Very interesting thread! Have an ancient 08 reg 2.5/174/tiptronic Cali and a good deal of the time need it in 5 seat configuration plus have a Beagle that travels with us, including at times when we are 5 up.
So am working on a 2 version setup & nearly complete.
V1 4 seater for camping trips for 2-4 people which will only involve for 4 people placing the dog in a suitably tethered harness on the rear board and for 2-3 people in a tethered harness on the inner rear seat, leaving all the rest free for all the gear.
V2 5 seater as the run around configuration. Rear backboard & bed cushion removed. Rear seat moved back to a precise position which still allows for placement of a 1m x .6m table from Ikea (all of £16!) to the rear. Height of table is critical since the inner length abuts on the rear of the rear seat and must be high enough to sit above the void where the rear inertia seat belts rise and so prevent them otherwise being pinned. Have two substantial belt loops fixed to the lower rear section of the rear seat which project above the table surface enough to fix the dog harness link to (a Skoda piece of kit) and so the dog will sit on a dog bed I'm having custom made to fit on the table top. This then just allows reasonable room for all 3 rear passengers, room for stuff on the table top if dog not present and a fair bit of room below the table for whatever one chooses to carry around, plus, if room, shopping. Had to cut the table legs to shorten them and place & tape in place protective insulation (pipe insulation round the edges of the table. Also placing furniture cups under the adjustable table legs to minimise local impact on the rear floor. And yes, removed both front and rear runner stops. The rear one was tricky!
This works well for a compliant dog one can lift onto the rear table top. Doberman, Great Dane & Irish wolfhound owners might need to carry an access ramp or undertake prior serious weightlifting classes!
Have got to the "proof of concept" stage & it's a runner … only have to tape the pipe insulation in place, re-install the belt loops and place a dog bed on top. Oh yes, if choosing to do something like this it's well worth marking on the floor at the rear how far the rear seat should be moved to once that distance has been established
And … for moving the 5th seat, have invested in a neat folding trolley to move t.he seat in & out of the garage. Had the same vehicle 7 years ago and only tried carrying the 5th seat on my own once … never again! And of course, room is needed to store the table which itself is really quite light.
