Hello All,

Forum looks good. Similar to the SeatCupra.net one I look at.

Off to test a Panda diesel this weekend. Good stuff and really looking forward to it, only thing is the dealer hasn't got one with the split fold sliding rear seat and I really want to see that.

If any of you Panda owners have the slidy rear seat please tell me how it works. I am particularly interested to know if it can create enought legroom in the back for an adult to travel comfortably for 40mins or so.

Also, is the Dynamic "air-con" option worth it. Is it powerful and how much does it really knobble the performance being a small diesel engine?

Not interested in other options, just the slidy seat and air-con.

Finally Are Olympian Fiat in Bournemouth really that rubbish?

Thanks very much in advance.

p.s. Will post an honest appraisal of the multijet next week having never driven a Panda before. (I have a Leon 20vT so will be very different)

Hi.. I've just ordered a Panda, without the sliding rear seat for exactly the reason mentioned by you: there's not much room in the back, and sliding the seats forward will make them pretty useless.

HOWEVER, as I've understood (and seen, on pictures) the sliding seats are not meant for getting more room with still 4 places. They're meant to grow the space with the seat(s) down.

When folding the rear seat(s) down, the back of the seats is not leveled with the rest of the boot. The folded seats are some 7 cm / 3" higher than the rest of the boot. Sliding the seats forward creates more space at the lower level of the boot.

I'm not speaking from experience, so let's hope somebody with the option replies

As for the aircon: had I not gone for the Emotion/Eleganza (which comes with the auto-aircon / climate control), I would also have settled for the manual aircon. I use a friend's car with climate control now and then and I keep chaning the temperature up and down. I guess I hardly ever want "exactly 22 degrees", but rather warmer / colder..

Hope I'm making sense

Welcome!
I test drove a Panda diesel today. As regards those options, I don't know about the sliding rear seat, but I'm not 100% sure whether you can actually have aircon on the diesel in the UK yet. I know the website will let you put a tick in that box, but I think I saw an options list somewhere for the diesel that didn't have aircon on it.
I have a Coupe 20V Turbo, so I too am coming from something very different...
H

Did you like the panda...what you expected Hmallett? what did you like/dislike?

Thread here.
H

slowv6 said:

If any of you Panda owners have the slidy rear seat please tell me how it works. I am particularly interested to know if it can create enought legroom in the back for an adult to travel comfortably for 40mins or so.

Click to expand...

It works well. It adds about half an inch in height but there is more than enough clearance for that. There are three under seat pull handles that you use to manipulate the seats:

Left handle: Adjust leftmost seat back to either upmost, slightly tilted back or all the way down for load carrying.

Right handle: Same as left, but for right seat.

Middle handle: Adjust rake back and forth. At its furthest extent it creates the most boot space and leaves no legroom ( ideal for carrying, or if you have dogs rather than adult passengers ). Then varying all the way back. I find that about halfway back you get a kind of UNO rear seat legroom quantity. Full extent back it is close to Marea legroom.

The rear doors and arrangement make getting in and out easy.

The handles can be controlled from inside the boot too with three straps.

I don't have the static seat to compare with.

Also, is the Dynamic "air-con" option worth it. Is it powerful and how much does it really knobble the performance being a small diesel engine?

Click to expand...

I have it in the 1.2 and it doesn't notice the aircon being on. The aircon is good to excellent in quality, but doesn't cool the back ( in fact the whole ventilation to the rear is poor ). It is worth it for those summer months and for wet driving. I usually drive with it on, it is at least as effective as the Mareas.

All just my opinion, based on ownership of a Fiat Panda 1.2 since April 2004.

Oh and I can do pictures of all the positions and levers if you are interested. With the slidy seat you get two seat positions, not 3, and comfort is supposed to be better for it.

CheeseMaster said:

Full extent back it is close to Marea legroom.

Click to expand...

Uhm. So can you create more room for the passengers in the back than with the fixed rear seats?

