Dacia Logan MCV Regulations for converting it into a 7 seater (adding 2 extra seats)

noah1234

Hi,

Would anyone know about the regulations regarding adding 2 extra seats in the boot of an estate?

I went to a Renault dealership recently and the price of Dacia Logan MCV striked me! £7295 brand new for their access model. The boot is really big, bigger than the boot of Mercedes E class with the additional 2 seats in the boot, so I thought if there is a legal way for bolting 2 extra seats facing backwards might be the cheapest 7 seater ever! Especially somthing like 2 baby car seats 0 to 3 years old as they have their own seat belts already. And I just want to know if this is legal. Or how to make it legal. I read on the .gov website, that as long as seats are secure, then it is legal, is that simple?

I read many threads about this topic on MSE and other forums, nearly all replies were safety advice, I really appreciate that, which made me consider the safety point of view even more, but in this particular thread,

---

PLEASE

---

do not post any safety advice, because
A, this car is a 7 seater in other countries (has the additional 2 seats)
b, seats will be facing backwards, therefore similar to Mercedes and even further away from the rear end than Mercedes and Volvos, which seems to me would be safer than Zafiras, and other similar 7 seaters with facing forward 3rd row right at the end.

I do not advice anyone to do this, even though I used to love factory fitted compact 7 seaters, now I'm scared of them after reading all the scary posts about rear ends.

wgl2014

If the cars not designed for it your asking for all kinds of issues.

If you want 7 seats but a car with 7 seats.

Jackmydad

You won't get insurance. Or at least I'm fairly sure you won't.

sevenhills

I recall a friend saying that his Peugeot estate converted into a 7 seater, with no insurance cost, although I believe he did inform them.
Some seats fold flat into the boot when not in use, so not a conversion.

Jackmydad

sevenhills wrote: »

I recall a friend saying that his Peugeot estate converted into a 7 seater, with no insurance cost, although I believe he did inform them.
Some seats fold flat into the boot when not in use, so not a conversion.

Yes but IIRC that was a factory fitted job wasn't it?
So it'd have been tested etc. for type approval.
Sticking extra seats in yourself is another matter I'd have thought.

sevenhills

Jackmydad wrote: »

Yes but IIRC that was a factory fitted job wasn't it?
So it'd have been tested etc. for type approval.
Sticking extra seats in yourself is another matter I'd have thought.

They are all factory fitted to take 7 seats, with 7 seat belts.

forgotmyname

Not being a standard out of the factory setup, insurance maybe the issue.

Your saying the seats have their own seatbelts, OK that secures the child into the seat so what secures the seat into the car?

No seatbelts or mountings to attach the seats.

Its now a modified car also, so standard insurer/comparison sites may say no. So that means phoning around.

AdrianC

noah1234 wrote: »

so I thought if there is a legal way for bolting 2 extra seats facing backwards might be the cheapest 7 seater ever!

I read on the .gov website, that as long as seats are secure, then it is legal, is that simple?

Not quite...

A, this car is a 7 seater in other countries (has the additional 2 seats)

If the additional two seats are available in any major European market, whether through Dacia or third-party, then they'll be type-approved to EU standards. If not, then they may well not be.

Insurance may be an issue - you'll need to declare the modification, even if they are official Dacia parts used.

I do not advice anyone to do this, even though I used to love factory fitted compact 7 seaters, now I'm scared of them after reading all the scary posts about rear ends.

The rear structure of the car is part of the crash crumple zone. Passengers in those rearmost seats are considerably more vulnerable than those in the main seats. This is an undeniable fact. The Logan was not designed as a 7-seater originally - the platform itself goes back to the Mk2 Renault Clio in 1998 and the K12 Nissan Micra in 2002. That doesn't mean that the rear is inherently unsafe - if the rearmost seats have been type-approved for Europe, then they've been crash tested and met the minimum regulations. It's very unlikely there will be structural changes to the bodyshell for 5- and 7-seat versions, simply a question of whether the mounting points in the shell are used or not.