Chaps, being out here in the Colonies, where if it weren't for gravity we'd all fall off, news takes a little longer to arrive. Does anybody know the definitive answer as to whether the rear seat(s) in the new RRS fold flat, like my current 2010 model?
There's some suggestion here that you can order flat-folding seats as an option, but since the cars don't arrive here till November, and the sales guys at the dealers haven't even been trained yet, I'm struggling to get a yes or no answer.

Anybody? Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

Pretty certain its called the 60:40 split rear seat FOLD THROUGH. Otherwise the bench part of the rear seat doesn't hinge upwards against the back of the front seats. The back rests will still fold down but it won't create a flat load bay without this option.

Frustrating that it is now a £100 option - one that is standard on EVERY other car I've owned. It's an option I've had to tick though as not having a flat load bay reduces the usefulness of the space quite a bit.

Ah, so you definitely can fold them completely flat if you tick that option box? So in that case, does LR fit seat cushions that fold forward against the front seat backs like the outgoing model? Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

I'm afraid I can't say for definite as I've not seen the folding in the flesh, or any pictures. I have just assumed that this is what the option means will happen and so ticked it when I specc'd my Sport. In my L405 the option wasn't ticked and the seat backs just fold onto the bench seat meaning that they don't go anywhere near flat = very frustrating.

Probably best to wait for someone who's actually seen this option in action to say for definite though before making your mind up.

Dickie I suspect the 'load-through' option as quoted on the bewildering and incomprehensible LR options list (it runs to 6 A4 pages here!) merely refers to the rear centre armrest folding forward and allowing long items to be loaded through there. At least, that's what it looked like when I had a look at the L405 at the dealer this morning.

Speaking of the incomprehensible options list - I priced up a HSE SDV6 the other day, no less than AUD$142,000 on the road here, the only options ticked being the surround camera ($1800) and memory seats ($2,090). I have no idea whether the HSE gets me things like 'dynamic response', 'torque vectoring', or 'dynamic program', all of which seem to be part of a pack they want an extra 8 grand for....and to be honest, I'm not even sure what those extra programs even do! Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

I spoke to LRCS about this and they confirmed the back seats fold flat. The through load option is a slot between the two outer back seats which takes things like skis and long golf bats.

Really? As I didn't tick this option on my L405 and yet it has this load through option already.

Greg make sure you tick the box on everything - so that I can buy your new car in about 3 years time when it will only be worth about $60K as a trade in - I will give you $65K for it.

Oh - it does look good in red.

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Garry, I'm laughing on the inside:-) Very droll. Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

Well make sure you pass the order form by me so I can ensure the right boxes are ticked

I want my car to be just right

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Okay smarty pants, how about you just save me a whole lot of trouble and list below your requirements/packages etc etc - with the correct, relevant LR option codes - and I'll just go and order it so you know what you're getting three years from now? Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

The load through option is as has been mentioned - a hatch to put skis through the middle where the centre armrest is.

THis makes no difference to the seat folding.

They don't fold flat. The squab doesn't come up like in the "old" RRS. I tried it on the demo models at one of the previews. Agreed - very disappointing.

Yep, that sounds about right. I can't find a single thing on any LR site about the seats folding flat like the old car. It's not a deal breaker (yet) but it's only me and my wife, planning some long distance outback travelling, and it would make a BIG difference if we could load up the back on a flat surface.
A great shame. Greg Milner
Perth, Western Australia

2010 RRS 3.0. For towing boats and bashing corrugated outback roads.
2007 Audi TT Quattro (wife's shopping cart. Time to go)
2013 Polo GTI (wife's new shopping cart.)
2007 Holden Caprice V8 ('cos it's not worth selling it)

I had a quick play with the new RRS in a dealer t'other day. The rear seats don't appear to fold flat. The seat backs pivot forwards but the seat base doesn't appear to fold up as in the current vehicle. The seat back appeared to sit at approx. 15deg from horizontal when folded forwards. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

As I said a couple of weeks ago in another thread -

"On the subject of rear seats you can only fold the seatback as the base is fixed, which means that the front of the loadbay formed by the seatback slopes upwards by several inches. Seems to be the current fashion though as in Evoque and FFRR ISTR. So not only nearly 20% less space than the outgoing model but you also lose all the handy storage space under the current rear seats. (The top glove box has gone too)"

Seems the U in SUV is slowly disappearing in the move upmarket.