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      04-09-2019, 06:00 AM   #67
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Originally Posted by BwoodBMW View Post
Umm.. the picture above shows otherwise. Doesn't go to the floor but kids could pop back there easy through that gap. For me that's worth it to keep the extra seat for when I need it. I think I'd order bench but the captains chairs are great too
Both are correct. Yes, the bench is set up as 60/40. The middle bench seat is connected to the right side seat, and they both slide together forward and backward. If you fold down the right seatback, the middle seatback folds down too.

However, as you can see in that picture, the middle seatback also can fold down on its own. (i.e. for carrying skis with two 2nd row passengers) In that video, that grown man used it to (awkwardly) climb from the 2nd row seats into the back row, even while the car was moving. It's by no means a primary means of getting into the 3rd row, but can be an alternate way, if you don't mind your kids literally climbing on and over your seats.

Personally, I'm not letting anybody do that do my new $100k car.

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      04-09-2019, 06:54 AM   #68
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Thanks Wild Blue, I just tried it out. To fold down the center section you first fold down the armrest and then pull on a small strap to release the center section for folding. I'm learning something new on this forum everyday.
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      04-09-2019, 08:08 AM   #69
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Thanks Wild Blue, I just tried it out. To fold down the center section you first fold down the armrest and then pull on a small strap to release the center section for folding. I'm learning something new on this forum everyday.
Me too, and I don't even have my X7 yet. Love the little stuff that everybody's pulling out and sharing with others. Little stuff make ownership just that much better.
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      04-09-2019, 10:25 AM   #70
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Originally Posted by Wild Blue View Post
Me too, and I don't even have my X7 yet. Love the little stuff that everybody's pulling out and sharing with others. Little stuff make ownership just that much better.
Yea seriously! I feel like I know the ins and outs of this car better than most actual X7 owners who don’t constantly refresh this forum, and I haven’t even ordered one yet
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      04-09-2019, 11:06 AM   #71
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Yea seriously! I feel like I know the ins and outs of this car better than most actual X7 owners who don’t constantly refresh this forum, and I haven’t even ordered one yet
You’d be shocked at how much more we know than geniuses.
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      04-09-2019, 01:26 PM   #72
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Originally Posted by Wild Blue View Post
Both are correct. Yes, the bench is set up as 60/40. The middle bench seat is connected to the right side seat, and they both slide together forward and backward. If you fold down the right seatback, the middle seatback folds down too.

However, as you can see in that picture, the middle seatback also can fold down on its own. (i.e. for carrying skis with two 2nd row passengers) In that video, that grown man used it to (awkwardly) climb from the 2nd row seats into the back row, even while the car was moving. It's by no means a primary means of getting into the 3rd row, but can be an alternate way, if you don't mind your kids literally climbing on and over your seats.

Personally, I'm not letting anybody do that do my new $100k car.

makes sense. I'd rather kids crawl up on the carpeted back of the middle seat and through vs remove armrests leaving an unfinished cover with a hole in it like some others are contemplating. My kids half the time like getting in to my LR4 through the back and climbing over the seats anyways so this would be easier
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      07-05-2020, 11:28 PM   #73
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Originally Posted by PIPE_DR View Post
After one of my kids upchucked in the car today👎,I thought with the car seat out and in depth cleaning, I'd look into armrest a lil closer. I need to get a close quarters torx ratchet and remove some screws to see if I can get these things off finally. Almost there. The infloor cup holders are pretty simple to pop out but need to look into retro fit for carpet and center console.
Any more pics of the infloor cup holder underside/floor/center console when it was removed? Also, any instructions on how to remove it?

I'm trying to figure out what kinda space is available. Thanks!
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      07-06-2020, 01:56 AM   #74
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ComingInHot View Post
Any more pics of the infloor cup holder underside/floor/center console when it was removed? Also, any instructions on how to remove it?

I'm trying to figure out what kinda space is available. Thanks!
Here you go....

https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/g...les/1VndigeYl1
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      09-26-2022, 11:31 AM   #75
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Originally Posted by Wild Blue View Post
Both are correct. Yes, the bench is set up as 60/40. The middle bench seat is connected to the right side seat, and they both slide together forward and backward. If you fold down the right seatback, the middle seatback folds down too.

However, as you can see in that picture, the middle seatback also can fold down on its own. (i.e. for carrying skis with two 2nd row passengers) In that video, that grown man used it to (awkwardly) climb from the 2nd row seats into the back row, even while the car was moving. It's by no means a primary means of getting into the 3rd row, but can be an alternate way, if you don't mind your kids literally climbing on and over your seats.

Personally, I'm not letting anybody do that do my new $100k car.

Ordering 23 x40i with the bench. Captain Chairs looks great, but the bench offers more legroom. Will consider getting Captain Chairs on the 2nd gen version. Hopefully it will be wider to increase the center pass through, can fold flat down, and removes the ugly on-floor cupholder unit.
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      09-26-2022, 12:17 PM   #76
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SUVLustMaster View Post
Ordering 23 x40i with the bench. Captain Chairs looks great, but the bench offers more legroom. Will consider getting Captain Chairs on the 2nd gen version. Hopefully it will be wider to increase the center pass through, can fold flat down, and removes the ugly on-floor cupholder unit.
The Captain's Chairs offer a TON of legroom in the 2nd Row and ample legroom in the 3rd, so if the bench offers more it's not necessary.

