I drove the A7 demo at my local Southern Calif. dealer and noticed the very cheap rear center console. Was this a result of US regulations no center seat belt equals no seat cushion or did the lawyers suggest this to prevent possible future lawsuits. In any event it is made of hard plastic and looks like it was pulled from an economy car. Definitely an after thought, they could at least cover it in leather. Does anyone know if this version is going to make it to production? Other than a few missing options the car is great.

The same cheap storage bin is in our local dealer's demo as well. They can't seem to find out anything about it. No Audi information shows this plastic piece (no real design effort for sure) in their literature or photos anywhere.

Nothing more to say about it other than it's an ugly solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

I drove the A7 demo at my local Southern Calif. dealer and noticed the very cheap rear center console. Was this a result of US regulations no center seat belt equals no seat cushion or did the lawyers suggest this to prevent possible future lawsuits. In any event it is made of hard plastic and looks like it was pulled from an economy car. Definitely an after thought, they could at least cover it in leather. Does anyone know if this version is going to make it to production? Other than a few missing options the car is great.

So far, all U.S. versions of the A7 appear to have been produced with the cheap plastic center seat section (where the "fifth" passenger would/could sit if a seatbelt had been installed. Could there not have been a more elegant design for this part since Audi decided to eliminate the leather-covered cushion section that they equip on European models? This piece really detracts from the rest of the interior. It's definitely an afterthought.

Does anyone have further insight as to the logic of this piece? (other than Audi feels the U.S. market is not sophisticated enough to recognize that this is a 4-passenger vehicle and that no fifth person should be able to comfortably sit in the middle of the rear seat....)

Does anyone know if the center seat section can be removed?

Does anyone know if the center seat section can be removed?

I'm sure it can be removed. I was wondering if a U.S. dealer could order the center cushion section to replace the ugly chunk of plastic currently installed. You'd want the same leather color to match the rest of the seat. In other words, make the rear seat the way Audi designed it and the way it's sold in the rest of the world.

Is that what you were thinking?

Keep in mind that I don't recall the center section when placing my order last month, but if it was a last minute addition to the car I was thinking (hoping) it could be removed and it would be back to looking like the European spec cars.

False hope?

I have seen six A7's at my dealer in LA and they all have that fugly rear hard center plastic insert. They could at least cover it in leather.if they will not give the US cars a cushion.

Keep in mind that I don't recall the center section when placing my order last month, but if it was a last minute addition to the car I was thinking (hoping) it could be removed and it would be back to looking like the European spec cars.

False hope?

Keep in mind that Audi's legalese basically allows them to change (add or delete) features on a car for practically any reason. Their brochures state, "Audi of America, Inc. believes the specifications in this brochure to be correct at the time of printing. However, specifications, standard equipment, options and colors are subject to change without notice. Some equipment may be unavailable when your vehicle is built. Please ask your dealer for advice concerning current availability of standard and optional equipment and your dealer will verify that your vehicle will include the equipment you ordered." This quote is from the back of a 2011 Audi A8 brochure. It's also on a 2011 Audi Q5 brochure. This is their "out" for anything different that you get on your ordered vehicle. However, I doubt that any dealer was told of the rear seat change that Audi made on virtually every A7 coming into the U.S. The fugly plastic bin is nowhere to be seen in any review of the A7, any photos of it in Audi literature or on their website, nor in the A7's they brought to regional car shows in the U.S. over the past several months.

My dealer has heard nothing about the reason for the rear seat change and can't get an answer from Audi. One can only assume that Audi took this measure to avoid possible lawsuits with someone seated in the middle position without wearing a seat belt (that doesn't exist for this position) who proceeds to fly through the windshield in a collision. It would be interesting to know if the U.S. market is the only one getting the plastic bin.

Only Audi really knows the reason for the change and, so far, they're not telling anyone.

The MY 2012 A7's for the UK at least, have the 3 seat option at the back. Don't know if that's a global thing or not.

The MY 2012 A7's for the UK at least, have the 3 seat option at the back. Don't know if that's a global thing or not.

Sweden don't. When only two seats they could have used the middle seat to something more fun or luxurious.