Hello,

Just joined from just looking for years

I wondered if anyone can advise if the optional rear sliding seats on MK2 Panda go further back than normal rear seats?

I also notice the newer MK2's have deeper seats in the back than the older ones, with more of a bump in the middle?

It is a bit cosy in the rear of my Panda and often carry my parents in it, so if this does add a little more space at the expense of the boot, I'd be interested to find out?

Its not all that common an option.
philboo has one..

but unless you run a brace - fleet.. of pandas..direct comparison could be tricky.

Any idea if the mechanism adds height (reduces cabin space..)..
You would assume the seat bases are identical.

Charlie

It does create more space in the rear if you push is right back. The sliding seat option brings a slimmer parcel shelf as the boot effectively goes from smaller than the standard car to being much bigger (at the cost of no rear leg room). The sliding seat option is a 50/50 split with just two seats. It’s brilliant as I have it set with a smaller boot but still have 360 degree baby seat in the rear and my partner can still sit comfortably in the front passenger seat and she’s about 5’ 10”

It would be handy to have but apart from seat slides, the rear shelf sides will have to be changed along with seat back latches. And don't forget seat belt locations.

Maybe a two position seat (forward or back) would be easier to engineer.

I did post quite a few photos of it years ago when I got mine. Not sure if you can find them on a search of the forum.

I have pics of my sliding rear seat in my gallery. It shows boot space with the seat forward and back and cabin space too iirc.

Here's the link...

https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/showgallery.php?page=1&cat=1674

From the pictures, it seems to slide forwards to make more boot space but the images of it pushed back look to have much the same legroom as the fixed seat. I've only seen the images but that how it seems.

I like the roll out boot cover. It has to be better than the clunky cardboard thing we have on most cars.

I generally drive with the seat back these days as I don't really use the boot that much.

The boot cover certainly was a good idea. It happened as a spur of the moment type thing. Originally when I ordered my Panda, I had ordered the blue seat option. Me and the husband viewed the car outside the showroom when we went to pick the car up and walked into the showroom sniggering at the big obvious mistake in the order as the seats were yellow. After a bit of 'No, that's what you ordered', the salesman checked the order and went 'Oops you're right'. He offered to swap the seats over from another car and then we pointed out that he couldn't as I had ordered the sliding rear seat. He then offered to pay for seat covers, so I got them custom-made with the extra flap which velcros to the rear shelf. I don't think he was quite expecting that anyhow. I find it funny though that later cars were made with seats in virtually the same colour scheme I chose. I still look on it as a stroke of luck as I didn't particularly like the blue seats but thought they'd stay cleaner easier than the yellow ones.

As for legroom, I generally keep the seat fully back these days. The seat front is flush with the part of the floor that comes up. When forward, the seat slides forward on the runners by around 15 cm and overhangs this.

I mainly got it for the ability to change the boot space rather than the rear legroom. I'm a short person so I drive with my seat almost fully forward so there's plenty of legroom behind me anyway.

If it was still an option in the 312 Panda, I'd definitely go for it again. I've been looking at the newer Panda recently as my Panda is now falling foul of the tin-worn on the chassis so I'm thinking that if it passes MoT in May, I can't see it getting through another year without a lot of welding. It's also a bit geriatric and leaking oil from a number of places. At over 150K miles on the clock, I'm doubtful of the worth of spending a load on welding. Just being realistic about things.

I like the look of the Cross but am somewhat lamenting the demise of the Multijet engine. I don't know if I would be better to go for the full 4x4 Cross with the Twinair or the City Cross tarted up with the Cross pack with the 1.2 Fire engine. I like the thought of 4x4 but am not that sure about the economy of the Twinair. I currently use Winter tyres and have never failed to get home up the hill to where I live with my non-4x4 Panda. I would do in the region of 14K miles per year.

Any comments or advice greatly appreciated.

I really dont like the look of the newer Pandas. They've become corporate blobby like a scaled down 500X. But the style does work on the 4x4s so I suspect they'll hold their value over time.

If yours has a solid body shell consider swapping the rear axle for a 500 axle complete with 500 springs. It worked well on our Dynamic. If it's going threadbare elsewhere, then it is probably best retired.

DaveMcT said:

I really dont like the look of the newer Pandas. They've become corporate blobby like a scaled down 500X. But the style does work on the 4x4s so I suspect they'll hold their value over time.

