Fiat reckons it’s found the formula for the perfect road trip playlist

Celebrating 70 years of the Fiat 600, the science-backed setlist includes hits by ABBA, Dua Lipa and more

Fiat teamed up with a music psychologist to produce the science-approved, feel-good tunes (Fiat)

Fiat is taking a musical approach to the UK launch of the Grande Panda, teaming up with a music psychologist to produce what the Italian car maker boldly claims is the “world’s happiest car playlist”.

The mood-boosting playlist, which Fiat insists was crafted with scientific rigour, celebrates 70 years of the Fiat 600 and the upcoming arrival of its new Grande Panda in September. After an undisclosed number of days working tireless in the laboratory, the eggheads triumphantly emerged with a list of songs that include ABBA’s Mamma Mia, Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off, and Pharrell Williams’ Happy.

According to Fiat’s vital research, the formula for a happy track involves a melodic major seventh chord, a 4/4 time signature, a tempo of at least 137 beats per minute and, naturally, positive lyrics. This killer combination, Fiat claims, triggers a dopamine release in the brains of drivers and passengers.

Also making the cut are Oasis’s She’s Electric and The Beatles’ Day Tripper, suggesting the algorithm for musical joy was perfected sometime in the mid-nineties.

The Fiat Grande Panda arrives in the UK later this year (Fiat)

The set of feel-good tunes serenades the UK launch of the Grande Panda, a family friendly EV that our editor Steve Fowler says “offers charm by the bucketload”. Something else to feel happy about is Fiat’s re-introduction of the £1,500 EV grant for the Fiat and Abarth 500e and 600e, meaning the Fiat 600e now starts at £30,035.

The retro-styled Grande Panda is set to arrive in showrooms later this summer with a starting price of £18,035 for the hybrid version. Meanwhile the all-electric Grande Panda starts at £21,035, a great value SUV that comes with generous kit as standard.

“No compromise, low-priced electric cars are coming thick and fast,” said Steve Fowler in his Fiat Grande Panda review, “and the new Fiat Grande Panda is one of the best.”

If you need a bit of pep in your step today, you can check out the World’s Happiest Car Playlist on Spotify.