Flat Floor--or not--in Front of Second Row of Seats

[transpower]

I cannot tell from interior pictures (because of low contrast) whether or not there is a "hump" in the floor in front of the second row of seats. It appears to be small, but I'm not sure. If there were a big hump (as in most German SUVs) that would make things difficult for the middle rear passenger. So is it flat or not?

 

[Dannyboy]

I cannot tell from interior pictures (because of low contrast) whether or not there is a "hump" in the floor in front of the second row of seats. It appears to be small, but I'm not sure. If there were a big hump (as in most German SUVs) that would make things difficult for the middle rear passenger. So is it flat or not?

I'm pretty sure that is a bump and that it is due to the battery positioning in the Outlander.

 

[BobMarin]

I think it's the Outlander engine that is causing the trouble here and not the battery pack, even though the engine probably is pushed this far into the passenger seat because of the room required by the battery.

 

[Dannyboy]

I think it's the Outlander engine that is causing the trouble here and not the battery pack, even though the engine probably is pushed this far into the passenger seat because of the room required by the battery.

Now that I think of it you are probably right because the battery pack in Outlander isn't located on the floor of the car rather in the trunk so it must be due to something else. Although I don't think it's engine either to be honest.

It may be just a design choice, I have seen a lot weirder choices by car manufacturers...

 

[ActionableMango]

That hump is the driveshaft tunnel required for RWD, 4WD, and AWD cars.

On FWD cars with no driveshaft there is often still a hump anyway for two reasons. First, the hump improves the torsional rigidity for unibody cars. Second, the tunnel is still used to route other bulky items such as the exhaust, to improve ground clearance.

On the conventional Outlander, no doubt this hump is used for a driveshaft tunnel. The Outlander PHEV doesn't require a driveshaft or transfer case, so I imagine they use that space for batteries.

 

[transpower]

There is no hump in my 2008 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, and there was no hump in my 2001 Acura MDX. Therefore, it's certainly possible to have an SUV without one. For the rear middle-seat passenger, this makes a tremendous difference.

 

[ActionableMango]

Oh yes, there are plenty of cars with no hump too. You can either raise the passenger cabin up higher or lower the driveshaft. Better for the middle passenger's comfort, but unless you are FWD or an EV, you either have a higher center of gravity or lower ground clearance because you have to put that shaft somewhere.

If you frequently take 5 people in your car, I can certainly see your point where the hump would be a big annoyance for the person in the middle.

As for me, I've damaged my skid plate three times and had a rock take out the transfer case cover, so I'll take ground clearance over 5th passenger comfort any day. I never have 5 people in my car anyway. In fact, I removed my middle passenger headrest so that I have a better rear view.