If so, I wonder if I can still change my order...

I don't have a fixed rear seat system to compare with, but don't forget because of the tracks it is positioned a little higher and that might make you sit more upright and therefore taller people can fit better. Like me.

CheeseMaster said:

Oh and I can do pictures of all the positions and levers if you are interested. With the slidy seat you get two seat positions, not 3, and comfort is supposed to be better for it.

Click to expand...

Thanks CheeseMaster that would be great.

Would be very interested in a photo of seat in optimum position for an adult(bloke) sitting in the back and then another of optimum position for max luggage (i.e will a fold up pushchair/travel system jobbie go in the back?).

Oh yes - test drive is 10Am tomorrow so before then please!!!

We used to fit a wheelchair in the back of ours. Anyhow, I'm charging some AA batteries for my digital camera and will finish taking photos in an hour, the camera stopped on me after the first flash photo.

I will try and upload them to the album feature here and put a few more up of the other cars in the fleet.

https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=9760&cat=500

There it is. Batteries need to go back on charge again :-(

Re: Newbie - Thoughts on this deal please

CheeseMaster said:

https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=9760&cat=500

There it is. Batteries need to go back on charge again :-(

Click to expand...

Thanks very much indeed.

Have now driven diesel at dealers and agreed the following deal. Would be interested to know what everyone thinks.

Fiat 1.3D Multijet. Mamba Yellow with blue interior. Brand new.
30%down 0% interest over 3 or 4 yrs (don't particularly car)
AirCon pack (manual aircon,roof bars etc..)
split fold/slidy rear seat
Mats
Tank of diesel
£8k exactly.

What do people think of this deal? Reasonable?

Re: Newbie - Thoughts on this deal please

I don't know what constitutes a good deal in the UK or not but that is approx what we paid for our 1.2 from new with DualLogic auto/semi auto option in 2004.

If I had the choice then, I'd have bought a 1.3D.

CheeseMaster said:

https://www.fiatforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=9760&cat=500

There it is. Batteries need to go back on charge again :-(

Click to expand...

mine is non-sliding type. do you think i can purchase it and replace my existing ones or it is not possible as it requires modification to the bracket?

I really don't know. If you can't get a straight answer out of a FIAT mechanic ( and I can't see them having a mounting pattern that is that different ) then maybe theres a scrapyard with an accident damaged one that could be used to find out for sure. Or maybe a workshop manual?

I'm certianly not fiddling around with the Panda until its out of warranty. Learned my lesson there before with a Sei Sporting.

I have the sliding rear seat...

I doubt it very much if you would find one in a scrap yard as so few cars have them... I first test drove the Panda 1.2 in September 2004, but waited till the 1.3 diesel came out in February 2005 before buying as I really wanted the diesel. In that time I phoned around all the Fiat dealers in Northern Ireland to find if they had any cars with a sliding rear seat that I could see how it worked. Only one dealer had seen the sliding rear seat having sold one, and offered to get the buyer to bring his car in. How I wish that dealerships would have one car in the showroom with all the options...

For fixing the seat in, I'm presuming that the four screws that hold the sliding mechanism of the seat in place are standard in the normal Panda. There's then an extra section in the middle with the ratchet for the various positions of the seat. The boot mat is a bit longer with a cut out for the middle section.

I have the sliding seats and a friend has got fixed ones. We have compared. The sliding seat maximum position is more in the boot than the fixed one.
You have more room for legs . The luggage top protection (don't know the right word) is different too (smaller size).

slowv6 said:

Hello All,

Finally Are Olympian Fiat in Bournemouth really that rubbish?

Click to expand...

I don't think so !

maxpower38 said:

I have the sliding seats and a friend has got fixed ones. We have compared. The sliding seat maximum position is more in the boot than the fixed one.
You have more room for legs . The luggage top protection (don't know the right word) is different too (smaller size).

Click to expand...

Interesting. How much more "in the boot" are the sliding ones?