Center console...what say you?

Center consoles are a curious thing. Back when we had a bench, no dice. Then the bucket seat came along and they started doubling as an arm rest. Then with the Wrangler, you could have it either way, but it was best to buy an aftermarket metal one with a lock if you didn't have the hard top. Then the bench seat with the flip down center with a back that was similar to a center console.

My beef is with vehicles like the minivans and Crossovers. I thought the older CRV had a great answer. Flip up when wanted down when you didn't (I am sure Honda wasn't the first but it was my first experience with it)

Now we have this....

My wife and I used the space with it down. The dog would lay there. She would put her purse there. The middle row of the Millenium Falcon has a similar setup.

I was a great use of space.

I like the look of the modern center console but hate the function.

Anyone else there with me?

I find them particularly useless in pickups. I like the flip down seat back.

I thought I was going to find one of these before opening the thread

My wife's Acura RDX had a center console that opened up and you could fit a small house in ...

In reply to Slippery:

Nice SeaVee there.

Does it bother your leg room at all? I end up resting my knee on mine and depending on the vehicle that isn't always comfortable.

Our 2004 Sedona had a flip-down console, but our 2012 doesn't. Progress?

I guess it depends on the car/truck. And I'm not traveling with pets.

In my '95 Cummins, it had the flip-down bench console, which was down most of the time I owned the truck.

My conversion van had a sort of table built into the doghouse. That was nice and still allowed fairly easy access to the rear of the van without going outside.

My '08 grand Caravan has a console for storing stuff, but still allows front/rear access providing you're reasonably flexible (I still am - for now).

In the various cars, I like having them for storing stuff. I have an aftermarket one in my Spitfire and recently bought a second one for my GT6. My Volvo will likely get something similar, although custom/DIY made.

I think each still has it's place functionally, depending on class of vehicle, but market perceptions seem to be driving most towards consoles.

In minivans I particularly like the open space between the seats. For example, even in tight parking lots this allows one parent to get multiple kids into the vehicle at once through the sliding door, close the door, buckle the kid(s), and use the center aisle to hop into the drivers seat without ever exiting the vehicle. That open floor spot also makes a great place to put a purse/diaper bag/backpack.

I still prefer the 06 GMC. It has the same buckets as the console trucks, but the center flips up and prvides a 3rd seat or place to stretch out as a passenger. I don't know what I'll end up with the C10. I know that the bench has to go and I need a damn cup holder.

FlightService wrote: In reply to Slippery: Nice SeaVee there. Does it bother your leg room at all? I end up resting my knee on mine and depending on the vehicle that isn't always comfortable.

Leg room is my problem. I can't drive a Civic built in the 00's without a pillow between my knee and the park brake handle.

Streetwiseguy wrote:

FlightService wrote: In reply to Slippery: Nice SeaVee there. Does it bother your leg room at all? I end up resting my knee on mine and depending on the vehicle that isn't always comfortable.

Leg room is my problem. I can't drive a Civic built in the 00's without a pillow between my knee and the park brake handle.

It did get in the way of my legs, and I dont consider myself tall at 5'10"

Driven5 wrote: I think each still has it's place functionally, depending on class of vehicle, but market perceptions seem to be driving most towards consoles. In minivans I particularly like the open space between the seats. For example, even in tight parking lots this allows one parent to get multiple kids into the vehicle at once through the sliding door, close the door, buckle the kid(s), and use the center aisle to hop into the drivers seat without ever exiting the vehicle. That open floor spot also makes a great place to put a purse/diaper bag/backpack.

This, the pass through between the seats and the column shifter are van features of the minivan, center consoles are for cars where they have nothing better to do with the space.

I know there's an optional center console on the GC/T&C twins that is not only stupendously ugly but looks like it would be really annoying to have in the car:

FlightService wrote: I find them particularly useless in pickups. I like the flip down seat back.

That's funny, because the one in my pickup is very useful. Technically I think it's a middle seat, but it's a stick, so you're not going to sit someone there anyhow because you'd punch them in the nuts every time you went for an even numbered gear. There are three levels to the thing, so I can prioritize nicely.

On our Vanagon, the ability to run front to back is really useful and I wouldn't want to have a console. That's a camper, though. I can't see wanting that ability on a vehicle I couldn't stand in.

Bobzilla wrote: I still prefer the 06 GMC. It has the same buckets as the console trucks, but the center flips up and prvides a 3rd seat or place to stretch out as a passenger. I don't know what I'll end up with the C10. I know that the bench has to go and I need a damn cup holder.

