Why don't all saloons/sedans have folding rear seats?

[prizrak]

Afaik a lot of 2+2s are like that indeed for tax or insurance reasons, the US market being one that differentiates.

Yep its insurance, same reason my A4 is a 4 door since there is really not enough room in the back for even shortest of the adults

 

[Blind_Io]

So my question is response is...what sedans don't have this feature and why? As we know pretty much all estates and hatches have this feature to increase the little cargo space they have (hatches) and increased utility (estates, SUVs). But the presence of this option is highly variable in saloons across the board.

I can think of two situations where they are consistently NOT found:

1. really cheap low end, base model compact sedans - reason? I'm guessing its cost issue

2. really expensive high end luxury sedans i.e. S Class, A8, XJ, 7 series, etc.... reason? Obviously its not a cost or weight savings issue. Could it be that feature is seen as too 'bourgeouis' for the type of ppl who own and drive these kind of cars? i.e. manual labour and moving stuff is beneath them, they're not the type to buy cheap flat pack furniture, the trunks are spacious enough for most transport needs, etc...

Discuss away...

Some years of the Infiniti G35 don't have folding seats because the rear seats have recline mechanisms instead.

 

[RdKetchup]

My last car (2002 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec-V, with sport package) came with a rear split folding seat, but only the left/40% part would fold, the right part being used to mount the stock sub-woofer.

Even weirder, the version without the sport package (that adds nothing sporty, since it consist of a sunroof, a sub-woofer and an amp it actually adds weight) didn't have a folding seat at all...

 

[edkwon]

Some years of the Infiniti G35 don't have folding seats because the rear seats have recline mechanisms instead.

I'm surprised, the rear seat of the G35 aren't exactly the roomiest and they included a recline feature? There would be no room for my legs to slide forward.

 

[GraemeH]

I think my Lexus' rear seats don't fold down (unless I've been missing something). Looking at the shape of the seats I can see why. They're more sculpted and deep than normal seats, with higher/thicker side-bolsters, so I can see why they wouldn't fold down very well. Certainly not without squishing the leather and alcantara and possibly marking it. It has that little chute thing for loading things through the passenger compartment into the boot, so maybe they consider that a partial replacement.

 

[Timbits93]

the Toyota Camry has the split folding seats in ALL models except for the XLE model. why? idk...

edit: its because the Camry has reclining rear seats in the XLE. I think thats also the reason why 7 series and such dont have it also...since their seats recline too

The Camry SE doesn't have split folding either, just a centre armrest pass through due to additional structural integrity.

 

[Chaos]

I'm surprised, the rear seat of the G35 aren't exactly the roomiest and they included a recline feature? There would be no room for my legs to slide forward.

It may be the sedan?

And just reposting what I posted in the original discussion.

Can't say for the Europeans, but my parent's Lexus LS has only a center armrest pass-through. My Infiniti's rear seats fold down as a single piece, but they fold nonetheless.

Thing about the sculpted seats: My rear "seats" (lol, seats) are fairly deep and bolstered too, yet they fold. It probably does have to do with extra bracing in models that only have a small pass-through.

 

[edkwon]

It may be the sedan? .

I'm referring to the sedan, god of course i'm not referring to the coupe :lol: If you're a man above 5'8" in height, that rear bench is as cramped as a 3 series.

 

[Hbriz]

If we're talking about useless rear seats, I give you the Peugeot 206CC:

I had to get in the back of one of those once. I ended up walking that day.

 

[Spectre]

Many cars do not have folding rear seats or even a pass-through because the engineers decided they wanted to make the rear bulkhead of the passenger compartment a second firewall, to protect the occupants from fire should the vehicle be rear-ended and a fire result; flame retardant plastic and upholstery still burns in a gasoline fire, steel does not. Some use this firewall as a place to mount electronics. Others do not because they mount the gas tank directly behind that firewall - all post XJS design Jag sedans and coupes, as one example. There are other reasons to not have a hole in the back of the passenger cell, too.

 

[argatoga]

My Mustang had folding seats, it was a god send.

 

[och]

On expensive cars it has a lot to do with sound insulation.

 

[mooglebunny]

I have what most would consider an incredibly cheap small sedan, and my back seats fold down (I think I'd consider it about 70/30).

Of course, I'd argue that mine isn't designed to be very safe or necessarily modern (besides the car's body shape being modern-ish).

 

[Crazyjeeper]

The Mazdaspeed6 doesn't have them because there is a big structural X brace across the gap.

 

[thevictor390]

My car's seats don't fold but then it also isn't quite a sedan. There is a small section that comes out of the middle providing access to the trunk, completely blocked by the optional spare tire.

 

[MattD1zzl3]

Question answered: Often there are things in the way by design.

 

[public]

My premium executive luxury saloon does have a 60/40 split fold rear seat back. The buttons/levers/switches for them have had their surfaces hilariously crumble in the sun, though; it looks like they're shedding dandruff on the rear parcel shelf.

 

[GraemeH]

flame retardant plastic and upholstery still burns in a gasoline fire, steel does not.

9/11!!!!! THE TRUTH!!!

 

[Spectre]

9/11!!!!! THE TRUTH!!!

Jet fuels burn hotter than gasoline. It also takes significantly longer for a fuel fire of any kind to melt/burn/'eat' through a steel bulkhead than some polyurethane and leather or vinyl.

Note that this doesn't mean it doesn't get through, just that it slows it down. One of the reasons why the Crown Vic fires didn't kill more police officers (despite the numbers of fires that occurred both due to collisions and things like flares and such going off in the trunk and starting a conflagration) is because the CV has that solid steel bulkhead behind the rear seats. It's not much, but it can give the occupants a critical few seconds or minutes to get out.

 

[WillDAQ]

I think my Lexus' rear seats don't fold down (unless I've been missing something). Looking at the shape of the seats I can see why. They're more sculpted and deep than normal seats, with higher/thicker side-bolsters, so I can see why they wouldn't fold down very well. Certainly not without squishing the leather and alcantara and possibly marking it. It has that little chute thing for loading things through the passenger compartment into the boot, so maybe they consider that a partial replacement.

Yup, and if you take the seats out you get this:

The rear shelf is also full of speakers which would be vulnerable if you folded the seats. And the transmission tunnel would prevent the sculpted seat bases folding forwards.