These Are The Used Cars Made Specifically For Rear Passengers’ Comfort

We spent a weekend earlier this year with Porsche driving the Panamera 4 E-Hybrid from Bangkok to Ayutthaya. While planned routes were sufficient to amplify the benefits of this PHEV through all sorts of driving conditions, what stood out for me was this particular Panamera specced with a strict 4-seater configuration. While colleague Joel was busy at work, I spent a good amount of time at the back toggling with lumbar supports, window shade angles and even configured how I prefer my air conditioner to function - diffused or focused.

Granted, these are luxuries only the well heeled can afford to treat as necessities. When pared down to bare essentials, it becomes apparent that individual rear seats furnish passengers with a level of exclusivity unmatched even by the most feature packed 5-seater sedan. Sure, it robs you of a fifth seat, hampering its utility factor. But that’s where captain-style chairs come into play…

Captain’s seats refer to second row single-occupant seats that take the place of more “traditional” 3-seater rear bench configurations. Mostly implemented on large SUVs, MPVs and minivans, they seem to be all the rage nowadays - only the top-spec Mazda CX-8 specced for the Thai market comes with Captain seats. Closer to home, only Captain Chair layouts are offered in the flagship, facelifted Palisade SUV. Apart from extrinsic badge appeal, this functional attribute could very well symbolise and distill the essence of luxury, and for very good reason.

Before you assume that each option gets routed to every variant of Rolls-Royce, fret not because this selection is relatively more attainable for the masses. Sure, brands that operate in the superluxury sphere won't shortchange rear occupants’ comfort, but you won't be getting the short end of the stick in any of these three examples either.

Toyota Alphard

Toyota might not come to mind first when pictured in Singapore’s business settings. But there has been one model that flies under the radar, relatively inconspicuous in its behaviour - an attribute that belies its massive proportions. The Alphard is often perceived as a people hauler, but in some markets like Singapore, those who can afford to be chauffeured tend to be seen in luxo-limos like the S-Class and 7 Series. Sure, the appeal of German car badges can be too hard to resist, even more so when the Alphard is essentially based on the Toyota Hiace minivan’s platform.

But if you can treat its ancestry as the only fly in the ointment, it all makes sense when we see primarily Alphards in corporate settings in Malaysia and Thailand. Automated sliding doors supply seamless ingress to the Captain Chairs, there’s stacks of headroom and you can even slide and recline your individual seat almost 180 degrees. There’s no denying the pure joy of sheer space regardless of how it was derived.

Honda Odyssey

It’s fascinating to learn that the Honda Odyssey’s chassis is based on the Accord. While the Accord is not cramped by any means, the fact that Honda’s flagship MPV still feels roomy while squeezing three rows of seats exemplifies its engineering brilliance. Most Odysseys in Singapore are fitted with a flat, second row 3-seater bench, but some from the 4th-gen onwards are equipped with Captain seats.

If you’re familiar with Honda, then you might question the deployment of individual second row seats. Given that the Jazz and HR-V can double as “minivans” with their cinema-style rear seat flexibility, the Odyssey could come across as single-minded in its quest to achieve comfort. That’s not the case at all, with the Odyssey feeling almost as spacious as the Alphard aside from headroom - high praise considering that this is still based on a sedan’s chassis.

Range Rover Sport

Allow us to trudge on grey area here, because finding vehicles strictly with Captain seats in Singapore has been a real challenge. It could be due to resale values or even reluctance from dealers to sell a car that could potentially fit one more passenger on paper (which makes the new Palisade an even more tempting proposition given that dares to venture into the “acquired taste” segment). The Range Rover Sport in 3.0-litre diesel guise might not appeal given the local market’s lean towards petrol, or hybrid offerings. But with 600Nm on tap and lower running cost than its petrol-powered sibling, it’s still a sensible pick for cross border duties.

You’re not losing out in terms of rear passenger comfort, too. The middle row’s armrest is so chunky that you’ll have to perform star jumps in the car to elbow your adjacent passenger. Sizable rear air con vents with individual climate settings, charging ports and cup holders are standard fare for a luxury SUV, but an added layer of functionality surfaces when adapted in a boxy Range Rover form factor.

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