Hello guys, asking for all the advice you can give me on this in-car entertainment.

The girlfriend might be getting me one of the Pioneer touchscreen units for the Panda around Christmas, but before saying "oh yes I'd love one" I want to know the ins and outs.

Thinking of buying this.


I have the following questions however,

- how do i get it to fit in the double DIN slot? The current single DIN I made a mess of, it didn't fit properly in/flush hence why I'm going to get rid of it and replace it. Maybe I'll give it away free / postage costs on Fiat Forum

- will i need a bigger battery to power it? My 1.2 8v doesn't have any electrical equipment other than the basics of all cars.

- if I need a new battery, is it a matter of simply fitting a larger e.g. new Bosch unit?

- To get it to work as well as I want it to (fully) what type of adapter do I get, how much and where from?

- Any good microphone kits that might fit it to ensure I can talk on the phone through it?

- What type of speakers do you recommend? Ideally ones that fit behind the stock speaker grille, don't like these 'chav' looking things and as long as the quality is 'great' I don't care about being able to play it at mad volumes just clarity when the Panda makes its road noise on the motorways


Really excited to learn more about this, thanks

SB1500 said:

Hello guys, asking for all the advice you can give me on this in-car entertainment.

The girlfriend might be getting me one of the Pioneer touchscreen units for the Panda around Christmas, but before saying "oh yes I'd love one" I want to know the ins and outs.

Thinking of buying this.

Click to expand...

Firstly, why spend all that money on unit that is not DAB/DAB+?

Secondly, space is tight behind the unit. I found that putting my single DIN aftermarket radio in the top slot allowed me to manage the wires as the unit went in, fitting the caddy box afterwards. A double DIN might cause a lot of swearing.

SB1500 said:

- how do i get it to fit in the double DIN slot? The current single DIN I made a mess of, it didn't fit properly in/flush hence why I'm going to get rid of it and replace it. Maybe I'll give it away free / postage costs on Fiat Forum

Click to expand...

Look for a Connects2 fascia, usually better than the Autoleads ones. Even Autoleads are much better than any other, so don't buy on price!
http://www.connects2.co.uk/products/facia-kits/vehicle/Fiat/Panda

SB1500 said:

- will i need a bigger battery to power it? My 1.2 8v doesn't have any electrical equipment other than the basics of all cars.

Click to expand...

NO. Unless you intend to just sit in the car for hours with the radio on and no engine, but that would apply to any radio. The bigger screen will take a bit more power than a standard one, but should be fine for any reasonable time.

SB1500 said:

- To get it to work as well as I want it to (fully) what type of adapter do I get, how much and where from?

Click to expand...

Browse the Connects2 website for all the fitting options. Including any CanBus adaptors.

SB1500 said:

- Any good microphone kits that might fit it to ensure I can talk on the phone through it?

Click to expand...

Check out the Pioneer website for the full spec. It may well come with the microphone, or they'll list which one it needs.

SB1500 said:

- What type of speakers do you recommend? Ideally ones that fit behind the stock speaker grille, don't like these 'chav' looking things and as long as the quality is 'great' I don't care about being able to play it at mad volumes just clarity when the Panda makes its road noise on the motorways

Click to expand...

Look for standard size from a good manufacturer as ordinary replacements. As you said, no need for anything more. I think you need adaptors for the door fittings, http://www.connects2.co.uk/products/speaker-adapters/vehicle/Fiat/Panda For rear doors, I think the ones for Punto of same year fit, used to be listed for Panda.

portland_bill said:

Firstly, why spend all that money on unit that is not DAB/DAB+?

Secondly, space is tight behind the unit. I found that putting my single DIN aftermarket radio in the top slot allowed me to manage the wires as the unit went in, fitting the caddy box afterwards. A double DIN might cause a lot of swearing.

Look for a Connects2 fascia, usually better than the Autoleads ones. Even Autoleads are much better than any other, so don't buy on price!
http://www.connects2.co.uk/products/facia-kits/vehicle/Fiat/Panda


NO. Unless you intend to just sit in the car for hours with the radio on and no engine, but that would apply to any radio. The bigger screen will take a bit more power than a standard one, but should be fine for any reasonable time.



Browse the Connects2 website for all the fitting options. Including any CanBus adaptors.


Check out the Pioneer website for the full spec. It may well come with the microphone, or they'll list which one it needs.


Look for standard size from a good manufacturer as ordinary replacements. As you said, no need for anything more. I think you need adaptors for the door fittings, http://www.connects2.co.uk/products/speaker-adapters/vehicle/Fiat/Panda For rear doors, I think the ones for Punto of same year fit, used to be listed for Panda.

Click to expand...

I was looking for this as it's a touch screen, has bluetooth and in car call ability (an upgrade for me) and an easier way to pick music / take calls etc. Plus, for sheer vanity, I could attach a rear view camera on it. DAB seems very complicated to setup unfortunately :-( But I do read a lot that 'any car can have DAB fitted' wondering if that means I could adapt this unit for DAB should I decide its essential in the future?

