Dave Thomas, aka, Our Man In Cars, runs the Cars.com Car Seat Check on the 2012 Audi A6. I used to drive an A6 a bit, and it always amazes me how squeezed they are in the back.
Whatever's German for la plus ça change...
2012 Audi A6 car seat check [cars.com]
I thought everyone put the rear-facing child seats in the center of the back seat out of as much concern for side-impact as much as front passenger leg room.
Maybe it's just me.
And people wonder why Americans have been drawn to SUVs, minivans, crossovers and other less efficient vehicles. Yes people blame the SUV craze on Americans looking to bolster a macho image. Minivans reflect our needs to have a dozen Big Gulps within arm's reach. But the elephant in the room here is the car seat. Modern car seats are big. They are bulky. And they are required in more and more places for older and older kids. The A6 is mid-size in Audi's lineup but the larger A8 costs a fortune and the back seat isn't really designed for 3 across seating either. These days, if you have more than a family of four in your car, car seats make it very difficult to avoid a three row vehicle.
You should always put a child seat in the center position for safety. However, for fit, the most concern is when you have two seats and need to put behind the passenger seat first (to not impact the driver's seating position). So we do the check for that fitting. Generally even very small cars can accommodate a seat in the center position only.