The current Fiat Panda - which has been around since 2003, can you believe it? - is still the best-selling A-segment car in Europe. More than two million have been sold and the Panda plant in Tychy, Poland is churning out one every 35 seconds.
So all that's been done to the South African Panda range for 2010 is a little nip-and-tuck. The 1.1 Active and the 4x4 Climbing have been dropped and the 1.2 Dynamic is now available with an automatic transmission.
It's called a manual transmission automated or Dualogic and uses a servo-automated clutch and gear lever to retain the advantages of a manual - lightness, robustness and fuel economy.
Two operating modes are selectable: semi-automatic and automatic. There's no clutch pedal so all the driver has to do in manual mode is push the lever forward to change up and back to change down.
Start the Panda, apply the brakes and select either first or reverse - you can even select second to aid traction in really slippery conditions.
The system automatically shifts to neutral if a door is opened with the engine running, to prevent unplanned takeoffs, and it'll also prevent gear changes that could damage the engine or transmission.
In automatic mode the transmission has normal or economy positions. Normal produces the smoothest possible gear-changes while pressing the economy button on the gear control panel resets the gear-shift mapping for optimum fuel economy.
So, what else is new?
Redesigned side mirrors, new wheel covers, a revised grille with more body colour, new headlight lenses, new upholstery fabric colours (choose from grey/blue, grey/red or grey/yellow) and optional roof rails, now with brushed stainless-steel finish.
PRICES
1.2 Dynamic - R125 900
1.2 Dynamic MTA - R141 000
1.4 16v 100HP - R154 200