If yours has a solid body shell consider swapping the rear axle for a 500 axle complete with 500 springs. It worked well on our Dynamic. If it's going threadbare elsewhere, then it is probably best retired.

Click to expand...

Where bump stops fit at rear is pretty rotten getting. Passenger side one fell out and is bodged back in for now. Rear wheel arches full of rust too. So that's why I'm looking into a retirement plan for him.

Wee Smurf said:

Where bump stops fit at rear is pretty rotten getting. Passenger side one fell out and is bodged back in for now. Rear wheel arches full of rust too. So that's why I'm looking into a retirement plan for him.

Click to expand...

With stuff like that going on it is curtains time. Once the zinc layer goes the steel will fail very quickly. Time for retirement.

Thanks for the info and pictures.

I have a dynamic and now a 1000hp. I think the 100 has a little less rear space compared to my Dynamic.

From you advice it seems they may go back a little further than the fixed ones which is what I am after, but I am unsure if they can be retro fitted to a car. Lots of rails and seatbelt locations which could cause an issue.

I am unsure why they would need to go further forward, as there is then no legroom, so you might as well of just folded down the seat as normal?

Thank you for your help.

Multiodd said:

I am unsure why they would need to go further forward, as there is then no legroom, so you might as well of just folded down the seat as normal?

Click to expand...

This was my thinking. If the seat goes back to allow more leg room then great but moving forward for a bigger boot would (for me at least) be pointless. As you say, the seats fold down easily enough. No need to slide forward as well.

DaveMcT said:

This was my thinking. If the seat goes back to allow more leg room then great but moving forward for a bigger boot would (for me at least) be pointless. As you say, the seats fold down easily enough. No need to slide forward as well.

Click to expand...

I agree, need to see if the seat when back, fully is sitting above the bulkhead, rather than a little forward of it as in my car. I think some have said the parcel shelf is smaller or folds in some way, while others say this is the same as a normal car?

The parcel shelf is quite small compared with the normal one. The idea of the sliding rear seat is to allow it to sit around 3 inches further into the boot than the normal seat (or 3 inches forward of the normal seat). Its centre position is where the normal seat would be. It has several ratchet points between fully forward and fully back. The seats also have 3 recline points and adjustable headrests.

Wee Smurf said:

The parcel shelf is quite small compared with the normal one. The idea of the sliding rear seat is to allow it to sit around 3 inches further into the boot than the normal seat (or 3 inches forward of the normal seat). Its centre position is where the normal seat would be. It has several ratchet points between fully forward and fully back. The seats also have 3 recline points and adjustable headrests.

Click to expand...

Ah Thanks. That's really helpful because the one issue I have with the car is lack of rear leg room. Although I carry kids in the back their shorter legs cause their feet to hit the front seat backs. That much rearward movement would be very handy to have.

Just bought a Panda cross with the sliding seats.

It seems it is quite a rare option.

Good points:

It does indeed allow more legroom in the rear compared to the normal seats and they are of a more cupped design, making them somewhat more comfortable I'd say over the normal ones (they look more like the front seats infact with deeper back cushions). The base and the back are independently adjustable, so you can recline quite a bit more than normal.

Bad points:

Even though they have base cushions that are recessed, the whole seat assembly sits significantly higher in the car on rails that allow for forward and backward movement. This means if you recline them and are of 6ft or more, your head will touch the back part of the roof lining as it dips down to the hatchback.

(having said that I know of few or no cars that can accommodate adults so well in the back as the Panda).

The seats also do not fold down as effectively as the normal seats leaving a large amount of seat mechanism to lift items over.

Overall I'd say they are still better than the normal ones, its just if I am in the back they have to be adjusted to the same position as the normal seats so probably sort of pointless

Hello

Just as with yourself, I wasn't that keen on the new Pandas looks, but it does work better on the 4x4 and even more so on the 4x4 cross. Everything is going over to petrol so could make the move to one of these in time. Do feel a bit guilty when my 1.3 multiet first starts

I presently have a 110,000 miles on my mk2 Panda cross, which I like very much, even higher than the 4x4 on the road and 50mpg still. Rust is just starting to be apparent, in time will buy the lowest mileage and best condition mk2 cross i can find, though these do tend to be being offered at rather inflated prices :-(