Bench seats in front

[JohnBike]

Many reasons:

• - Seats only 5-1/2, not 6;
  - Nissan would have to relocate some central console gear to left or right side of dash to accommodate middle airbag;
  - There would be a well-known safety problem with center passenger's feet close to gas pedal - some sort of barrier would be needed to avoid interference, regardless of the center theoretically being usable by small children only;
  - a bench seat would add weight to the Leaf due to additional stiffening required to accommodate the inertial weight of a center passenger in an accident;
  - Like everyone said before, the bench seat became a dinosaur and is even missing from a lot of today's pick-up trucks. I would not want to be the head of Nissan Marketing having to explain why the Leaf took a step backward in seat design.

[DanCar]

Many reasons:

• - Seats only 5-1/2, not 6;
  - Nissan would have to relocate some central console gear to left or right side of dash to accommodate middle airbag;
  ...

The airbag regulation should be amended to allow the occasional middle seat driver. People should be allowed to asses risk and take risk if they want to.
>There would be a well-known safety problem with center passenger's feet close to gas pedal
Again people should be allowed to take risks if they chose to do so. In my case would be a non issue since would be small child in the seat and wouldn't reach the peddles.

> a bench seat would add weight to the Leaf due to additional stiffening required to accommodate the inertial weight of a center passenger in an accident;
Yes, added weight. Much less weight then the SUV people with big families are pushed to buy. This is proposed as an option and not something for everyone.

> Like everyone said before, the bench seat became a dinosaur and is even missing from a lot of today's pick-up trucks. I would not want to be the head of Nissan Marketing having to explain why the Leaf took a step backward in seat design.
I would call it a step forward in flexibility.

[DaveinOlyWA]

At work we use a 7 passenger van but very very rarely have 7 people in it because its not easy finding 3 people small enough that can comfortably fit. Even the thinnest of people are still connected at the hip. So you honestly think we Americans are small enough to want to embrace 3 in the front? Wow, where do you live?

[RonDawg]

People should be allowed to asses risk and take risk if they want to.

You do realize you're in the US and that is simply not allowed?

To be fair, our tort system has evolved to the point where a bag of peanuts has to come with a peanut allergy warning on it. Otherwise the farmer who supplied the peanuts, the company who packaged and distributed them, and the retailer who sold them will all be sued by the peanut-allergic person who decides to consume them.

As long as someone can successfully sue someone else for their own poor decisions, we'll never "be allowed to assess our own risk."

[johnrhansen]

I dont think the leaf can carry more than 4 people weight wise anyway

[TimLee]

...People should be allowed to asses risk and take risk if they want to.
>There would be a well-known safety problem with center passenger's feet close to gas pedal
Again people should be allowed to take risks if they chose to do so. In my case would be a non issue since would be small child in the seat and wouldn't reach the peddles.

...

Don't you understand that the safest place for a child is in the back seat?

Air bags ended up requiring weight sensors and turn off options due to injuries and some fatalities to children and smaller individuals.

Put the child in the back seat.

The mostly unloved bench seat is not coming back.
Especially not in small end of midsized car such as the LEAF.

[TomT]

Maybe he should just buy a 60s era pickup...

The mostly unloved bench seat is not coming back.

[DesertSprings]

With a bench seat, I wouldn't be able to fit in the front if my wife was driving.

[jstack6]

I think it will come on some new Electric. Being able to seat 6 instead of 5 and sitting near each other (wife) would be a nice option. Maybe I'll have to make my own and get rid of all that center console junk.

[Lars36]

Guess the person sitting in the middle would be my cup holder and hold my coffee for me. LOL