Hi

I'm on the look out for a nearly new Trekking or 4x4 but am confused about the standard rear seat / seat belt arrangements. Am I correct in thinking that as standard the cars are supplied with a bench rear seat and only 2 rear seatbelts, with the 3rd rear belt and split rear seat as an option? If so, can the 3rd rear seatbelt only be added as a factory extra or is it possible to retrofit?

Cheers all

Stu

The standard is for 2 seats in the back.
I'm sure you could change it but you would also need to change the registration details(v5) as you will be changing from 4 to 5 seats.

Yep, wot Pilot Ralph sed!

No idea how easy it would be to retrofit a third seatbelt. The third belt is housed in the roof, almost directly above where the passenger behind the driver would be sitting. It's not the same design as the other two rear seat belts anyway.

BTW, the third belt can either come as a separate option (so that you keep a single rear bench), or it comes with the 60:40 split option, which is what we have in our car. Both are £100 options.

From experience though, I have to say we have probably used the third belt once, maybe twice in nearly 18 months. So unless you desperately need the third belt, perhaps it's worth thinking over again as to whether you really need it or not? If not, then your problem is solved, haha!

I had mine seatbelts as I don't think I will ever use the third seat but hope it might prove useful when 5 year plus come to sell the car 99% of the time Only me driving the car with 50% of the time back seats are folded flat to take Items in the back of my car ,but I still think its a good thing to have

Pilot Ralph said:

The standard is for 2 seats in the back.
I'm sure you could change it but you would also need to change the registration details(v5) as you will be changing from 4 to 5 seats.

Click to expand...

Another option is the 50/50 split sliding rear seat- this gives lots of legroom
with minimum (but still useful) boot space, or a huge boot with no rear legroom, or anything in-between

At the time I ordered (late January '13) it caused a long delivery delay,
but it's turned out so flexible I don't regret the choice.

IMO the Panda's too narrow for 3 people in the back, unless at least one
of them is a child



Chris

Moultoneer said:

Another option is the 50/50 split sliding rear seat- this gives lots of legroom
with minimum (but still useful) boot space, or a huge boot with no rear legroom, or anything in-between

At the time I ordered (late January '13) it caused a long delivery delay,
but it's turned out so flexible I don't regret the choice.

IMO the Panda's too narrow for 3 people in the back, unless at least one
of them is a child



Chris

Click to expand...

Agree with this. Test drove one with 40:60 split with 3 seat and decided the middle passenger would be in such agony after 5 mins decided to opt for 2 rear seats only.
The sliding seat also caused me delays but is brilliant and well worth the wait. Mine was part of a £500 flex pack that included all sorts of other stuff

I like Moultoneer's and triumph7's suggestion of getting the 50:50 split sliding seats - another option to throw into the mix. Not that you need any more help complicating things here lol

BTW, quite agree that the Panda isn't really suitable for three adults, not on a regular basis anyway.

But it is nice knowing that we can legally carry three people in the back...

Anyone noticed strange crackling sound from seatbelt pillar holder on the drivers side when driving? Noticed it few weeks ago. Just appeared out of nowhere. I used a bit of silicone spray and it is much better but not totally gone. Still appears from time to time at high speed on motorway.

Is the sliding rear seat option available again now? It was withdrawn a while ago due to supply problems......

triumph7 said:

Is the sliding rear seat option available again now? It was withdrawn a while ago due to supply problems......

Click to expand...

It's currently showing as a £200 option on the Fiat website configurator.

Strangely, the 4-seat Flex Pack (which included it) has disappeared...



Chris

Moultoneer said:

It's currently showing as a £200 option on the Fiat website configurator.

Strangely, the 4-seat Flex Pack (which included it) has disappeared...



Chris

Click to expand...

Oh that's good. Its such a good option and a shame people who have ordered recently have been unable to do so.
Odd the flex pack has vanished: I think it included: smoker pack (not that I smoke but the ash tray is useful!), comfort pack, cargo net, fold flat passenger seat back, driver seat height adjustment and a funny storage thing zipped onto the back of the drivers seat

I held out for the 50:50 sliding/folding seats and am glad I did. Very useful option and makes all the difference when my two (tall) sons are in the back. However the chap at Westover FIAT told us that it is never spec'ed on dealer stock cars and rarely by customers. So if you are looking for a used car then (unfortunately) it is going to be tricky to find...