Even though the space is tight (as I found out with my current unit) surely the double-din will fit? As its basic I'm thinking and hoping it doesn't go back quite as far as others do. I regret trying to fit my current radio to the top slot, reckon it'd have went in PROPERLY if I did it on the bottom as it might not have been so tight, but you live and learn I suppose! What's a caddy box? The little space under a single din?

The fascia I have at the minute is a dirt cheap eBay one. Terrible product, but the FIAT part was expensive for what it was too. Looked up the Connects2 full kit, would that be needed? £33/£40 for that online. Hoping it might make the process go a lot more smoothly.

Not sure what type of adapter on Connects2 I'd need. Preferably the one that means the radio can be turned on without the key, don't enjoy the way the current one needs ignition on at least. But you did warn me on that!

I do want to sit in the car with the radio unit for probably up to an hour so might get a bigger battery anyway. Is it a case of simply finding a larger size up that physically fits?

It comes with the microphone, thinking the roof / a pillar would be a good location for it?

Found a good kit from Alpine, this is the link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kit-6-Speakers-for-FIAT-PANDA-Alpine-with-adapters-/252161959251

Seems to utilise the two door speakers too, well, add some in that space. Wondering if prewiring works or if this is something that might involve some soldering? And does that eBay kit miss anything essential? Thinking of going for it as it tends to look like it has all the stuff the Panda needs for an upgrade.

Hopefully the website will show dimensions of the unit. Although if it has a CD player it is likely to be as deep as the single DIN.

I originally had my unit in the bottom slot, a real pain getting the wires out of the way as it went in. Putting it in the top I found easier.

Yes, the caddy box is my name for the little space below/above the radio for your oddments. I lined mine with rubber matting to stop it all hitting me in the face.

Your car should be CanBus, and with an adaptor unit, (more stuff to hide behind the unit) it reads the CanBus signals and generates analogue ones for the unit to read. Mine, quite old now and been in several cars, gives an ignition signal for auto on/off, a lights on signal to dim the display, a speed signal that increases volume with speed (most units don't seem to do this any more). It also generates a reverse signal, used for navigation units along with the speed signal.

portland_bill said:

Hopefully the website will show dimensions of the unit. Although if it has a CD player it is likely to be as deep as the single DIN.

I originally had my unit in the bottom slot, a real pain getting the wires out of the way as it went in. Putting it in the top I found easier.

Yes, the caddy box is my name for the little space below/above the radio for your oddments. I lined mine with rubber matting to stop it all hitting me in the face.

Your car should be CanBus, and with an adaptor unit, (more stuff to hide behind the unit) it reads the CanBus signals and generates analogue ones for the unit to read. Mine, quite old now and been in several cars, gives an ignition signal for auto on/off, a lights on signal to dim the display, a speed signal that increases volume with speed (most units don't seem to do this any more). It also generates a reverse signal, used for navigation units along with the speed signal.

Click to expand...

So, I'm buying the;-

£40 Connect2 Fitting Kit (fascia, fitting cage etc)
£50 Connect2 CanBUS for Fiat adapter

Expensive, £90 just to make it fit!

The unit itself, £160 but if I want it I must do it properly!

And, to top it off, a brand new Bosch S4 battery. It's for medium size cars, so in a Panda with a power hungry media system it should be good to go for even up to a few hours on occasion? ...but will it fit?!

Let me know if I've missed anything?

Double din is a pain, but with patience and some mild alterations entirely possible. From first wiring mine in to say properly with surround and everything probably took a good day, on and off.

When you remove your stereo you'll see bits of trim towards the back of the cavity that are pointless. Chop them out, and you can sneak wiring away towards the pass air bag and behind the dash clocks. Bear in mind I had a CAN control module for the steering wheels to think about as well

SB1500 said:

So, I'm buying the;-

£40 Connect2 Fitting Kit (fascia, fitting cage etc)
£50 Connect2 CanBUS for Fiat adapter

Expensive, £90 just to make it fit!

The unit itself, £160 but if I want it I must do it properly!

And, to top it off, a brand new Bosch S4 battery. It's for medium size cars, so in a Panda with a power hungry media system it should be good to go for even up to a few hours on occasion? ...but will it fit?!

Let me know if I've missed anything?

Click to expand...

Seems good. Enjoy it once you've stopped swearing at the fitting of it.

portland_bill said:

Seems good. Enjoy it once you've stopped swearing at the fitting of it.

Click to expand...

Thanks for your help.

Sounds bad, but in my opinion, it needs to be double din and a touchscreen.

I've always thought with the Panda 169 dash that it was made for a touchscreen - would just look awesome having a large screen at such an optimal view.

When you look at most cars the radio unit is so low... Whereas the Panda your eyes are still half on the road.

I'll be sure to post photos of the fitting process

Does look good once done