You could keep the bench and make the shifter stand/cup holder/phone holder from the Muscle Truck. According to Freiburger and Finnegan, it is the greatest thing that Freiburger has ever created.

NickD wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: I still prefer the 06 GMC. It has the same buckets as the console trucks, but the center flips up and prvides a 3rd seat or place to stretch out as a passenger. I don't know what I'll end up with the C10. I know that the bench has to go and I need a damn cup holder.

You could keep the bench and make the shifter stand/cup holder/phone holder from the Muscle Truck. According to Freiburger and Finnegan, it is the greatest thing that Freiburger has ever created.

I'll have a manual shifter sitting there in the next year or so. That and I need/want buckets with some form of lateral support. I can tell you that bench wont be fun auto-x'ing.

This is how ours is laid out. Love the comfort of the cloth seats. Love the immense storage of the center armrest/seatback. Back in the day, a full size binder ring map fit in there.

Most of the time when I get into a car, I think the guy that designed the center console should be flogged -- publically. However, the console in my '16 Focus ST is awesome! Best cupholders ever. They have rubber inserts that grab the cup and accommodate a large range of cup sizes. Also, they have a plastic piece on the bottom to support short or tall beverage cups! Useful storage. I want to find the guy that designed it and buy him a drink!

I'm generally a console fan. My cars tend to retain random junk and the console gives me a good place to hide it. Also, the dog's preferred spot in my Cherokee is riding with front paws on top of the arm rest and rear paws on the bench in back. But berkeley Jeep for not incorporating a cup holder on the pre-97 XJ. Back seat has them but not the front. Wtf?

Flip down console is the correct solution for a truck, or really anything with a bench seat for that matter. Agreed that a mini van is sometimes better without, but depends on usage I guess. I remember growing up my mom had a Mercury Villager and my friend's mom had a Nissan Quest (same van underneath.) Mom's Villager had no console, while the Quest had an aftermarket console/TV thing (super pimp by late 90s standards ). Having spent considerable time in both, I prefer the console.

I like a center console. Particularly if it incorporates lots of secure storage and a good armrest. I don't like stuff loose in the front of the cabin. That includes dogs and pocketbooks. If you want your pocket book in the front seat, hold onto it or stick it under your legs. Otherwise it goes on the floor in the back seat where I don't have to worry about it flying around if I have to (or just want to) make a violent maneuver.

I might feel different about this if I owned a dog but I really think they need to be in a secured cage or carrier if they're in the car. I know they don't like it but they can be a distraction and I've been to two accidents where the dogs that were loose in the car were killed and none of human occupants were injured. In fact, in one case the car could have been driven if the driver hadn't been too distraught to do it.

Love the console. Wife's new car doesn't have one and I wish it did. It does have the same cup holders as the ones in the pic above and they work well.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

You see I had an armrest that flipped up in the ranger to make a bench and made sure a girl I knew nicknamed Bubbles always sat there.

It was a stick.

The console in my Tacoma is very useful. I have a manual trans and that package got these excellent cup holders with rubber inserts, a slot that fits a phone with wireless charger in it and a storage box with a 12v socket inside that that doubles as an elbow rest. Super handy for charging things out of site.

So, in that implementation, yes.

Gotta have somewhere for the $7 latte from Starbucks...

In non-family trucksters, the well thought out ones tend to provide a level of functionality that is useful with cell phones etc. That being said, the FR-S one kinda sucks as my right knee rests on the forward part of it so after 5 hours it can start to be irritating. Also, I elbow anything in the forward cup holder when shifting to 2, 4, or 6 and the rear cup holder is very awkward to get a cup into having to reach behind me and all...and the ones in the E36 and 350z are totally useless. On the somewhat irrelevant side, the pet we traveled with was a 5' long green iguana and she always rode on the dash so she could enjoy the sunlight...

Keith Tanner wrote:

FlightService wrote: I find them particularly useless in pickups. I like the flip down seat back.

That's funny, because the one in my pickup is very useful. Technically I think it's a middle seat, but it's a stick, so you're not going to sit someone there anyhow because you'd punch them in the nuts every time you went for an even numbered gear. There are three levels to the thing, so I can prioritize nicely. On our Vanagon, the ability to run front to back is really useful and I wouldn't want to have a console. That's a camper, though. I can't see wanting that ability on a vehicle I couldn't stand in.

Wifey and I walk back in our minivan during road trips to take care if the kiddos. We find it quite useful to be able to tip the console out of the way.