SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 8:11pm:



Quote:


that's a very common comment from EV owners
they also dislike going to a petrol station - it's a smelly dirty place to stand while spending $50.

EV's are sweeping the world.
I see amazing videos about the technology in them, they improve monthly.

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2026 at 6:11pm:

It's not Chinese, is it??

All modern Chinese cars like to flash the speed limit in front of you and assault your ears should you exceed it, but the two Urbans I drove both kept finding imaginary 25km/h limits in Sydney’s suburbs, and chiding me for ignoring them. This was about as much fun as walking a dog that has eaten the wrong mushrooms and thinks it can see rabbits everywhere.

Then, just for good measure, one of the cars I was driving also randomly tried to slam the brakes on, seemingly because it was alarmed that people sometimes park their cars on the side of the road.

I must admit that I increasingly feel like a man shouting furiously into the void because it is clear that the vast majority of people tend to buy cars based on price alone – hence the fact that MG is now a top-10 brand in this country. Just keep in mind that I can’t tell by looking at you that your Louis Vuitton man-bag is a fake (although I can tell that you’re a dickhead), butI can see that you’ve chosen a Chinese car.

Let’s get back to the good stuff. It is remarkably comfortable. I wish the seat back could be adjusted with a wheel rather than a lever because that way you could have something in between bolt upright and completely laid back, but other than this it’s sublime. It glides over bumps and doesn’t shudder unduly when it hits a pothole.

And here comes the clincher. At one point the film crew and I started to wonder how much it costs. We all reckoned it’d be just south of £30,000 ($58,000) and that this would represent very good value for money. So imagine our surprise when we discovered that you can actually buy a hybrid Giant Panda for £18,995. The top-of-the-range model I had on test is only £21,995.

I’m rarely surprised by a car’s price but this stopped me in my tracks. And I wasn’t alone. Lots of passers-by laughed when they saw me in a pistachio-coloured hybrid, but when I told them how much it was, they stopped laughing. And asked if they could buy one in another colour. You can, and if you go for red you are helping to cure tuberculosis. I’m not actually making that up. Fiat supports a charity called Red that deals with global health issues, and because TB kills 1.2 million people a year, that’s one of the biggies.

Strange. I accidentally spent all week researching TB while driving a car made by a company helping to cure it.

What’s more, it’s a car made from recycled drinks cartons and bamboo. If the nation’s snowflakes had driving licences, they’d be flocking to the Giant Panda. But it appeals to other people too as it’s very cute, comfortable and economical. It even won the hearts and minds of a film crew, who, as a general rule, are never impressed by anything, anywhere, ever. And yes, I liked it too.

Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid La Prima
ENGINE: 1199cc, 3 cylinders, turbo, petrol, plus electric motor
POWER: 109bhp (combined)
TORQUE: 151 lb-ft (combined)
ACCELERATION 0-62MPH: 10.0sec
PRICE: £21,995

Jeremy Clarkson