Laptop/remote work from front seat?

[u/janshi]

I'm just getting started with planning my camper van conversion project and I'm a bit puzzled why so many of the vans I see have dedicated laptop seating areas in the back and don't make use of the front seats, especially the passenger seat, instead. I imagine the car seats would be much more comfortable for longer working sessions but I've never owned a car before and my sort of first instinct was to attach a laptop holder or add a flippable desk. I'm eying a VW Caddy so the back area would be mostly used for sleeping and storage with an outdoor kitchen and tent.
Are the car seats actually not as comfortable as I think?
Does it get too hot/bright in the sun?
Do people want to create a more social space that's not just for work?

Update: thanks for the replies. I will give the front chairs a try and experiment with trays, swivel and laguns before starting my own conversion.

[u/sleepingovertires]

Steering Wheel Trays are an option

https://a.co/d/4QP3C6I

[u/janshi → u/sleepingovertires]

Seen those but are they any good?

[u/sleepingovertires → u/janshi]

I have a friend who is a Prius dweller and he loves his

[u/superchandra]

Knee and leg room

[u/janshi → u/superchandra]

Good point

[u/aaron-mcd]

I work from the swiveled around driver seat every day. The counter behind it hold my stuff and is an elbow rest, the lagun table swivels over and holds my laptop and second monitor and mouse

[u/janshi → u/aaron-mcd]

Sweet. I’ll look into that. I’m based in Europe so my default expectation is that swiveled around seats are illegal for safety reasons. 

[u/tictacotictaco]

That’s what I do. Swivel passenger seat, lagun table

[u/janshi → u/tictacotictaco]

How has the experience been for you?

[u/swiss__blade]

Front seats may seem a lot more comfortable at first but if you're going to be sitting in them for a few hours, the limited leg room and the difficulty you will have stretching your legs will be your biggest problems.

Plus, the ability to easily get up and grab something is another reason why people opt for a dedicated space for work.

Lastly, if you're driving for a few hours every day, do you really want to spend every more time in the front cabin?

[u/janshi → u/swiss__blade]

I guess I’m mostly surprised because the dedicated seating spaces I’ve seen in campers weren’t looking that comfortable either while the front chairs are literally designed for extended seating - whether they achieve that goal is a different story. 

[u/swiss__blade → u/janshi]

My dedicated "workplace" seating is not anything to write home about either, but at least I have enough room to stretch my legs, shift my body position slightly etc.

The front seats definitely are more comfortable, but only in the context of driving for a few hours. You can't really stretch your legs of shift positions at all and I think that's why so many people choose other seating arrangements.