Social Seating - Pictures and Review

I've now installed the Social Seating option in the back of my Evoque. It requires the luggage rails to be installed either as a factory fit option or as an after-market option.

You can see there are two substantial brackets which fasten down on to the back of the luggage rails using two hex bolts tightening a plate underneath; a good design which does not mark the rails. The brackets slide in from the other end and you can see it's still possible to have the moveable eyes as well to stop the Champagne from rolling around.



Not shown here are two other small modifications. First, replacement tie cords for the parcel shelf are supplied which simply have a knot instead of the rubber ball. This is to make space underneath the parcel shelf to allow it to close with the social seat folded. Secondly, there are reinforcing blocks added under the loadspace threshold plate to transmit the downwards force from the social seating to the bodywork. These are installed by lifting the threshold plate, attaching the blocks using double sided tape and replacing the threshold plate.

The seat itself weighs a ton - 11kg actually - and has two sets of pins at each end. The first are pivots to allow the seat to fold, the second engage into the cutouts in the brackets to lock the seat in position. The seat slides into the bottom cutouts and is held in place with plastic pull rings. The handle in the middle of the seat releases the locking pins to allow the seat to fold.



You can see how the seat folds vertically when not in use and down either when you want to sit on it or to gain access to the luggage space behind it. The height of the seat above the ground it about 85cm. With the social seat installed, you can still use the rubber loadspace mat, shown here with my bumper protector folded away.





All in all, I like this option and it will be great for outdoor events such as polo or the opera. It's not an option to have installed all the time though and fortunately, it's easy to remove in two stages - first, pull out the rings and you can remove the seat easily to give near normal loadspace. If you want to use the flexible tray or the padded cell option, you need to remove the brackets as well which is simply a matter of loosening the hex bolts and sliding them out - a couple of minutes providing you can lay your hands on the hex key to do it, so worth keeping that in a safe place.

I think it's likely I will keep the brackets in position for the summer and revert to the flexible load tray for the winter but, in truth, configuring the loadspace to best meet your needs for a particular trip is quick and easy.

Love it. I want one! Mine will be used more for football (the one with the pigskin ball) and country music concerts than polo and opera! Geez... I think I'm looking for a guy in the wrong country! I'm moving to London! Lol!

Polo and outdoor opera was slightly tongue-in-cheek but I was thinking of the times last year when it would have been useful to me. I do wonder how many of these they will sell but I'm more impressed with it than I expected.

Looks great and excellent info Mark!

This is exactly what forums do best, share info and advice.

Great stuff.

Forgot to add there's an intermediate 45 degree position which makes it easy to reach into the loadspace for the next bottle of fizz...

Mark,
Do you have the price please ?

Great stuff Mark.
From your photos I take it that when folded you have no chance of getting a dog in the back?
Stupid question maybe.

It's not a cheap option I'm afraid and I expect the price reflects the fact they will not sell in huge quantity - I paid £452 at Duckworths which is discounted from RRP. It is well made though - the packaging says Made in Germany.

As for our canine friends, I think they would find it a bit cramped with the seats folded up. In effect, the folded seat forms a rear wall to the loadspace running vertically down 5cm in front of the back edge of the parcel shelf; I've measured the remaining depth (front to back) of the load space and it's 18"/45cm. I think the hound would find it a bit difficult to turn around and claustrophobic. A spaniel maybe, an Irish wolfhound probably not...

You can see there's some usable space between the folded seat and the hatch, for one of those 3*1 wine bottle carriers, fully populated of course, an umbrella or similar. There's no doubt though it does compromise the available space which is why it is good to be able to remove it in a few seconds when it's not needed.

Thanks for adding the pictures, l had wondered what it looked like

I am probably missing the point, but I thought this came as standard just by opening the tailgate and sitting in the boot with your legs hanging over the bumper as seen in this photo at Sizergh Castle