General Qubos and the folding front passenger seat

[Professor Peach]

Hi, apologies if this has come up before... I remember looking it up on here a while back but struggled to come up with a definitive answer.

Seriously considering a Qubo due to the practicality it offers now that I'm working for myself and have to cart a lot of gear around.

However, I really want one with the folding front passenger seat to allow access for longer items that I don't really want to have strapped on the roof.

I *think* that all of the Trekkings come with this as standard (this could be wrong though) and that other models may or may not have it as an option. Is this correct? If so I'll probably just narrow my search down to just the Trekking versions but this would obviously reduce my choice and I could miss out on a good car.

I could always ring up dealers and ask them about a specific car but to be honest this doesn't appeal... yeah yeah it has the folding seat no problem sir definitely blah blah blah come and have a look lovely little motor blah blah… then you travel 200 miles only to find it doesn't have a folding seat! :bang:

So... if anyone can give me a definitive answer or point me in the right direction I'd be most grateful.

PS car will most likely be in the 2012 - 2016 age bracket if that makes any difference.

Cheers

 

[Red Van Man]

I can't state specifically about the Trekking but a folding seat was an option when l specced my Fiorino van in 2012 and I chose it.
It's not a shaped seat like the normal pax seat and my Mum complained bitterly about the angle of the back to the squab as being uncomfortable for a journey and it's not rake adjustable. She didn't have a good back admittedly but the shape is flat by comparison (back and squab) so no real support. I guess most commercials are used by a single person and rare pax use so perhaps comfort isn't a consideration beyond the driver.

I transported a few long things and the most valuable benefit of the folding seat was a Mango TV unit that went in exactly for the diagonal length of the van with the seat flat. Its bonus is that it's a flat continuation of the load area so level with the floor pan (different floor between the van and Qubo as there's a footwell for rear pax seat in the Q)

The rear seats take right out in the Qubo but the front pax seat only winds down to level-ish (backwards) so you do get the extended room to the dash/footwell though not flat if you're transporting something requiring (floor) support.

Perhaps a trawl round ebay scrappers might find you a van with a folding seat?

R-V-M

Hi, apologies if this has come up before... I remember looking it up on here a while back but struggled to come up with a definitive answer.

Seriously considering a Qubo due to the practicality it offers now that I'm working for myself and have to cart a lot of gear around.

However, I really want one with the folding front passenger seat to allow access for longer items that I don't really want to have strapped on the roof.

I *think* that all of the Trekkings come with this as standard (this could be wrong though) and that other models may or may not have it as an option. Is this correct? If so I'll probably just narrow my search down to just the Trekking versions but this would obviously reduce my choice and I could miss out on a good car.

I could always ring up dealers and ask them about a specific car but to be honest this doesn't appeal... yeah yeah it has the folding seat no problem sir definitely blah blah blah come and have a look lovely little motor blah blah… then you travel 200 miles only to find it doesn't have a folding seat! :bang:

So... if anyone can give me a definitive answer or point me in the right direction I'd be most grateful.

PS car will most likely be in the 2012 - 2016 age bracket if that makes any difference.

Cheers

 

[Professor Peach]

Red Van Man; many thanks for taking the time to reply; very useful and plenty of food for thought. Much appreciated!

Thinking about what you've said, I'm wondering if maybe Fiat cheapened the design of the front passenger seat in the Fiorino van for cost reasons, hence the lack of adjustment... after all it won't need to recline in a van. Surely they wouldn't do that in the Qubo passenger car would they? But then with penny pinching so rife these days who knows?!

Interesting what you said about the flat shaped seat too, and therefore the lack of back support. I had a Fiat 500L for three years and the front passenger seat had a forward folding feature. It didn't fold completely flat but was still useful. However, the seat design was clearly compromised by this feature, having very little bolstering on either the base or backrest so support was lacking there also.

Anyway, when I get a Qubo my plan is to completely remove the rear seats and use it, literally, as a van with windows. So, maybe a fully reclined seat will suffice for when I need to carry stepladders or whatever. I'll need to give this some more thought...

Thanks again for your reply

PS you may wonder why I don't just get a Fiorino van and be done with it. There are a few reasons... I want the option to put the rear seats back in and use as a car if necessary... also, we only have street parking round here and vans are a magnet for thieving scrotes looking for power tools or anything they can get their hands on. Often, my vehicle will be parked well away from the house especially if I get home late and I'd be constantly fretting about theft.

