Originally Posted by Diabo
If you're the only passenger, it's considered impolite to sit in the back in The Netherlands. You're supposed to sit in front and chat about football/taxes/girls/etc. with the driver.
That's how it is in both Germany and Switzerland as well. I also pefer to sit in the front because it's easier to give directions in case the driver doesn't know the exact place you want to go (i.e. he knows XYZ Street, but not #57 XYZ Street) and you will recognize it on sight.
In Shanghai, you're supposed to sit in the back, apparently, but I always sat in the front because the drivers never understood me when I tried to pronounce the street name in Mandarin, and even if they understood it correctly, they often had no idea where it was. Thankfully they understood me when I said "Left", "right" or "straight" in Mandarin. But you really have to be in the front seat and paying attention if you want to do that.