Karakuri seat ...

[2ride4life]

Does anyone have any official information as to why this feature is not available in NA? The reason that I ask is that I just saw a commercial for the 08 Toyota Highlander that has a 6+1 seating that is very similar to the Mazda5, just differing in implementation. I find it difficult to believe that Toyota can get their +1 seating approved, while Mazda cannot/will not.
It is unfortunate that NA is again left out of "standard" features that are availble elsewhere in the world :confused:

[monsta]

Aren't American kids some of the fattest in the world? (eek2)

The seat was designed around a Japanese child....one of the smallest in the world...

Americans like their wide open spaces.

[antlind]

The real reason has to do with the seat not meeting NA safety standards. I suspect it has to do with the placement of the seatbelt or something like that.

I'm sure if Mazda tried hard enough they could get it to meet the safety standards...Kia has a similar set up with the Rondo.

But as Monsta said, I don't believe that seat would be useful to anyone other that a very small child.

[coolmazda5]

My neighbor has a Highlander and they are awfully large so it justifies a middle seat for 3 souls. But apart from that I agree with antlind, it has to do with safety. Other member here mentioned that the seat has to be bolted to the floor or something according to the NHTSA. I also checked the RAV4 middle seat config during a rental and it was very uncomfortable.

Anyway, if no booster seats needed, it may be a choice for kids. I took this screenshot from the Mazda Sweden web site (see thumbnail). Please note that the seatbelt comes from the roof.

The final variable: I'll need car seats and seat boosters for a while, so fitting 3 in one row may prove difficult, the 2 captain chairs are perfect in this case. i.e. Ford Escape, it is a little bit wider than the Mazda5, but still looks awfully packed IMO:
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y266/Papooses/Child%20Passenger%20Safety/ThreeAcross-FordEscape.jpg

[2ride4life]

Thanks for the info everyone :D

Appreciate the hands-on info the highlander, coolmazda5.