Different types of seats in a van

Question

I am writing a scene where I need to describe in a fluid manner where the characters are seated in a minivan. I know the seat next to the driver is the passenger seat or shotgun. This is a vehicle with third row seating so I am  not sure if the seats right behind the driver are the backseat. If they are, what are the ones behind the backseat called? If not, what are the right terms to describe each point?

chasly - supports Monica · Accepted Answer

If it was already established that there were 3 rows of seats, I would call them
Front seats
Mid seats (mid-passenger-seats)
Rear seats

BoldBen · Answer

For me the back seat (or row of seats) is always the one furthest from the driver regardless of how many there are. For instance the 'back seat' of a bus is the long one at the back that isn't broken into by the aisle.
If there are three rows of seats the second row can be called the 'middle row' or 'middle seats'; if there are more than three rows the ones between the front and back rows are usually referred to by ordinal number, for instance in a vehicle with four rows of seats they would be called the 'front seats' (one of them is the driver's); the 'second row'; the 'third row' and the fourth row would be called the 'back row' or 'back seats'.
The only time where this gets difficult is when one or more of the seats folds down, particularly if the second row is fixed and the third one much less accessible. These seats are sometimes called 'dickie seats' or 'the third row' and the second row would be called the 'back seats'

Different types of seats in a van

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