A Guide to the A2's Boot and Rear Seats

timmus

A2OC Donor
Amongst its many virtues, the A2's rear cabin space is hugely flexible. The A2 was available with two rear seating arrangements:
  • The 4-seater version of the A2 only has two rear seats, but they can be removed individually, meaning the car's either a 2-seater, a 3-seater or a 4-seater. In 3-seater mode, you get an L-shaped boot. The rear seats are the same width as the front seats, meaning two adults can sit in the back of the car in relative comfort. Each seat has a set of ISOfix points, allowing for two child seats to be fitted. A sole adult can easily remove the rear seats.
  • The 5-seater version has what's known as the rear bench seat. The bench is a single piece that seats 3 people. It can only be removed in its entirety, making the car either a 2-seater or a 5-seater, but no intermediate arrangements are possible. Whilst a 'benchie' A2 has the benefit of being able to seat 5 people, that is the only advantage. The MPV-like flexibility of the 4-seater version is lost. The positioning of the seatbelt buckles along the bench means that the seats are narrower and thus less comfortable for adults than the split rears, even when only seating two people. The bench's ISOfix points allow only one child seat to be fitted, either in the centre or to the left. The bench weighs 3kg more than the combined weight of the split seats, meaning two adults are needed to remove it from the car.
The rear seating arrangement cannot be swapped between 4-seater and 5-seater A2s. So, if you buy a 4-seater A2, you cannot install a rear bench, and vice versa.

In a collision, the forces upon the seat attachment points are immense. It is absolutely vital that all seats are installed as per Audi's crash-tested design. Anyone claiming to be able to fit a bench seat into a 4-seater A2 (or vice versa) with some modification has clearly failed to understand this. Doing so risks serious injury or death to the rear occupants. If you need to change the rear seating arrangement of your A2, the only solution is to buy a different A2.
 
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4-Seater with Split Rears

Independently of each other, each rear seat can either be upright, folded, stowed or removed. When the rear seats are folded, the false floor allows the boot to have a single, continuous flat surface. When the rear seats are upright, the false floor acts as a partition, allowing more efficient use of the available boot space. Each seat can be stowed against the back of the equivalent front seat or everything can be removed to create a 2-seater mini-van, again with a continuous flat surface.

IMG_1544.jpg IMG_1545.jpg IMG_1551.jpg IMG_1548.jpg IMG_1553.jpg IMG_1555.jpg IMG_1560.jpg
 
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5-Seater with Bench

The bench operates exactly like a large version of a single split rear: it can either be upright, folded, stowed or removed. When the bench seat is folded, the false floor allows the boot to have a single, continuous flat surface. When the bench is upright, the false floor acts as a partition, allowing more efficient use of the available boot space. The bench can be stowed against the back of the front seats, allowing for a large boot but maintaining the possibility to seat rear passengers, or it can be removed entirely to create a 2-seater mini-van, again with a continuous flat floor.

IMG_1053 Red.jpg IMG_1056 Red.jpg IMG_1066 Red.jpg IMG_1067 Red.jpg IMG_1083 Red.jpg IMG_1075 Red.jpg
 
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A definite candidate for a "sticky" !!!

Very clear, very balanced and hugely useful.

I was going to step in and warn people about the weight of the rear bench and how awkward it is to get in and out, but you covered that too.
I can manage it by myself, but it is not a pleasant task! taking the seats out of a 4 seater is very easy.

Cheers
Steve B
 
Thanks Steve!

The idea for the thread was prompted by a new member asking about how easily a mountain bike can be squeezed into the back of an A2. Newbies also frequently ask about the pros and cons of the two different seating arrangements and whether it's possible to interchange the bench and split rears. Having already photographed both arrangements, I figured I'd try to unify all the information.

Similarly, I am able to remove a rear bench on my own, but my back hates me for it and the risk of marking/damaging part of the interior is increased, so I generally ask for a helping hand.
As you say, getting the split rears in and out is a doddle.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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I had no idea that the interior combos varied so much. My car is black but all the seat, door cards, parcel shelf and all carpeted areas
 
I had no idea that the interior combos varied so much. My car is black but all the seat, door cards, parcel shelf and all carpeted areas

Yes, it was possible to order a Platinum interior with Soul Black seats or a Soul Black interior with Platinum seats, alongside all the other combinations of course. The 2002 car used to demonstrate the bench seat in the photos above has the latter of these combinations.
To further complicate matters, from 2004 it was possible to order the Platinum interior with a Soul Black boot area. The 2005 car used to demonstrate the split seats above has this combination.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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Amongst its many virtues, the A2's rear cabin space is hugely flexible. The A2 was available with two rear seating arrangements:

  • The 4-seater version of the A2 only has two rear seats, but they can be removed individually, meaning the car's either a 2-seater, a 3-seater or a 4-seater. In 3-seater mode, you get an L-shaped boot. The rear seats are the same width as the front seats, meaning two adults can sit in the back of the car in relative comfort. Each seat has a set of ISOfix points, allowing for two child seats to be fitted. A sole adult can easily remove the rear seats.
  • The 5-seater version has what's known as the rear bench seat. The bench is a single piece that seats 3 people. It can only be removed in its entirety, making the car either a 2-seater or a 5-seater, but no intermediate arrangements are possible. Whilst a 'benchie' A2 has the benefit of being able to seat 5 people, that is the only advantage. The MPV-like flexibility of the 4-seater version is lost. The positioning of the seatbelt buckles along the bench means that the seats are narrower and thus less comfortable for adults than the split rears, even when only seating two people. The bench's ISOfix points allow only one child seat to be fitted, either in the centre or to the left. The bench weighs 3kg more than the combined weight of the split seats, meaning two adults are needed to remove it from the car.
The rear seating arrangement cannot be swapped between 4-seater and 5-seater A2s. So, if you buy a 4-seater A2, you cannot install a rear bench, and vice versa.

