I know there was some question of this, but apparently the bench seat is officially coming to the US this fall

http://www.autoblog.com/2011/05/05/m...option-in-u-s/

I heard it was coming in November - words from my local dealer. (I assume that is my "MA" but I don't know what that stands for)

Motoring Advisor, MINI's cute name for a salesman.

Gotta love the comments.

I would bet that there's no way to fit more than 350-400 pounds of human back there, no matter how you divide it. I'm 200 lbs, and when I sit in the back seat and envision another me in the other seat, there's room for a bag lunch between us, not a third human.

Still, if it helps them sell cars...

I prefer the look and unique-ness of 4 buckets... what other cars are set up with 4 buckets? I know the new (ugly) Ferrari FF has 'em... any others?

I'm glad I only have room for 4. One less back seat driver.

Cheers,
Tad

I will post a picture of mine today I have the full leather with the bench option.

This is exactly what MINI was banking on. I mean really, the only way MINI is able to charge as much as they do is for their uniqueness. Once they got the handling down, the rest of their focus has been on form. Form takes top priority and whatever they can do to make the car different is good in their eyes. In fact, the countryman loses the handling aspect of the other MINIs. There are other cars that are more fun to drive and better handling, and they are cheaper. But of course they do not have the styling that draws the $$. I think MINI felt they really needed to do something styling wise to make up for the extra weight and worse handling, so they came up with the rail system and rear buckets.

So far I have only heard TWO arguments that make any sense in favor of the buckets. One is something that has been mentioned on here quite frequently and that is that the buckets are more comfy for backseat passengers. I would assume this is true. Makes perfect sense. The other reason is one that a friend of mine brought up. He has two kids who fight over the back seat. Who's taking more room, get out of my space, etc. So he sees the buckets as a way to fix this. Understandable. Other than that, i see no advantage to the buckets. I think it makes the car look cheap, and I really don't like the idea of the rail. I think it's ugly and cheap looking as well. But of course that's just my opinion and it's subjectively based. The arguments against the bench, like obese americans, are all pretty silly. Especially since that seems to be the main argument, when in reality that is the least of the reasons why people are for the bench option. Although I could easily see 3 children sitting back there for short trips around town.

Anybody that owns a large dog will not buy the Countryman with buckets. I have a Clubman S and won't trade to the Countryman until the bench comes out.

I'll let you break the bad news to my Rottweiler, Brick (on the left, his friend Bruin is on the right).
I somehow don't think you'll be able to keep him out of it, buckets or bench.




Where there's a will, there's a way.
Cheers,
Tad

Does the folded bench make a flat cargo area like on the Clubman?

Dave

Oh, it can be done, but it's certainly not optimal for many dog owners.
Our two Corgis would definitely not be happy without a bench...

Hmmm... not available until the fall?
That's going to be a deal breaker for me- I guess we're remaining a one-Mini household.

I own two medium/large dogs (Golden Retrievers), and the flat load floor is perfect for them. No need for a bench. There's a teeny space for them behind the back seats if they're up (only good for a very short jaunt if I want four adults and two dogs in the car), and there's a ton of flat space for them with the buckets down and the floor down on top of them.

The only others I know with buckets are the VW CC, Mercedes Benz CLS, and the Porsche Panamera. Many others are 2/2 but like the MC/MCS the rear seats are not bucket but bench.

Nope, same as the buckets only no space in the middle.

Is there actually a seat belt in the middle to sit a 3rd person?

Our German Sheppard can not fit on the folded flat back seat of the Clubman because she is too tall. She needs the extra height or depth and width given when she can actually sit across the back bench seat.

We have two Great Danes and can fit both in the Countryman together! We ordered our Countryman All4 S with the flat load floor option. This allows us to fold the standard bifold panel all the way forward to cover the folded down bucket seats. The overall floor area is now flat and fills in the entire rear area. The dogs are a bit limited on head room, but have enough space to lay down. They are very happy to be able to go for a ride. Step in height is fairly good for them too. Much better than my Audi Q7, which requires them to jump down from a higher height when getting out.

We do wish there was a way to protect the top of the rear bumper from scratches when the dogs enter and exit. We've seen a couple of after market products for this purpose, but wish MINI had made it standard.

I think the flat load floor option accomplishes much of what we would get out of the rear bench seat option. We'd never think of putting 3 adults in the back seat anyway. The bench seat does make loading options easier - with a flat load area as soon as the seats are folded down, and no center rail to conflict with large objects slid into the rear seat area for transport.

deleted my own post. i found my answer.

Like what? I test drove a Juke and it really was $10k less fun, easily. The CVT (mandatory on the AWD models), simply evil to drive. The steering felt really loose.

I agree the Countryman handling is not as good as other MINIs (I drove an '03 MCS for over eight years) but it's still really good, and still quite a lot better than many other things out there - especially in terms of steering responsiveness and road feel.

There are other good reasons for buckets though - when you put things in the back they don't slide across the width of the car as easily. Also on a road trip it allows rear passengers to reach into the rear cargo area to get something between the seats. And in theory (have not tried yet) it seems like you could stick skis/snowboard between the seats while having rear passengers.

If you have a dog you can simply put something like a blanket folded over a few times across the whole rear and they will be fine.

Since multiple buckets are inherently more expensive than a bench, I have exactly the opposite feeling. I think bench seating looks cheap, just slapping two giant slabs of padding for the poor bastards in the rear and calling it a day.

Now that is where I can say with great certainty you are mistaken! The rail is brilliant, but the brilliance is like a diamond unpolished. You know what looks cheap? The cheap things MINI attaches TO the rail right now. But it does not have to be that way! I think we will see some really interesting aftermarket rail things come around. The idea of having a stable point to easily attach things from throughout the car has a great deal of potential, and is just a really good idea. By the time the rail system is in full bloom you'll be able to buy aftermarket rails for other cars not as lucky to have them installed!

A bench would fit three children pretty well. I've sat in the middle in a normal MINI before with two other adults for a short time, it can be done... One of the rail attachments I could see working is a super-temporary "third seat" that takes up the middle, and would be big enough for a kid. Then without the bench you could still handle three children.

My understanding is that there is with the bench seat, but there's not with the buckets.

IIRC, the bench rear seat folds three ways -- center down, each side down (independently). Also, the center portion, when in armrest mode, has a depression it it that is screaming for someone to make an aftermarket collapsible drink holder!

There is but you'd only fit 3 across the back if they were children or midgets, there is not enough room for three average European people, certainly not 3 American sized people, but maybe 3 Asians if they were malnourished.

Does the bench slide fore and aft as the buckets do to provide more leg or more cargo room? My wife's letting me get this car , but insists on the bench for an emergency spot to haul an extra kid in a pinch (which I'll concede since I wouldn't be getting this otherwise!) . I may try to deter getting this if it's not adjustable.