Chances are, if you have a car and a smartphone, you’ve used Waze. Over 100 million users already do. And thanks to integration with Google‘s Android Auto and Apple CarPlay – to say nothing of individual automakers’ own infotainment systems – it’s become even easier to use while under way.
Now, the popular app has leant its name (and technology) to a special-edition city car. Launching in markets across Europe, the new Fiat Panda Waze puts the app on the dashboard display in conjunction with Mopar’s Panda Uconnect system.
Just dock your Android or iOS smartphone into the dash and you’re good to go, sourcing navigation data and real-time traffic info straight from the Israeli-developed network.
The Panda Waze features styling derived from the Panda Cross, including black trim for the bumpers, side moldings, mirror caps, roof bars, and door handles. It also gets 15-inch wheels with a burnished finish, as well as a titanium-grey interior and a 1.2-liter straight four, kicking out all of 68 horsepower (51 kW) and 75 lb-ft (102 Nm) of torque. At 14.2 seconds to 62 mph (100 km/h), it’s hardly what we’d call “quick,” by any stretch of the imagination. But finding the faster route thanks to Waze integration could help make up for time otherwise lost.
It’s the first car to feature Waze branding, but given FCA’s apparent deal, it may not be the last. Don’t be surprised, in short, to see the Italian-American automaker launching other models co-branded with Waze in the near future. Maybe some of them will even make their way to America.