My CM is currently in production and I ordered the Flat Load Floor. Three things made me want the flat load floor as opposed to only the flat boot.

A) I have dogs,
B) because I have dogs, I needed to cover the gap in between both back seats, and
C) I didn't like the seats having somewhat of a 15 degree angle even when they have been folded all the way down and the flat load floor supposedly gets rid of that.

Here's my dilemma:

I know the what the flat load floor is supposed to be used for, but no one can seem to answer the question about the seats actually folding all the way down. No one has been able to show pics of the flat load floor with both seats down and both floors laying flat. My question is: Will the seats fold all the way down so that the entire floor from the boot to the back of the front seats will lay flat? I know this is what mini.com says it does, but my dealership has yet to see a flat load floor at their dealership and doesn't know for sure. I read the product description to her and she told me "oh, that's interesting. I can't wait to see that." Hardly the assurance I needed. The thing is, why would MINI make the seats lie at a 15-20 degree angle if you don't have the flat load floor, and completely flat if you do add the flat load floor? What does that extra piece have to do with the seats lying flat? Is it the weight of the piece that makes them lie flatter? Or do they just build the back of the CM completely different? I read that this piece can't be retrofitted in another forum, so being built differently could explain why that could happen. I just want to be sure I didn't waste my money on some extra piece that isn't going to get the job I want done, done.

 

I don't see any way the buckets seats could fold completely flat, though it's possible the bench seat will.

 

I agree, but here is the description straight from MINI:

The Countryman's extra, hidden stowage compartment can be covered by the optional real-load floor panel while the standard panel is against the rear seats. Or when the rear seats are down, the entire cargo area becomes a full flat floor.

Now, I read that, three people at the dealership read that, my wife read that, and we all came with the same conclusion that the entire area from the back of the front seats to the end of the boot are all flat. I'm just trying to see if anyone actually has it and can tell me if we're all correct or we're all just reading it wrong. A picture would be AMAZING and put everything to rest.

BTW, the US doesn't have the bench seat option yet, so that wasn't an option.

 

I'm betting that the "cargo area" is the area from the base of the seats to the lift gate. It does NOT include the seat backs. But that's just my opinion!

Have you seen this thread? http://tinyurl.com/3gjf6da

Take a look at this particular posting and his/her handiwork.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...71-post90.html

 

Thanks MCSC. I hope you're wrong, but it's something I've thought of before. Thing is, if you go to the build your MINI section of mini.com, the picture of the flat load floor shows the optional cover for the floor already down, while the standard panel is against the rear seats. The standard panel clearly looks large enough to cover the seats (remember there's also a tiny folded piece on that same standard panel). I read the thread you linked but it seemed their focus was more towards the bench seat, which did help a bit but there were no pictures of the bucket seats with the flat load floor. That gives me a little hope, I guess. The other link of the makeshift flat load floor looks good, but a little too much work. I'd rather just fold the seats down and BAM, flat load floor.

I just don't understand why they wouldn't have an entire flat floor, like every car in the world does !!!!!

 

Flat, yes - level, no. The only thing the flat load floor option does is cover the boot well when the regular piece is locked up or folded front when the seats are folded down. Go to the dealership and look at how much of the rear seat area is covered and how flat it is. You can help it a bit if you strap the seats down.

There is a picture in my gallery of the home made piece I made that covers more of the rear seat area.

Bill

 

Thanks Bill. That's exactly what I was afraid of. I didn't want to have to "strap down" anything. I don't want to have to make it an ordeal if I want to take my dog anywhere. I'm kind of upset that they would write that the entire cargo area would be flat when the seats are down if the seat area would have an incline. What kind of engineer/architect came up with this? Every other car in the world can fold their seats all the way down except for the Countryman? And to say that the cargo are would be completely flat is ridiculous, the cargo area is going to be flat with the original piece anyway, why even have the extra flat load floor? I just don't get it. It's the reason I paid for the flat load floor, and now I'm going to have to eat that when I could have gotten something worth getting like the auto dimming rearview, or auto garage door opener, or both. Pretty lame if you ask me. I loved a lot of things about the Countryman, but this is pretty important to me. What does, "Or when the rear seats are down, the ENTIRE cargo area becomes a FULL FLAT FLOOR" mean then? Pretty lame.

 

Really the main purpose seems to be 1) fill the gap between the bucket seats and 2) not scratch up the back of the bucket seats.

There are plenty of other cars out there that have seats that don't lie flat, though the Countryman is more inclined than most. It's mainly due to the side bolsters on the bucket seats. It makes the seats more comfortable, but prevents them from folding completely flat.

 

Chrunck, If that is the purpose of having the flat load floor option, then that's a rip off. And they shouldn't call it a "flat load floor" option because it's not, it's a "cover the gap and don't scratch up the back seats" option.

Also, I test drove many, many cars before I decided to get the countryman and all of them had the seats go fully down. From the smallest to the largest cars, they all had the seats go all the way down. Are there cars that don't have the seats fold all the way down? Sure, but the majority of cars I test drove did. Car manufacturers are supposed to know that people use their cars for all sorts of things, so they build them accordingly. I just feel that the countryman, wanting to compete with similar cars, would have made a true "flat load floor" option instead of a "cover the gap and don't scratch the back seats" option. Like I said, it's pretty lame on their part.

Other than that, I do love the Countryman, and I can't wait until mine gets here. I will let the dealer know my unhappiness about the flat load floor option though, even if it's just for the sake of knocking a couple of hundred bucks off my final price.