The Italian manufacturer is at the forefront of introducing big car safety features into the small car arena – a sector in which it has established a significant reputation over many years.

This year, the all-new Panda – the 2004 European Car of the Year – and mini-MPV Idea have been launched with an array of safety-related features giving Fiat the opportunity to attach the term “unrivalled” to both models. Meanwhile, the Stilo, Fiat’s fleet mainstay in both hatchback and estate form, has undergone a significant makeover with safety features to the fore. Nevio Di Giusto, Fiat’s Vice-President product development, says: “Fiat is certainly making a big effort to introduce upper-class safety features and performance into the small car segment. This is a very difficult task, but a family of new chassis has been developed to achieve it.

“Fiat has always focused on safety, but has not necessarily always publicised the fact. As a matter of policy, Fiat is giving its small car owners the same safety features as the higher classes, including active safety features which have been part of Fiat’s DNA for more than 100 years.” But, he adds: “Fiat is not claiming to be the overall class leader for safety. However, it is true that Panda, Idea and Stilo are class-leaders in terms of overall safety performance, this being a balance of various customer-orientated features which include active and passive safety.”

The revised Stilo boasts the full range of braking, traction control and stability systems on the market

“As a matter of policy, Fiat is giving its small car wners the same safety features as the higher classes”

The new Panda, which gave Fiat its 11th European Car of the Year title, a record unmatched by any manufacturer, has been on sale in the UK for more than six months, with the company claiming that the six-model range provides a package “unprecedented in the sub-£7,000 city car class”. The line-up will expand further with diesel options to be added this summer and a 4x4 version before the end of the year.

The entry-level £6,295 1.1 Active boasts twin airbags as standard with the availability of up to six airbags – the first time a car in the sector has offered driver and passenger side airbags and side curtain airbags, as well as twin front airbags – automatic climate control and parking sensors as well as other features enabling Fiat to claim that the Panda offers “a level of onboard sophistication and refinement unparalleled in this class”.

In addition, standard features include front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, three-point rear seatbelts, anti-submarining seats, ISOFIX child seat attachments to the split rear seats and a fire prevention system. However, it is perhaps in the availability of active safety features that the Panda can lay claim to safety excellence with the full range of braking, traction control, and stability systems available.

These include ABS anti-lock brakes complete with electronic brakeforce distribution, which is fitted as standard to all versions, except the 1.1 Active, Anti Slip Regulation (ASR) to limit wheel slip during acceleration, Motor Schleppmoment Regelung (MSR) to modulate engine torque while changing down, and an electronic stability programme (ESP) to control stability while cornering – the only car in its class to offer this system. Both ASR and MSR are available when ESP is ordered as an option, along with Hydraulic Brake Assist. Vehicles fitted with ESP also benefit from hydraulic brake assistance and a unique hill holder function to facilitate smooth hill starts.

On new Pandas without ESP, emergency brake assistance takes the form of emergency valve assistance (EVA), a mechanical system located inside the brake servo. On vehicles fitted with ESP, the function is carried out electronically by the ABS control unit and is known as hydraulic brake assistance (HBA). Both systems carry out an identical function. In addition, on selected models automatic door locks activate on all doors as soon as the new Panda reaches 12 mph. Mr Di Giusto says Fiat’s philosophy is to establish a “safety baseline”, such as the number of airbags as standard, and then allow customers to spec cars up to meet their own safety requirements from a range of options.

He adds: “The availability of safety contents as an option, up to six airbags for example, increases a solid, safe baseline up to very high levels of protection.”As a result Mr Di Giusto prefers to talk about “safety performance” and not “safety features” and points to the fact that Fiat’s longestablished Punto gives “excellent safety performance in a small car without a mass of individual safety contents”. The all-new chassis/platform is designed to provide maximum torsional stiffness yet absorb impact with optimum efficiency, and future Fiat developments include the further evolution of energy absorption of front structures, a further improvement of compartment integrity to higher impact speeds and the optimisation of restraint systems.

The Idea entered showrooms in February and, like the Panda, the manufacturer claims “class-leading levels of both passive and active safety” with models offering similar features to its smaller stablemate either as standard or as options. Standard across the range is ABS, twin airbags, “follow me home” headlights, height-adjustable front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, three-point rear seatbelts, anti-submarining front and rear seats, and Fiat’s fire prevention system.

The new Panda provides an unprecedented safety package

“The availability of safety contents as an option increases a solid, safe baseline up to very high levels of protection”

Fiat claims that preventive safety needs are met with an adjustable cockpit that adapts to drivers of any size with the combination of a raised driving position allied to an extensive glazed area, tinted to reduce glare, allowing the best possible view of the road ahead. The Idea’s all-round visibility is further enhanced by the availability of optional rain, dusk and parking sensors.

Finally, the revised 2004 Stilo boasts the full range of braking, traction control and stability systems on the market, including ABS complete with electronic brakeforce distribution, ASR to limit wheelspin during acceleration, MSR to modulate braking torque while changing down, and ESP to control stability through bends (standard on 2.4 litre models).

On board, the fitting of up to six airbags, including two front multistage bags and window airbags, five three-point seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, five full-size head restraints and the fire prevention system, further contribute to making the Stilo “one of the safest cars in this highly competitive segment”. A central control unit constantly monitoring signals from various sensors positioned throughout the vehicle supervises the comprehensive passive systems: two-way accelerometers and central panel sensors are responsible for activating the side and window airbags.

A crash severity algorithm identifies collision severity and controls the multistage front airbags. An early crash sensor located behind the radiator grille allows the front airbags to deploy fully, even before the occupants have begun to move. And seatbelt-fastening detectors recognise an unharnessed passenger, modifying the airbag deployment to compensate for the higher risk of injury and deactivating the seatbelt pretensioner. Regardless of impact, the central control unit will not activate a passive safety system if the relevant occupant is in no danger of striking the car’s interior.
The unit will continue to function in the event of electrical system failure.