What's the deal with the optional rear 60/40 rear seat? Should be Std
 

So after reading some posts in the W204 threads some of you posted comments that you got the optional 60/40 rear seat. Well I didn’t think about it until reading that this morning. I remember the salesperson showing us this feature on the demo car, and assumed $35K car its standard fare. In fact it’s one of those things you remember when you first looked at your car and don’t think about again until you are at Lowes with a really long piece of drainage pipe or replacing a floor mop. At any rate as soon as the wifey got home with the new Benz I ran out popped the trunk, sure enough we don’t have the folding rear seat. Why the heck is this even an option? You can get it standard on a base trim Hyundai but not in a $30K+ Benz.

-Ryan

I don't think it would cost them that much more. :nix: MB should make them standard. They were not standard on the w204 either :(

Get them for free in the A4, but not the 3er(either). What bone head move on the distributors part.

I agree it should be standard. But, I would bet that less than half of all W203s have the folding rear seat option. For me, it wasn't a huge deal because I had access to larger vehicles when I needed to haul stuff so I chose to put the money toward other options (speaking for me W203).

I agree same here, If I look outside my master bedroom window, in my driveway I can choose from either two base model '07 Toyota Tacoma's or use my toy an '05 F-250 Crew Super Duty FX4 with Powerstroke but.... There are always those instances when you are out away from access of your other vehicles or friends and you've got that one object that wont' quite fit in the back seat or just the trunk.

-Ryan

Here's the problem. Look at the base price of the 2008 C-Class, close to $30,000. Look at the base price over 10 years ago when the W202 came out, close to $30,000. Something has to give if they are keeping the price at the same level all these years. Keep in mind that Mercedes-Benz cars are the cheapest in the US than anywhere in the world. They can't do everything, so they try to put the stuff standard that Americans want and unfortunatly folding rear seat is not something that the majority want.

Not just the A4, across the line split fold seats are std.

Yes it is std for all W204 in Canada. Also std for 3er except 323i which is optional.

Just because US$ drops so much in the last few years your $30K is worth much less than same $30K then so something has to go, like rear folding seats, memory seats, keyless go...

Who knows, if US$ drops further, sunroof could become an option one day.

Sunroof was always an option on the C-Class until the W204.

Ah yes you are right.

I've always wondered about the split folding rear seats on a sedan. I like sedans for their closed off feeling from the cargo area. Is it as quiet on the inside with the folding than with the fixed seats?

Noise wise I spot no diff between folding and fixed.

Seat Fold
 

Each additional option adds to the cost. I would rather not have this feature myself. It reduces the structure stiffness of the car. I think Mercedes has been very smart regarding not making many "features" standard. It keeps the cost down.

TEAShea
from Nebraska

Are you referring to structural stiffness say when in an accident?

If other car manufacturers can include split fold seats (as well as other standard equip that are options with MB) with comparable costs to MB...just saying.

I like having things as options, but I wish there were more options: Parktronic, Keyless Go, Memory Seats, etc etc

I don't think I've ever seen a C without a sunroof though...

You are right, the sunroof package is one of those packages that almost all dealers order on every car they bought. This is becoming true of the Premium I package, you will rarely see a new Mercedes without a Premium I package now.

stiffness
 

The stiffer the chassis (in terms of flex, bending) the better. Manufacturers stive to build cars with stiff chassis for several reasons - fewer squeeks, better suspension performance, ect. The chassis with the fold down option is fine, but without it, the chassis is even better. When they include the fold down option, they must remove the cross bracing behind the rear seats. This cross bracing stiffens the car in terms of bending a flex. A relatively small thing that most people would not care about or even notice.

TEASha
from Nebraska