Large luxury saloons.....folding rear seats?
Discussion
Which of these vehicles do you know does or does NOT have folding rear seats?:
Mercedes S class 2003 year model (diesel or petrol, not fussed)
Audi A8 2004 year model
VW Phaeton circa 2004
BMW 7 series post 2002 (Bangle shape)
BMW 5 series saloon circa 2002-2003 angel eyes
Lexus LS400 Mk IV year 1998-2000
Honda Accord 2004-5 2.4 petrol saloon, 6 speed manual
They are all saloons, to the bestest of my knowledge. Big, commodius boots, potentially, but do the rear seats fold to allow a little extra loading space, if required?
And just as an aside, why do top-end luxury cars not come as estates? Executive cars such as the E-class, 5-series or A6 have estate versions, but not the S-class, 7-series or A8.
In a world where marketing departments continually create niches and products we never knew we needed, how come an S-class estate has not seen the light of day?
Mercedes S class 2003 year model (diesel or petrol, not fussed)
Audi A8 2004 year model
VW Phaeton circa 2004
BMW 7 series post 2002 (Bangle shape)
BMW 5 series saloon circa 2002-2003 angel eyes
Lexus LS400 Mk IV year 1998-2000
Honda Accord 2004-5 2.4 petrol saloon, 6 speed manual
They are all saloons, to the bestest of my knowledge. Big, commodius boots, potentially, but do the rear seats fold to allow a little extra loading space, if required?
And just as an aside, why do top-end luxury cars not come as estates? Executive cars such as the E-class, 5-series or A6 have estate versions, but not the S-class, 7-series or A8.
In a world where marketing departments continually create niches and products we never knew we needed, how come an S-class estate has not seen the light of day?
Edited by DrYazz on Monday 2nd August 16:54
Mr Dave said:
Fox- said:
The 2002-2003 5 Series only had it as a cost option. It's rare.
This, but you can also get it as an estate and they almost all had folding seats as far as Im aware?
DrYazz said:
In a world where marketing departments continually create niches and products we never knew we needed, how come an S-class estate has not seen the light of day?
You could look at R Class, although it's compromised in several areas.Of course we are getting hatchback version of some luxury cars now - BMW 5GT is actually based on 7 Series, and there are similar cars from Audi, although I've lost track of what the heck Audi are doing.
Honda have one too, in the US - Accord Crosstour:
Edited by Deva Link on Monday 2nd August 18:15
do you definately need folding seats? An S class has a 560l boot (most of these cars are pretty similar) - think that's a shade bigger than my mondeo estate. As it's so long and low, it'll be damn tricky to get anything that's bigger than that through the apature if the seats *did* fold flat. What are you wanting to carry?
fluffnik said:
One of the ways large luxury saloons often achieve luxuriousness is by having a solid bulkhead between boot and back seat...
That is something I had not considered before. The principle that folding rear seats may have a negative impact on refinement and noise levels.Top stuff, that fella.
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