 

[Red Van Man]

Another bonus of the Qubo therefore is having 2 rear side doors for both-sides- access, something else the van has only if you request it. Sliding doors are such a boon for tight space loading/unloading.

You can always darken the rear windows (they're already dark in my '66 plate Q by default) which keeps prying eyes from eyeing up your stuff.

The reclining pax seat won't fold very far forward, certainly not face down, it just goes more vertical! The design of the van's fold-flat seat being so boring is just so that it will fold flat as the support sides on the usual pax seat prevents that complete flatness happening. I'm sure step ladders will be ok in the car, the seat does go forward as well as recline flat-ish so if you wrap a dust-sheet round the top end for dashboard protection it should work.

The rear seats are an easy item to remove - the double one is a bit of a pain being heavy but simply folding it flat with the corner release then pulling the strap behind rolls it forward (you have to move the front seats forward to accomplish this) then pull another strap to release the floor clamps and out they come. Seat removal does leave 4 (mounting) holes in the floor and you have the pax footwell too but a bit of inventiveness with a bespoke-cut sheet of 5mm ply could bag you a good load cover and a hinged flap at the front edge would give you secure out-of-sight stowage behind the front seats in the footwell for anything smallish but a bit more valuable if you wish (scissor jack, wheel wrench etc).

One other thing - the Q has a tailgate so your rear view is clearer when driving and it doubles as protection if you're unloading in the wet or you can sit in the back opening to put on your work boots

R-V-M
(I should work for Fiat Marketing Dept!)

Red Van Man; many thanks for taking the time to reply; very useful and plenty of food for thought. Much appreciated!

Anyway, when I get a Qubo my plan is to completely remove the rear seats and use it, literally, as a van with windows. So, maybe a fully reclined seat will suffice for when I need to carry stepladders or whatever. I'll need to give this some more thought...

Thanks again for your reply

PS you may wonder why I don't just get a Fiorino van and be done with it. There are a few reasons... I want the option to put the rear seats back in and use as a car if necessary... also, we only have street parking round here and vans are a magnet for thieving scrotes looking for power tools or anything they can get their hands on. Often, my vehicle will be parked well away from the house especially if I get home late and I'd be constantly fretting about theft.

 

[Professor Peach]

Yes, the sliding side doors are a real bonus for me, as is the tailgate which as you say is useful to keep dry whilst loading / unloading and getting the work boots on! This sounds a trivial thing but is actually one of those things that just helps the day along that bit better.

Tinting the rear windows is a great idea; will definitely be doing that. Also I am loving the idea of making a purpose-built ply floor with hinged compartments; I'm a handyman and that sort of project is right up my street. Maybe I'm just a saddo but am actually quite excited by the idea of getting stuck into a project like that. Maybe I need to get out more :life:

All I need to decide on now is diesel or petrol and I'm really 50/50 on this one. Obviously the diesel will have more grunt, cheaper tax and better fuel consumption, but I go where the work takes me; sometimes just round the doors and other times a 60 mile round trip and I don't want to encounter any DPF related aggro. Something tells me to get the trusty and simple petrol and put up with the lower performance but I really don't know. Ideally I'd like to be doing more local stuff (obviously fewer miles, more start / stop) but on the other hand life never seems to quite work out like that.

Anyway that's a problem for another day. Many thanks again for your comprehensive replies, I'm really glad I posted my question on here. I'm booked up working until well into February so will start my Qubo search in earnest in a few weeks time. I'll be sure to keep you updated though.

 

[Professor Peach]

Update... exciting news! :slayer:

Qubo purchased; updates to follow (I'll start a new thread when I get a minute - not just now though).

Anyway it's a 2012, low mileage 1.4 petrol. Loving it so far

 

[Qube O]

Enjoy...…….Great little motors. Qube O.

 

[stuartinlancashire]

Update... exciting news! :slayer:

Qubo purchased; updates to follow (I'll start a new thread when I get a minute - not just now though).

Anyway it's a 2012, low mileage 1.4 petrol. Loving it so far

Did you get one with a fold down front passenger seat? My Fiorino has one but it’s not comfortable for long journeys due to the lack of adjustment.

 

[Professor Peach]

No, I gave up on that idea and decided to find the best Qubo for me within budget to widen my choice. I’m really happy with the car I’ve got and will just have to work around the seating situation... should be ok I think.

My research confirmed what you’ve said about seat comfort, at least on the Fiorino, so it may well be the same problem in the Qubo. I’ll be removing the rear seats but the front passenger seat will regularly be used so it’s important that it is comfortable for passengers.