Does any vehicle still come with a front bench seat?

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Working one something where I want the passenger to be seated in the middle cuddling with the driver. I have a vehicle with a 60/40 split bench and armrest that raises to allow a third adult to sit in the middle. It's an older vehicle and I don't know if anything made in the last 10-15 years still might have that option.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Searches seem to say yes, but then show pictures of older vehicles, or floor mounted consoles. My guess is only utility vehicles or light trucks.

 

[Bamagan]

Working one something where I want the passenger to be seated in the middle cuddling with the driver. I have a vehicle with a 60/40 split bench and armrest that raises to allow a third adult to sit in the middle. It's an older vehicle and I don't know if anything made in the last 10-15 years still might have that option.

I think there are some trucks that have them, and probably some SUVs that utilize the same chassis.

 

[TheLobster]

I’m curious where is the gear shift in such a setup.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I’m curious where is the gear shift in such a setup.

On the column where they used to be.

 

[Bazzle]

Works vans will have 3 seats in the front

 

[Lifestyle66]

Working one something where I want the passenger to be seated in the middle cuddling with the driver. I have a vehicle with a 60/40 split bench and armrest that raises to allow a third adult to sit in the middle. It's an older vehicle and I don't know if anything made in the last 10-15 years still might have that option.

I think the 2020 Ram 2500 truck had that option. It was a split front seat where the armrests could be lifted to a seatback in the middle of the front seats and allow a third person there. Although that was what I wanted when we bought the truck, my wife chose the full console option and now claims it's in the way when I mention she should put her head down on long drives! (As she sometimes did in to old truck.)

 

[Levorotatory]

That song is almost 30 years old, and even back then it was referencing a mostly bygone era.

Though a girlfriend around that time actually did own an old Malibu, and we did have some fun in the front seat a few times. While parked that is, not when she was driving.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

This is a May/September wedding thing for the summer thing .....



"We checked out, claimed the luxury rental vehicle that had a split bench front seat and an armrest that raised allowing her to sit in the middle seat and headed to the resort.

Cuddled up against me, she giggled and mused “I haven’t sat in the middle like this since I was in my early twenties!!”

She was able to lean over on my shoulder and I could get my arm around her."

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

I think that works - if it doesn't exist now, it's only a matter of time. Most cars these days are getting rid of gear shifts, in favor of paddle shifters and dials and knobs that do all the same stuff. Only reason they wouldn't have the whole bench is probably some kind of safety thing with the airbags, but I'm sure there's some enterprising automotive engineer who pines for the good old days of rolling down a backwoods Tennesse byway, one arm on the wheel, holding his lover with the other.

 

[NotWise]

My 2010 Ranger has a bench seat, split back with fold-down storage in the middle, and automatic on the column. 2011 Rangers were the same. The middle seat is uncomfortable. More recent Rangers are more of a recreational vehicle, and they have buckets.

I wanted three people in the front for my most recent story, so I made the "car" a 1970's vintage pickup with a four speed on the floor and worn-out upholstery. The woman in the middle had to move her knees when the driver shifted gears.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I think that works - if it doesn't exist now, it's only a matter of time. Most cars these days are getting rid of gear shifts, in favor of paddle shifters and dials and knobs that do all the same stuff. Only reason they wouldn't have the whole bench is probably some kind of safety thing with the airbags, but I'm sure there's some enterprising automotive engineer who pines for the good old days of rolling down a backwoods Tennesse byway, one arm on the wheel, holding his lover with the other.

When Chrysler tried push-button automatics decades ago, they found that people would too easily push the wrong button. It seems to make sense to have a shifter even for automatics. As for manual transmissions, in the U.S. they started to disappear when Oldsmobile introduced the first workable automatic in 1940. Nowadays, even medium-duty trucks have automatics because it's the only thing that potential drivers know how to use.

 

[Cowboy34]

Working one something where I want the passenger to be seated in the middle cuddling with the driver. I have a vehicle with a 60/40 split bench and armrest that raises to allow a third adult to sit in the middle. It's an older vehicle and I don't know if anything made in the last 10-15 years still might have that option.

My 2020 ford still has the bench seat! More of a 40/20/40 but center folds up or down

 

[Abbafan]

Might be fun to just create your own fictional car that's a throwback to old designs with bench seats. You could make it a full on bench, then, no movable center console or anything.

A limited addition 2025 Ford Galaxie.

Or make up the car company too. It's a 2022 Neumann Longdriver, combining old fashioned comfort with modern efficiency.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I won't be specifying a vehicle. I just wasn't sure if any were still being made and I could just say 'luxury rental', or if I might need to mention it was customized somehow.

 

[Rustyoznail]

There is a market for classic car rentals. Maybe that will fix the issue. Cruising in a Caddie from their youth.

 

[NotWise]

There is a market for classic car rentals. Maybe that will fix the issue. Cruising in a Caddie from their youth.

Big Baby Blue in Escape from Cimarron was a 1957 Eldorado convertible. It was older than the characters, but it worked for me. One of the side characters said something like, "Ain't never seen a car like that but in parades with beauty queens waving from the back."

Those old cars had their charms, but "dependable" and "low maintenance" weren't on the list.

 

[Fatdog25]

Maybe this article will be of some help. Article is from December 2024.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a63183166/bench-seat-comeback/

 

[dirk2024]

I’m curious where is the gear shift in such a setup.

My 2017 Ram Pickup has an automatic transmission that is controlled by a dial on my dashboard. I'm not a big fan of it, but it is out of the way of a delicate pair of knees.

 

[PennameWombat]

On the column where they used to be.

I loved my 'three on the tree' (1960s Ford with a three speed manual shifter on the steering column.)

My mother had an even older Ford with the same. When that car finally bit the dust, she got a Chevy (ugh) with an automatic shifter on the steering column. One day not soon after the acquisition, she shoved the shifter all the way down (first gear on manual, L1 on the auto). As the engine revved up, she slammed it all the way up. Easy enough, second gear on the manual, but, uh, Park on the auto. Fortunately, no one was behind us as the tires squealed us to a stop.

Also fortunately the transmission wasn't spread across the pavement. It continued on for many years.

 

[Trionyx]

I'm sure there's some enterprising automotive engineer who pines for the good old days of rolling down a backwoods Tennesse byway, one arm on the wheel, holding his lover with the other.

My father always warned me about the dangers of this by saying driving and holding a girl each require two hands to do it right, so driving with one hand on the wheel and one on the girl means you’re doing neither job right.