande Panda that's at fault, because all cars in the same category have a similar range.
Wie dumm und naiv muss man(n) sein, erstens sich ein E-Auto zu kaufen, und zweitens geschweige irgendwelchen Reichweiten der Hersteller zu glauben!?
E-Auto - Nein Danke!!!
The EC3, which we now know well, and which is the same thing as the GP, isn't intended for city use only. Not everyone does 100km or more of freeway driving a day, either.