6 Reasons You Should Buy The New Fiat Panda Waze
Innovation abounds in this fun little city car.
Earlier today, Fiat announced the release of the latest addition to the Panda family, the Panda Waze. Waze is a GPS navigation programme that provides mapping with live data on traffic and road closures. Essentially, it does everything Google and Apple Maps do, except that it is not owned by a giant tech company that thinks it can make cars all by its own.
Fiat teamed up with Waze to create the Panda Waze, which is the first city car to bear the Waze name. They are calling it ‘the most social media savvy Panda ever’, and although I am not sure that is a particularly momentous achievement, the Panda Waze is the nifty little ball of technology and convenience the world has been waiting for.
1. THE WISDOM OF 100 MILLION MOTORISTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
Fiat’s partnership with Waze means that drivers of the new Panda have access to the Waze mega-network of 100 million fellow motorists from around the world who share real-time driving updates on everything from potholes to mass pile-ups. If anything stands between you and your destination, it will pop up on your in-car screen in plenty of time for you to adjust your journey accordingly.
2. AN IN-CAR SATNAV THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY WORK
In-car satnav software is a peculiarity of the motoring world, because we usually use what is given to us by carmakers unquestioningly. Would you ever buy GPS software from Renault if it did not come with a car attached? They build cars. Why should they be able to produce a quality navigation system?
The Panda Waze does not have this problem, because Waze is a legitimate map and traffic technology company. Fiat created the exquisitely named Panda Uconnect app and collaborated directly with Waze (via Mopar, their ‘after-sales products and service provider’) to create the navigation software embedded in the car’s infotainment system. All of that means you might end up with a satnav system that – shocker – actually works.
3. EASILY KEEP ON TOP OF CAR MAINTENANCE
You thought Waze only provided traffic and journey information? Oh, no. The intermingling of the Waze technology and the Panda’s system goes far deeper than that. The app will also let you know when your fuel level or tyre pressure is slipping dangerously low, and its ‘My Car’ feature will even remind you of scheduled services and allow you full digital access to the owner handbook and the car’s parameters (which are great toys to play with, if nothing else) as well as a direct line to Fiat Customer Care. It also comes with an ‘Object Reminder’ function, which gently nudges you so that you do not leave things behind in your car, like your keys or your gun.
4. FANCY ONBOARD TOYS
For a small, low-priced city car, the Panda Waze is notable for its impressively sophisticated tech. The Waze-supported Panda Uconnect app allows you to scroll between playlists and radio stations, adjust the volume, manage calls and texts, and even check your diary and the weather in real time. You know, so you can change your route to avoid puddles. Uconnect uses Bluetooth 2.1 tech alongside USB and MP3, which even allows some functions to be voice-controlled.
5. YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TROUBLE FINDING PARTS OR BLENDING IN
If you are the kind of person who likes to wear Hawaiian shirts in public then the Panda Waze is probably not the car for you. It is not for the attention-seeker because, as Fiat likes to point out, its Panda and 500 occupy a combined European market share of 28.4%, with the Panda proudly holding a 14-year streak as Europe’s best-selling city car. All that means that you will never have any difficulty finding parts if need be, and you will always blend in very smoothly with the other inner city hatchbacks, which will also be Fiats.
6. IT IS FAST AND FUN, AND IT CAN TACKLE THOSE PESKY INNER CITY MOUNTAIN RANGES
The Panda Waze will be powered by a 1.2-litre 69 brake horsepower engine. If it runs well, it could potentially rival the brilliant Volkswagen Up Exclamation Mark as the logical choice for car that is both very small and very fun. It has four-wheel-drive too, and it once climbed up Mount Everest. Apparently. Being a close relation of the Cross, Fiat’s contribution to the SUV revolution, it will presumably not become completely inept when confronted with an obstacle such as leaves on the road.
The Panda Waze will connect you to the motoring world at large and provide you with an onboard journey planning system that might actually work. It will remind you of everything you keep forgetting and give you lots of toys to play with in the meantime. It will serve you well as a compact city car and bring a little spark of joy to your commute. It combines a certain degree of ruggedness on the outside with its nippy city runner heart and its social, high-tech soul.
Full specs for the Panda Waze will be released in coming months, and it will go on sale in the UK in August of this year.
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Comments (20)
It looks great, but I don't think James May would be particularly fond of it, though...
Also, am I wrong in saying, that real-time, millions of panda drivers update thingy, would be misused by 5-year olds, and 52 year olds around the world, once kids start getting bored of facebook, and all that rubbish...
Cos, if my mum owned one of those, I'd just go about telling every panda driver about pseudo jams, which have blocked the streets to one end of the town, and that protesters, have completely blocked every road for miles. Or, I'd just tell him/her that a particular road, which I know to be clogged to it's genesis, is completely empty, and that traffic is flowing smoother than lubricated butter on a smooth surface.
And say you're planning on killing somebody, and you leave your partner in gutting people in the car, and the plan is to lure the target in the car, central locking goes on, and then your partner finishes the job...
Now, you park in front of the victim's house, and go to meet him, where the victim, is waiting to receive you from your apparently empty car, then just as you're about to lock the door, the car goes, 'you have left something in the car...', now, the victim, get's curious, and wants to know what you've forgotten inside your car, when you try to divert his attention, from the assailant in your car, he gets suspicious, and finds out...
Then you have to do time for the rest of your miserable life thinking, why did I have to buy the Fiat Panda waze?
The Waze real time update system has been working for many years without any of those kinds of problems. As for that elaborate murder scenario, I'm really not sure what to tell you 😂
I'd be somewhat worried if they predicted exactly that murder scenario
Just look at that interior..
Did they say to the designers, there you go, design an interior that costs £20, they designed this and said "great news" we have saved you £19.... 😂
It's not so bad - it helps to keep the price down, presumably
Surely they could mild a piece of plastic to look better than that?
The first thing I look for when I sit in any car is I look around and think 'is this a nice place to be' because that is where you spend many hours of your life...
Except it is owned by a giant tech company, Google bought Waze back in 2013 and incorporates accidents and slowdowns reported on Waze into it's own nav app.
You learn something new every day. Thanks Chris!
We dont have those here, am i missing something, these seam to be popular, and honestly i dont see why lol
And i hate all black wheels. There are maybe three cars ever made that can pull that off.
You're missing out on a great deal, these cars are awesome!
Fantastic piece, Jason. Loving the new Panda Waze! Looks like a great city car... my Mini is jealous.
It's a great addition to that growing sector of the industry