The Front Bench Seat is Back from the Dead!

Holy smokes! A comeback for the front bench seat wasn’t on my 2024 bingo card…

In 2014, the Chevrolet Impala, the last U.S. sedan with a front bench seat, was redesigned with two buckets — ending an era in automotive design. But Road & Track reports that automakers are bringing it back from the dead.

The magazine says Chevrolet, Land Rover and maybe even Hyundai are reintroducing front row bench seats to their SUVs. “Chevrolet has added a bench seat option for the 2025 Tahoe and Suburban; Land Rover offers a front-row jump seat in the Discovery; and Hyundai even showcased a bench seat option for the newly redesigned Palisade in South Korea,” Road & Track says.

Let’s not forget Kia’s foray into front bench seats. Last year, it unveiled its EV5 concept car, which features a front seat configuration that includes a cushioned base that jets out from the side of the front passenger seat and nearly connects with the driver seat, creating a bench-like design.

Road & Track reached out to automakers to ask about the sudden change of heart. They said the new bench seats are a call back to their roots and provide greater flexibility to vehicle owners. (Duh, that’s why we liked them!)

Road & Track believes the new front bench seats will be welcomed by younger vehicle owners.

“The return of the bench might not mean much to older generations of drivers who grew up wedged between their parents. To millennials and Generation Z, however, the bench seat was largely out of service by the time they arrived, catching only a glimpse of three-across intimacy in the opening credits of That ’70s Show,” the magazine writes. “As a result, it holds a warm, nostalgic glow for the under-40 crowd; social media these days is filled with videos of friends, young couples, and pet owners enjoying the closeness of a bench seat for the first time, more often than not inside an aging small truck.”

Whatever the appeal — we love a good front bench seat and are psyched to see it come back!