Once in a blue moon I've got three passengers in the MCS. Happened last night. Really, it is not safe for me to drive when I've got someone sitting behind me and my seat is up too far. Even if the passenger is cool with having their ankles locked into place, allowing my seat to be back as far as possible, I still have trouble working the pedals. How short do you have to be, to be comfortable with someone sitting behind you in your Mini???

 

There are actually 2 factors here. First is your height (and actually, the length of your arms) and the second is the height of the passenger sitting behind you.

The main thing that you need to do is to adjust your seat for proper driving position. There are a number of opinions on this, but most will say that if you adjust your seat back so that it's only SLIGHTLY reclined (10 degrees or so) and then slide the seat until you are able to comfortably rest your WRISTS on the edge of the steering wheel and can fully depress the clutch, then you're in the right position. If you try this, you may find that you're actually sitting a bit farther back from the wheel than you're used to. Most drivers (Americans...and for some reason, women in particular) tend to sit way too close to the wheel. This leads to poor ability to control the car in emergency maneuvers AND increased danger of being injured by the main driver's airbag in the event of deployment.

Anyway, if you adjust your seat as above, I'd contend that you'll have pleanty of room behind you for a passenger IF YOU'RE BOTH around 5' tall. But, if you're much taller than that, it'll be really tight in the back seat. Just for reference, I'm an even 6' and the footwells behind me are largely useless. The MINI will accomodate front seat passengers (and drivers) of around 6'7"...but that's with no one able to fit behind them. So, if you want safety and comfort for rear seaters...it's best if you're short and/or your rearseat passengers are toddlers (or nonexistent).

 

Well... I am 6'... so you shorter drivers have no problems then???

 

I'm not sure what answer you're looking for. Yes, IMO, it's unsafe for 6' drivers to position their seat so that rearseat passengers can be comfortable. I'm sure that some drivers our height do drive too close to the wheel (and thus allow more space for rearseat passengers)...but then again, people do all sorts of unsafe things in cars.

Anyhow, do a search (try "rear seat&quot, and you'll find that the majority of members admit to the rear seats being only useful for periodic use, use with children, or cargo. Heck, the US Govt. crash testers didn't even do a safety test on rear seat passengers 'cause they couldn't fit a dummy back there. Doesn't that say something?

 

Hey there Stumble buddy--

I just had a couple of bones to pick with you on this issue. I would argue that most Americans sit WAY too far away from the steering wheel for best driving. I work at a private club that has a very small parking lot, so I'm frequently helping to move double parked cars to let people into and out of spaces. I am shocked by how far people sit back and how far they will recline their seats. I don't know how someone responds quickly to sudden problems when their head is positioned BEHIND the B-Pillar.

I have actually started sitting a little closer to the wheel after taking the Phil Wicks Driving Academy class a few weeks back. You are correct with the whole "rest your wrists" on the steering wheel thing, but that actually leaves you quite close to the steering wheel, much closer than most folks drive. Most people seem to think that if the wheel will rest at their finger tips, then they're good to go. The wrist thing makes sure that with the wheel in the palms of your hand, your elbows will be bent which aids in turning and would help avoid injury in case of a quick stop: your arms would act like shock absorbers and flex in response to braking. Also, the less distance between yourself and the wheel, the more "in tune" you are with your surroundings and with your vehicle. Your field of vision is greatly improved, and your response time should improve as well.

As for passengers' and driver's comfort, I am 6' and I have had passengers up to about 5' 8" sit semi-comfortably behind me. No, I don't particularly like having people sitting behind me and losing a little leg-room, but I've done it irregularly, and it hasn't really been that much of a bother. Now, if I had two teenage kids and was subjected to it regularly, then no, I wouldn't think that it was such a comfy idea. But once or twice a week is no big deal.

Good luck, and I welcome your comments!

Maxwell

 

Well I am 6'4" and there is no way that a person, unless they have both legs amputated or in a child seat, can sit be haind me. I have very long legs even for my height. This has been a problem for me in all my cars. I just take only one or two passengers. Sorry that I am not much help but it is something you live with if you drive small cars.

 

JJ

I'm with you on this one. 6'5" & no room behind me. I keep the backseat permanently folded down anyway. Keeps the passenger load down to 1. I have had people behind me, and I found it uncomfortable & distracting to be pulled so far forward.

Jims

 

I'm with Chitown_COOP on this one. I too sit closer to the steering wheel than the average reclining driver, and changed my driving position after receiving professional driving instruction on the track.

 

Yucca, you and I are about the same height, right? Well, I'm 5'9" and sit "at proper distance", so I don't have any problems with an average height person behind me (average = <6')

I've found that more important than seat bottom distance to wheel is seat bottom height; keeping your seat relatively high allows room for the rear passengers feet, which is important

 

For better steering control it probably is better to sit closer. Just watch on TV any professional racing event. The drivers sit pretty close.
But in normal street use you'd probably wouldn't want to sit too close in order to give the airbag (if deployed) a chance to inflate properly.

 

Safety and seating position with respect to the number of passengers. Very good topic.

How many passengers is safe? It depends on the weight and size of the passengers and the driver. The goal would be to allow the driver an adequate safe environment for operating the car and allow the passengers to be seated and comfortable within the limits of the load of the car (limits of suspension,wheels and tires). Since the number of seat belts is 4, lets start with 4 total occupants.

In most situations, 4 persons should fit. The MINI is not unlike any other car inside and in fact it's probably a bit better in terms of width and headroom. It doesn't have as long a wheelbase though. With an average driver the seat should not be all the way back to the rear unless the drivers legs are very long. If your legs are so long that you must have the seat far back then that would limit the rear passenger to a smaller person. But it would still be safe if that person did fit and was comfortable.

In my case I am 5'6" and my torso is long (same as 6' man) so short legs makes for seat that is far up forward and lots of space behind me for a full passenger. My family is short so front passenger seat is also forward and leaves lots of room in the back. For us, 4 fits just fine.

 

I'm reminded of all the people who check out my Mini and say, "Why, there's more room in here than I thought!" 'Cause I always want to say, "I didn't buy it for the interior space." And I surely didn't buy it to haul groups of people around. I will remember to try raising my seat up the next time.

 

Hummm. I agree with all said here, but actually Coop, I tend to find that the wrist thing leaves me further back from the wheel (but still pretty close) than a lot of drivers. Maybe it's an age thing. I see all sorts of youngins' driving with their seat reclined nearly to the rear seat...but I find that older drivers (40 +) often sit way too close. Maybe it's that the kids think they look cooler laying back, and the oldsters (like me) need to be closer to the dash so that they can see the instruments.

Here's a link that offers several takes on "proper driving position."