Date Published: 17th December 2010
Everyone loves this car. Testers, testers’ other halves, anyone we parked next to… the Panda Cross is the ultimate is good-humoured 4x4 chic.Its size helps, of course, but so does its cheerful styling. This is carried over into a cabin that’s small, naturally, but nicely laid out using tough but welcoming trim materials.
It’s very easy to work out where all the controls are, but our testers were less impressed by the stowage spaces around the cabin. The glovebox and door pocket are fair, but there’s no space between the seats for anything of any substance. Bits and pieces are likely to get shoved in the large, sweeping area of behind the instrument binnacle and above the passenger’s airbag cover, and a non-slip surface here would make it much more usable.
At the back, split-fold seats are standard on the Cross (they’re an option on cheaper models), and these slide as well to let you juggle the balance between passengers and cargo. With a full complement of the former, you won’t be able to carry much of the latter, but with the rear seats down you’ve still got 780 litres of space to play with.Even with the seats slid fully back, knee room for passengers is hardly generous. Headroom is limited, too, so even if you do manage to cram yourself in there you’ll still feel pretty hemmed in.
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