A rear bench seat in the 2013 American MINI Countryman will be offered as standard. In previous models, the MINI Countryman had rear bucket seats with an unusual metal rail running past the middle of its rear bucket seats. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulations originally prevented the brand from offering a middle seat since the car was too narrow to accommodate a third person in the back. However, these regulations had been revised and MINI later offered a back bench but just as an option. The 2013 model will have the bench as standard rear seat accommodation so buyers would no longer have to pay $250 for this option. They also won’t get the impractical sliding cup holders.
2013 MINI Countryman will ditch the rear bucket seats as NHTSA rules change
by Andrew Christian, Email, 11 Oct, 2012
