Hi there Triumph. Thought it was about time I wrote something on one of your threads, as a way of thanks.
Over the last year, I have found your posts, pictures and conversations with deeyup, and others, very helpful, interesting & fun.
While waiting for the detailed information about the Cross to be released, I had already hand picked my options due to some of your advice & experiences with ur 4x4. The sliding rear seat for 4 was going to be one of my first picks, a deal breaker if I didn't go for a factory order. I was really disappointed when the Cross was only available with 5seats, i.e. annoying seat belt in the roof and no scope to vary boot/leg room space.
The photos of your off road day were tremendous, orange looked great muddy. I daydream about playing with my Cross like that.
Anyhoo... On the topic of you thread... I found out so much about the Cross while researching it, so here is a cutting from a fiat press release that fits in nicely to this thread.
""Panda Cross is a true off-road vehicle even in the small technical details and protective measures adopted. For example, under body protections with steel shields allow to tackle even the roughest ride, with no damage to the lower mechanical parts. In addition, the intake duct is raised from the ground as much as 739 mm in the diesel version and 711 mm in the petrol version. So the Panda Cross has no difficulty in rather deep depressions, as might happen crossing a ford.""