Hi Timmus
Very informative, good post.
I have just bought a 4 seat model, but Ideally I would like a 5 seat model.
You say a swap over is not possible, however when I look at the rear seats out photos, It seems that only the latch attachments at the front of the rear seats are different, Could these not be shifted and allow a 4 seater be turned into a 5 seater?, or would there be seat belt anchorage problems?. Cheers
 
Hi Timmus
Very informative, good post.
I have just bought a 4 seat model, but Ideally I would like a 5 seat model.
You say a swap over is not possible, however when I look at the rear seats out photos, It seems that only the latch attachments at the front of the rear seats are different, Could these not be shifted and allow a 4 seater be turned into a 5 seater?, or would there be seat belt anchorage problems?. Cheers

Hi,

The front latches (mounts) can be moved for the conversion but unfortunately the rear locating holes are totally different and it would be a massive job (almost unfeasible) to modify the floor pan to match the locating pins.

Believe me I have tried and it is one of the conversions that are in the "too difficult" pile, not impossible (vry few things ae actually impossible), but to me not feasible.

Steve B
 
I often remove the rear seats AND front passenger seat, put a box in the space where the passenger seat used to be, and then run a full-length camping mat from front to back giving me space to roll out a sleeping bag or duvet if I'm feeling decadent and get a great nights kip. I've done 3 weeks touring France using this setup. There is ample space left in the back and front passenger footwell for luggage, a portable stove, pots, utensils and all sorts of bits n'bobs needed to keep you out of a B&B/hotel and cafe/restaurant for weeks on end. So essentially my A2 doubles-up as the quickest, most agile, most fuel-efficient campervan I have yet to drive (and I've owned my fair share of high-top Transporters in my time!). Removing the passenger seat will set-off the Airbag light on the dash as the airbag wiring has to be disconnected in order to remove the seat, so I'm not sure if that disables the whole system, and it does require a trip to a dealer to clear once the seat is back in, or a run through VCDS, but imho it is well, well worth it for the pure joy of being able to have a great nights sleep in my Spacebubble, especially when its pelting rain outside :) I'll post up a photo next time I've it set up like this to give you an idea of just how luxurious these cars can be B-)
 
is it possible to put 2 front-seat-type seats in the rear area so that the rear seats can recline further?

that would be ultra cool...
 
For an uninformed potential owner like myself - how much does the 5-seater bench weigh and is it difficult to get it in/out of the car?
 
I,m not sure exactly how much it weighs but I would describe it as heavy. It is very easy to remove though and folds in on itself... similar to a large suitcase with a carrying handle and a clever system !. I would think or recommend that it is a two person job to avoid accidental damage to the door cards etc.

The grab release handles are located at the back of the bench seat near to the boot floor. Once the headrests are removed I think you pull on these handles and the whole seat folds up. Its then a case of moving it slightly forward and releasing the whole seat from the metal securing clips.
 
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For an uninformed potential owner like myself - how much does the 5-seater bench weigh and is it difficult to get it in/out of the car?

Unfortunately, I don't have an exact answer, but, from the first post in this thread...

The bench weighs 3kg more than the combined weight of the split seats, meaning two adults are needed to remove it from the car.

So, if someone is able to weigh a single rear seat, we can calculate the rough weight of the bench.

Although it is possible to remove the rear bench on your own, my back would advise against it. As Dave says, it's cumbersome and you can easy give your interior a good thump with it. Personally, for all the reasons I've outlined in the posts at the start of this thread, I much prefer the 4-seat layout, but that's easy for me to say as I never need to seat 5 people in my A2.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Just out of interest the bench seat was an optional extra and would have cost an extra £160 from new.
 
I don't have a great deal of need for rear seats these days, but the ability to carry 5 may be useful as our other day-to-day car only has 4 seats and the car the A2 will replace (a Yeti) has 5. Of more importance to me is ease of conversion to 'van' mode. From the remarks above it sounds as though the 4 seater would be better in that respect.

I'm just trying to put together a checklist of 'must haves' when I'm sifting through cars for sale. It seems that just about any OEM option is retro-profitable thanks to the ingenuity of some folks here, with the exception of Opensky and a 4/5 seat swap. I think I'm in for a long wait while a suitable car comes up for sale (and there also seem to be lots of people looking for a up-spec TDi's!) so I'd better make sure I a) choose wisely and b) act damn quickly when one does come up!

Thanks for all the comments about the seats. It's been very useful.
 
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