Hi, does anyone know if a third row of seats is possible in an Estate? I have the false floor option. I can't see any anchorage points for seats or seat belts, so the vehicle may not be designed for this as an after-market option. There seems to be enough room though for one or two small people. Thoughts or experience are welcome

Volvo hold the patent for this and afaik no one else does this.

Volvo hold the patent for this and afaik no one else does this.

What about Mercedes?? 7 seaters are common in the E Class but must be a factory option since the boot floors are different, so i would think retrofit in the Superb would be impossible

I had a set of rear facing seats in three of my Range Rovers. They were installed by Overfinch and used brackets that tied into existing rear seat anchor points for rear bench seats. so it should be possible to do the same in your superb.

I'll see if I can find some pics and post up.

Steve

Volvo hold the patent for this and afaik no one else does this.

:)

Here they are...

Brackets that align with existing rear bench brackets...

Belts using existing seatbelt mounts...

Showing top belt mounting...

These were a split design, allowing you to fold up one half for extra space. The ones I had on the previous models of RR were a single bench, and again belts went in to existing mounts. I tried to find a pic of these ones too, but couldn't, I just had one pic showing the belts when I had the seats out to fit spare in for off roading..

Wow that looks really unsafe!! There is no way i would put a child in there

My E class had seats in the boot they folded flat into the floor so the passengers feet were in a footwell , but they also used the existing headrests (rather than a metal grill!!) and had proper shoulder belts to their own seperate mounting points, even so these seats rarely do very well in crash tests

Volvo hold the patent for this and afaik no one else does this.

I had 3 rows of seats in my 2004 Peugeot 307 SW.

Wow that looks really unsafe!! There is no way i would put a child in there

My E class had seats in the boot they folded flat into the floor so the passengers feet were in a footwell , but they also used the existing headrests (rather than a metal grill!!) and had proper shoulder belts to their own seperate mounting points, even so these seats rarely do very well in crash tests

The pics were an amalgam to show the seats. The pics used to show them in the car were the ones I took when I sold the RR so it had everything fitted, the quick release dog guard and the seats. In use we didn't use the dog guard and the seats together. As you can see in the pick the dog guard obstructs the flow of the 3 point belt, so another reason for not using them at the same time.

As you can see in the pic the shoulder points do get their own mounting point on the monocoque.

As for the Statement about crash worthiness. Want to substantiate your statement with proof?? You'll see plenty of proof points to show that rear facing seats actually perform very well in the majority of crashes which are head on. I was happy with the mounts for the seat belt points and the securing points are the same as for the existing rear seats, so again I was happy with these.

Thanks

Steve

Doesnt look like a factory mounting point on the rear pillar , sorry mate but that looks cobbled together imho as I said I personally wouldnt put a child in there

The fact the childs feet sit in what is a crumple zone at the rear of the car and outside of the passenger safety cell this is why they dont do as well as normal seats in safety tests, its all very well saying they will be fine in a head on crash, they probably will and in many cases rear facing seats are safer but its if/when you get rear ended, cars are designed to crumple, its pretty much common sense a simple choice between the seats inside the safety cell with the airbags or outside with no airbags sat in a crumple zone

Manufacturers get around the usual safety tests by having them as a option and not standard fitment, as I said the Mercedes ones were a factory option only due to chassis modifications to the boot floor including an additional aluminium brace designed to channel force away and to help protect the occupants .

To have them retrofitted as a afterthought is far from ideal imho, there is more to it than bolting extra seats in the boot

There was test with Zafira, 7 seats and crash test dummies placed in 3rd row (forward facing). And then truck hit them from behind... results were terrible... I was driving Picasso 7 seats before, and never liked those rear seats. But I admits it is really handy for short relations. I would be interested to retrofit something like that, but more like additional seating row which can be pulled out, as I am not using it regular.

What about Mercedes?? 7 seaters are common in the E Class but must be a factory option since the boot floors are different, so i would think retrofit in the Superb would be impossible

My Dad has these as he wanted to carry all the grand children in. My nephew is 3 and fits ok, but you have to be no bigger than 4ft to sit comfortably

Third row seats are noturiously cramped - the ones in the Audi Q7 are pathetic unless you're under 5.

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Doesnt look like a factory mounting point on the rear pillar , sorry mate but that looks cobbled together imho as I said I personally wouldnt put a child in there .....

Well we'll agree to disagree then. I also let my children travel on school coaches for trips and away matches, ride a bicycle on the road, climb mountains, fly on a plane, play sports even though there's a risk of injury etc etc...

It wasn't cobbled together, and I suspect you know little about seatbelt mounts, Forces acting on them etc. It's not difficult to manufacture seat belt mounts that meet or exceed factory fitted mounts. As I said before Overfinch fitted the seats and they had a very good reputation for modifications.

As for a Range Rover being rear ended, most of the time this would happen..

Yes it would be different if an hgv hit it at 70mph, but since last year my wife now drives a Fiat 500 as she doesn't have to drive the main family car anymore now the children are much older. I dread to think how a Fiat 500 and the majority of cars on the road would fare if hit from behind at speed by an hgv..

So as I said before, we'll agree to disagree and your welcome to your personal opinion.

Cheers

Steve

Wow that looks really unsafe!! There is no way i would put a child in there

My E class had seats in the boot they folded flat into the floor so the passengers feet were in a footwell , but they also used the existing headrests (rather than a metal grill!!) and had proper shoulder belts to their own seperate mounting points, even so these seats rarely do very well in crash tests

I imagine if they were Overfinch design and install they would certainly meet any regulatory need, if not exceed them. Personally I've never liked rear or sideward (Defender style bench) facing seats and that's why I bought a Discovery, then the XC90 when this level of seating was required. To my mind there is no perfect 7 seater, each has there own set of compromises.

James.