My old Nissan Note was similar, though you couldn't actually remove the rear seats. It was very much sold at the time on "rather more interior space than a Golf inside rather less exterior space than a Golf". Even though the rear seats didn't leave the car, they rolled back and forth to swap between small-SUV cargo for short people, or small hatchback cargo for rather tall people. (or got left halfway between the two 99% of the time) My beau-père was 6'3" and had no problems sitting in the rear despite it being on the same platform as a Micra.
It eventually got to be a pain with my mother visiting us more often just how narrow it was. It was a fair old bit longer than your A-class, but even narrower and for the rear seat even fitting a child in the middle of 3 across was painful. Pity, as it gave 13 years of solid service without fault.
The funny thing is that there was certainly a market for such cars. The original A-class sold well, the original Note sold well. But neither manufacturer was happy with being the big fish in a small pond and swapped them for more generic designs with broader appeal.
It eventually got to be a pain with my mother visiting us more often just how narrow it was. It was a fair old bit longer than your A-class, but even narrower and for the rear seat even fitting a child in the middle of 3 across was painful. Pity, as it gave 13 years of solid service without fault.
The funny thing is that there was certainly a market for such cars. The original A-class sold well, the original Note sold well. But neither manufacturer was happy with being the big fish in a small pond and swapped them for more generic designs with broader appeal.