You only get the bench if you need a 7th passenger or lie-flat storage. If you've got fewer than 7 passengers and don't use your $100,000 luxury car as a truck, you get the Captain's.
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      09-26-2022, 01:16 PM   #77
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More legroom is still more legroom.

I think the center cupholder unit is horrendous to look at. The center pathway is still too narrow. I suppose you can take off the arm rests.

One other thing I don't like about Captains Chairs is that the tether latch is on the floor behind the seat, and not in the seat like in the bench.
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      09-26-2022, 02:52 PM   #78
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I’ve had captains chairs for 3.5 years now and am getting them again on the 23 I’m about to order. Tons of leg room for adults, especially when you slide them back as far as they’ll go. In 3.5 years, I’ve only moved the 2nd row up to get into the back maybe twice — tweens just go through the middle. Could a full-size adult do that comfortably? Likely not, but I’ve rarely had an adult in the 3rd row. I think the bench looks a lot more pedestrian than the captains chairs, but to each his own.
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      09-26-2022, 03:18 PM   #79
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The captains are nice but not better in my opinion. The center arm rests are ultra small, you can’t just get out any side you like as the ugly cheap plastic floor cup holders are a tripping hazard and come loose very easily. My neighbor hates her choice for captains chairs since she has teenagers who have destroyed it twice in a year. Another complaint, is kids with backpacks. Instead of placing them in the middle, you have to put them in the back making pickup and drop off longer you and people behind you. My kids much preferred the bench seat in my previous X7 to our neighbors X7 who is trading hers in for a second row bench. If you’re an empty nester, none of this really matters until you take another couple with you and the wife has not place to put her handbag down.
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      09-26-2022, 04:34 PM   #80
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SUVLustMaster View Post
More legroom is still more legroom.

I think the center cupholder unit is horrendous to look at. The center pathway is still too narrow. I suppose you can take off the arm rests.

One other thing I don't like about Captains Chairs is that the tether latch is on the floor behind the seat, and not in the seat like in the bench.


Unnecessary legroom is still unnecessary legroom. Unless Andre the Giant is your brother in law.

The center pathway isn't designed to be for passing through. Kids and small teens still can, however, mine do it all the time.

The cupholder unit is very useful for 2nd Row passengers, has ample room for drinks and smartphones, and additional USB-C ports. They can each put a bottle of water in each cupholder and their iPhones in the rubberized slot. And charge them too.

And, most importantly is luxury. This is a luxury car, the most spacious and appointed in BMW's history. The 2nd Row Captain's Chairs are as comfortable as the front seats, have bolstering, have side padding, have lumbar support. A far cry from the bench seat which is what you'd find in a school van. And that middle 'seat' in the bench? That isn't a seat.
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      09-26-2022, 04:42 PM   #81
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Originally Posted by Angelo1 View Post
The captains are nice but not better in my opinion. The center arm rests are ultra small, you can’t just get out any side you like as the ugly cheap plastic floor cup holders are a tripping hazard and come loose very easily. My neighbor hates her choice for captains chairs since she has teenagers who have destroyed it twice in a year. Another complaint, is kids with backpacks. Instead of placing them in the middle, you have to put them in the back making pickup and drop off longer you and people behind you. My kids much preferred the bench seat in my previous X7 to our neighbors X7 who is trading hers in for a second row bench. If you’re an empty nester, none of this really matters until you take another couple with you and the wife has not place to put her handbag down.
That's just untrue.

My two kids sit in the Captain's and put their backpacks atop the portion of the 2nd Row console that's on the floor every day on the way to school. Dropoffs are a breeze. I've put Coleman coolers in that spot, I've put countless duffle bags, sleeping bags, and backpacks in that spot. Handbags? Are you kidding?

As for the floor portion of the console being a tripping hazard? Huh? The floor transmission hump is still there with the bench seat and it's very easy to walk over both.

As for no-kids and taking another couple along, my lord, the amount of compliments I get from couples who love the Captain's with their armrests, independent adjustability, rearward tilt, side supports, lumbar support. It's not even close. Make a spirited turn with the Captain's, your guests are just as solidly planted as if they were in the driver's seat. Do that with the bench and they're flying into the windows.
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      09-26-2022, 04:57 PM   #82
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SUVLustMaster View Post
More legroom is still more legroom.
This is a luxury car, the most spacious and appointed in BMW's history.
You must've never sat in the back of a LWB G12 750i with the executive seating.

