ConvertibleJoe

I'm starting to wonder if there's an expectation game being played here, with reviews always being dismissive of the rear seat space. Even on this forum, when this topic has come up before, it has been overwhelmed by people saying "who cares about the rear seat in a Mustang?"

Well, I do. If I didn't care about the rear seat, I'd buy a Miata. Why carry around extra weight you're not going to use? But there's a difference between caring about the rear seat and needing it to be big enough for a corporate executive to use as a mobile office.

I have an old VW Cabrio. It has almost exactly the same front and rear legroom measurements as the new Mustang. I carry four people all the time. Sure, you probably wouldn't want to take an 8-hour road trip that way, but it's fine for taking a bunch of people to lunch, or even an hour drive into the city. That covers 90% of the driving I do anyway.

Yeah, you can't have the front seats all the way back when you carry four. Is that a problem? You have 42.7" of legroom in the front. I'm 6' tall, and 45" is enough for me to sit with my legs straight out in front of me, unbent. So, move the seat up 5". Now you have 37.7" in the front and 36" in the back. Not bad. In my Cabrio, head and shoulder room in back are much more of an issue than legroom.

Consumer Guide's review of the Cabrio said "space is ample for adults in front, and the rear seat holds two adequately." Why is the Cabrio "adequate" and the Mustang "ceremonial"?

Adequate is all I'm looking for in a back seat. If you can carry four without discomfort for everyday driving, but only take two on longer trips so you can stretch out, that's fine. That's not a fault, that's a brilliant compromise.

I'd like to ask those who've actually sat in the new Mustang, does this sound about right?

EleanorsMine

My kids are all that will fit back there ever. They can be uncomfy all they want

If I want a car with legroom I will keep the crapero forever.Not gonna happen.

Badandy

Actually, the back seat works very well for kids. Well, provided you don't have a 6'6 320 pound person sitting infront of you...

autothing

There's a ton of rear seat space, but it's meant for stuff, not 6+ foot people. If you want room, you buy a minivan. I don't mean it as a joke, either -- Mustang is a driver's car (maybe throw in a passenger too). It simply was not MADE for a 4-person road-trip across the US. Get a nice Explorer Limited for one of those.

If they made the rear seats bigger, the Mustang may as well be a 4-door sedan. And don't go anywhere near the suicide-door design like the RX-8... I love that car, but the lines of the suicide-doors break up the smooth flow a bit IMO.

RaGsHoCkEy88

the back seat is fine......but whose gonna sit back their everyday anyway

ConvertibleJoe

As I said in the original post, I'm not asking if it's big enough for a long road trip. I'm assuming that it's not. I'm asking if it's big enough to take four people to a restaurant that's half an hour away without being cramped and uncomfortable.

I'm not asking for it to be bigger. I'm suggesting that the '05 Mustang is big enough, and asking if people who've been in it can confirm that.

ConvertibleJoe

Exactly. I'm not looking for a carpool car, or a road trip car. But I'd like to be able to take a few friends to a movie or up to the city without crippling them. Is the back seat big enough for that?

sajawebb

I plan to buy the 05 gt and a 05 freestyle. $50k for a sportscar and a family vehicle isn't bad when it'd cost that much for a 2-seater vette.

steve19970

I've heard people who sat in the back say it wasn't too bad depending on how far back the front seats are adjusted.

I'm sure that for short trips, it will be fine.

jgsmuzzy

Will you stop ******* your Poppy? if my wife sees your post I will not hear the end of it!!



As for legroom.....Rubbish!! it is a 2+2, the second two have been a bit neglected!

EleanorsMine

Will you stop ******* your Poppy? if my wife sees your post I will not hear the end of it!!



As for legroom.....Rubbish!! it is a 2+2, the second two have been a bit neglected! [/b][/quote]
ummmm
What's a poppy?

ConvertibleJoe

Thanks, that's the kind of thing I'm curious about. I have seen a couple of other brief postings that say that. Maybe we just won't know until people have time to live with the cars for a while.

steve19970

Yeah I'm curious about it too. For all of the people that have heard me blabbing about it for the last several months, I have a lot of rides to give.

Now, if I could just charge a dollar for each...

donkey

From this picture it looks cramped...but bearable:

Tony Alonso

I am 6'2" and had the back seat all the way back to check the room (see photo). There seemed to be less than the current Mustang with its seat back in the same position. With the seat moved forward 3" or so, the room seems better in the new car than the current one at the same distance. I also felt a bit more comfortable in the new car than the current one with the seat moved forward that same 3". In summary, you could take someone on a short trip and have enough back seat room, assuming you were not trying to stick 6+ footers there.

Donna

Have you guys seen the commercial where all the people want to ride with the guy that has the cool car, well thats how it will be. They will be lined up Wanting to Ride with you!!

Granted I only had one kid to ride, he usually rode in the front, but he nor any of his friends ever complained about having to ride in the back. Trust me, people will want to ride with you!! Just my .02 worth.

jgsmuzzy

ummmm
What's a poppy? [/b][/quote]
It is what Alex called the Alero we had in Vegas / Reno / Tahoe in 2001!

ConvertibleJoe

Thanks, that's helpful information.

It's interesting what you're saying about the room when the seat is all the way back. I've just been looking around at the specs on different convertibles. Motor Trend reports that the Audi A4 convertible has "excellent rear-seat legroom". The specs say the Audi has 41.3" in the front and 32.4" inches in the back. The Mustang has 42.7"/31". Guess what: move the seat up 1.4", and you have exactly the same front and rear legroom in the Mustang and the Audi.

But the Audi gets reported as having excellent rear legroom, and the Mustang is reported as if it has none. Because the seat is allowed to move back an extra inch and a half?

Now, I realize the Audi is FWD and doesn't have the transmission tunnel, but that doesn't seem to be what they're talking about. It seems as if Mustang rear seats have been useless for so long that people just assume they are on the new car.

And that's reasonable; I certainly wouldn't expect to put very tall people back there. Frankly, I'm surprised you were OK with the headroom. In fact, if people were criticizing the lack of headroom, I wouldn't have spoken up. Well, except to say that I care mostly about the convertible, and it looks like it might have an inch or two more headroom in the back than the coupe.

Thanks for the info!

yellow98cobra.com

Those pictures say it all.

Dan

Basically, as long as the driver doesn't have really long legs, you can get 4 people into this car if you have to. 3 people shouldn't be a problem with one behind the passanger seat.

However, I think that you may find some of your passangers asking to take someone else's car for comfort reasons. (ie. Joe has a four door, lets take that instead of squeezing into the stang.

If its a vert with the top down, that's another story. Legroom isn't great but everyone wants to ride in a vert.

I plan on having 1 passanger at the most and maybe two occassionally. But I'd be reluctant to fit someone behind me as I have long legs and need the seat further back (6'-2", 32" inseam)