Touran - access to rear seats

[Sue22]

I have just bought (stupidly!) a 2006 Touran. Unfortunately, prior to purchase I did not consider how I was going to access the rear seats once I had installed two Isofix car seats in the middle row. Obviously I can remove the seat thereby allowing access to the rear seats but this seems a bit extreme, especially if it's raining. A call to VW this morning confirmed rear seats cannot be accessed with car seats installed. I read many reviews prior to purchase and nowhere did I read that this would be a problem and I would only effectively have a five seater car (I already had one of those!!).

I cannot be the only person to have encountered this problem...the seats slide forward, but not far enough to allow access.

Any ideas or advice would be welcome...my salesperson tells me I asked for 7 seats and that's what he's sold me...not his problem that I cannot access them!!!!!

[Sam]

Welcome to VWAF

Is it possible to fold the rear seats from the boot and climb in that way - not ideal obviously, but it could be a workaround.

[Sue22]

Thanks...think I could only fill one seat this way...and that would mean unloading pushchair from boot...was thinking more (but I'm not very technical) that maybe the second row door seats could go on longer runners so they slide further forward thereby allowing access to rear...??? Wondered if anyone had tried before...was legal...etc etc. Or if entire seat could tilt forward this could be done with an empty child seat...

[Sam]

Sadly yes, you'd lose one of the rear seats - you'd gain a bit of boot space though(!)

Have a look at the current setup and see if there's any room for the seats to slide further forward than they already do, I suspect they've made it as cheaply (but as safely) as possible.

How long have you had the vehicle? Did you buy it from a dealer (VW or other) or was it a private purchase - I know you mentioned salesperson but...

If you bought it thinking you were getting a car with 7 usable seats and you haven't got what you were paying for, you may have grounds to return/reject but this isn't my forté.

Have a look, if you can, at the VW Sharan (or SEAT Alhambra / Ford Galaxy) and see if they do what you want. Failing that, something Japanese (Previa etc) would be my next choice. Avoid anything French!

[whinfs]

hello, sorry to 're-animate' this thread after a month, but i'm looking at getting a touran and would have the same problem with iso carseats. my question is, can you remove the seat between the two isofix'd seats thus enabling a walkway to the back seats? i have done this with my current mpv (kia sedona) and was hoping it could be done with the touran, since the 3 seats look like the operate independantly.

whinfs

I have just bought (stupidly!) a 2006 Touran. Unfortunately, prior to purchase I did not consider how I was going to access the rear seats once I had installed two Isofix car seats in the middle row. Obviously I can remove the seat thereby allowing access to the rear seats but this seems a bit extreme, especially if it's raining. A call to VW this morning confirmed rear seats cannot be accessed with car seats installed. I read many reviews prior to purchase and nowhere did I read that this would be a problem and I would only effectively have a five seater car (I already had one of those!!).

I cannot be the only person to have encountered this problem...the seats slide forward, but not far enough to allow access.

Any ideas or advice would be welcome...my salesperson tells me I asked for 7 seats and that's what he's sold me...not his problem that I cannot access them!!!!!

[dreddfan]

Not sure about the Touran but this is an option on the Sharan, I've done it on occasion.

[whinfs]

hello
just further to my post, i've bought the touran - a 2010 1.9 match - tis very nice - and ive taken the middle seat out so my kids can get access to the very back by just shuffling past the front seats with carseats in place

whinfs

hello, sorry to 're-animate' this thread after a month, but i'm looking at getting a touran and would have the same problem with iso carseats. my question is, can you remove the seat between the two isofix'd seats thus enabling a walkway to the back seats? i have done this with my current mpv (kia sedona) and was hoping it could be done with the touran, since the 3 seats look like the operate independantly.

whinfs

[VAG-Abound]

Bit late I know, but I only just joined the forums .

In addition to removing the middle seat another option may be to move the two remaining middle-row seats a bit closer to each other as there are mountings on the floor to make this 6-seat layout that gives a bit more space to left / right of 'middle' row of seats and may allow space for a little 'un to squeeze into the back. That configuration is shown at the top of Page 5 of here for the 5-seater, but I think it works in the 7-seater as well.