They cut numerous corners on the X7. Worst of all for me is the cheap ass plastic B-pillar. In my 750 that was covered in Nappa leather like every other surface.
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      09-26-2022, 05:03 PM   #83
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For those who have younger children do you prefer the captains chairs or bench. I have 2 kids in car seats and don't think I could access the back unless the bench slides very far forward. Captains seems like you could crawl through the middle but not sure how you would get to the c seats with a bench.
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      09-26-2022, 05:11 PM   #84
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Unnecessary legroom is still unnecessary legroom. Unless Andre the Giant is your brother in law.

The center pathway isn't designed to be for passing through. Kids and small teens still can, however, mine do it all the time.

The cupholder unit is very useful for 2nd Row passengers, has ample room for drinks and smartphones, and additional USB-C ports. They can each put a bottle of water in each cupholder and their iPhones in the rubberized slot. And charge them too.

And, most importantly is luxury. This is a luxury car, the most spacious and appointed in BMW's history. The 2nd Row Captain's Chairs are as comfortable as the front seats, have bolstering, have side padding, have lumbar support. A far cry from the bench seat which is what you'd find in a school van. And that middle 'seat' in the bench? That isn't a seat.


Watch the video at 35:03. Legroom looks very limited. IIRC, the bench offers 3-4 more inches of legroom. Plus, I have young children, they will destroy that center console.
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      09-26-2022, 06:35 PM   #85
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Originally Posted by JayM40i View Post
For those who have younger children do you prefer the captains chairs or bench. I have 2 kids in car seats and don't think I could access the back unless the bench slides very far forward. Captains seems like you could crawl through the middle but not sure how you would get to the c seats with a bench.
We have an 2020 X5 40i and 2022 Acura MDX A-Spec. We use the MDX to haul our two young kids. Never spent meaningful time in the X7, but I am considering swapping the MDX with the bench version for the following reasons:

The MDX has far better second row legroom than my X5. I would like better second row legroom than what I currently have with the MDX, otherwise, it doesn't help justify the upgrade and the financial flex. The second row legroom for the Captains Chairs looks very underwhelming according to the above video I linked.

Kids are still well below the weight limit of my forward facing child car seat when secured via latches plus tether. The Captains Chair's tethers are located on the floor behind each seat whereas in the bench, they are on the backside of each seat.

If bench, I can move 60/40 seat forward and tilt it upwards with the child car seat in place, allowing others sufficient room (I think) to enter into the third row. I cannot do this with Captains Chairs because of the location of the in-floor tethers.

My kids will trip over the center console that comes with the Captains Chair, probably will damage it. They are still young and clumsy.

My wife can comfortably sit between the kids in the second row if they're being difficult. I suppose she can mediate or pacify from the third row but it's not as easy to lean forward and reach to feed for example.

I probably need to use all seven seats 10-15 times a year. That may not seem like a lot for some, but for me, that is worth getting the bench.

As far as folding the second row down flat for maximum storage, I probably don't have any need for that. I will not be hauling large pieces of furniture or anything from Home Depot or the like with an expensive vehicle like this.

I do think the Captains Chairs look better and is more luxurious but my kids will be in their child car seats for a few more years and I am reluctant to move them into the third row for safety reasons, so as luxurious as the Captains Chairs are, who will really get to enjoy them? I rather save the money and put it towards the Climate Package.
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      09-26-2022, 10:20 PM   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SUVLustMaster View Post

Watch the video at 35:03. Legroom looks very limited. IIRC, the bench offers 3-4 more inches of legroom. Plus, I have young children, they will destroy that center console.
"Never spent meaningful time in the X7, but..."

Again, trust someone who's spent 40 months in the car please. I know what's what.

If your family needs require 7 seats or if you need a lie-flat cargo bay, fine, get the bench. But if you only really need 6 seats and you care about a luxurious passenger compartment, get the Captain's.
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      09-26-2022, 10:36 PM   #87
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JayM40i View Post
For those who have younger children do you prefer the captains chairs or bench. I have 2 kids in car seats and don't think I could access the back unless the bench slides very far forward. Captains seems like you could crawl through the middle but not sure how you would get to the c seats with a bench.
There is another problem with the bench in that the sensors often get tripped by child seats preventing either the left or right 2nd Row seat to allow access to the 3rd Row.

And the child seats must be forward-facing, not rear facing. And entire threads exist about finding ultra-thin car seats that don't get in the way or trip the seat sensors when they need to move out of the way to get to the 3rd Row.

Point being, forget Captain's vs. Bench. You need to watch YouTube videos to confirm if you can even live with an X7 at all.
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      09-26-2022, 10:55 PM   #88
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SUVLustMaster View Post


Watch the video at 35:03. Legroom looks very limited. IIRC, the bench offers 3-4 more inches of legroom. Plus, I have young children, they will destroy that center console.
I’ve driven mine for 3.5 years. My kids were 7 and 8 when I got the car. That middle cup holder has never one time been an issue for them or their myriad of friends who pass through the middle on their way to the 3rd row. The plastic cup holder section has nary a scratch on it. My kids have plenty of room to put their backpacks in the middle, and not one of my friends has complained about the lack of room for her handbag. Trust those of us who’ve driven these cars for thousands of hours.
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