Author Topic: seat comfort (Read 2948 times)

geoff_66 · « **on:** June 27, 2009, 09:32:44 am »

Here's the conundrum of the day for all the sages: My sister bought a Mazda 3 last year (2008) after owning two generations of Jettas. She finds the Mazda's seats intolerable for anything save short trips. Therefore she is considering trading back to a Rabbit/Jetta. In this price range are there any other cars with as good or superior seats? Keep in mind that her 60 year old 5'6" thin body may be part of the issue. Not that I'd ever mention that to her, of course. Also, has anyone else had problems with Mazda seats? Should she look around for a used Volvo, and all that entails, if she wants real comfort? Oh, yeah, she's tried some after market seat cushions to no avail. It seems the issue may be the shortness of the seat bottom on the Mazda.

RunsinLight · « **Reply #1 on:** June 27, 2009, 10:29:07 am »

I would be interested in knowing as well. I didn't really think about seat comfort in my first car purchase.

I've heard good things about Toyota seats.

airbalancer · « **Reply #2 on:** June 27, 2009, 10:31:47 am »

Hard to beat Germany seats for comfort

ovr50 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 27, 2009, 10:33:02 am »

There is no question that seat comfort (or more properly labelled "seat discomfort") is a major issue if the seats are uncomfortable. Comfortable seats are taken for granted, but if you end up with a vehicle with uncomfortable seats, it colors your entire thinking about the rest of the vehicle. I don't doubt this woman wants to be rid of the car ASAP.

We had a '04 RAV 4 for just less than a year, and the major issue in getting rid of it for the Highlander was the discomfort that both my wife and I found in the RAV, particularily the front passenger seat.

IMO, the best seats are found in German, Swedish and some NA cars, the worst in Japanese, excepting Subaru which seems to have good seats. It's also related to price, often the bottom end of the price range vehicles have the worst seats. Makes sense, I guess.

Agreed that as one ages, seat comfort becomes more important.

initial_D · « **Reply #4 on:** June 27, 2009, 11:13:58 am »

Put in a pair of aftermarket seats will be cheaper than change cars, and they are better than most oem seats. Recaro, Sparco, Bride, ... lotsa selections available.

safristi · « **Reply #5 on:** June 27, 2009, 11:17:52 am »

this is a EVOLVOING concern fer tha arthritic and bony arsed set.............buy an ORTHOPAEDIC charabanc...............No worries no piles we gonna be driving a barcalounger for smiles...................suggestions ...................BUICK and Volvo..no probems my childs......................

dr_spock · « **Reply #6 on:** June 27, 2009, 11:33:07 am »

Seat comfort is a personal thing that varies from person to person. If your sister found the Jetta/Golf seats comfortable then it might be good to stick with the Euro brands. Japanese seats are comfortable if you have the right body type for them. They are a soft comfy instead of the hard German comfy. You can also get her to try on as many cars as possible to find one that fits her correctly and comfortably. It's like bra shopping.

sailor723 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 27, 2009, 11:33:53 am »

I have to agree that the Germans seem to be about the best when it comes to seat comfort. The 86 and 93 E class Mercedes we had were great. I was quite surprised to find after the first road trip that the seats in my SRX were every bit as good as the Benz.

stodge · « **Reply #8 on:** June 27, 2009, 01:28:33 pm »

The seats in my 08 Sentra are proving to be incredibly uncomfortable - can't wait to get rid of it. I agree that Japanese cars have less comfortable seats. I find Toyota's seats are generally awful especially when they don't have lumbar support. It's been a while since I sat in a VW or Volvo.

Mitlov · « **Reply #9 on:** June 27, 2009, 02:05:09 pm »

Quote from: geoff_66 on June 27, 2009, 09:32:44 am

Here's the conundrum of the day for all the sages: My sister bought a Mazda 3 last year (2008) after owning two generations of Jettas. She finds the Mazda's seats intolerable for anything save short trips. Therefore she is considering trading back to a Rabbit/Jetta. In this price range are there any other cars with as good or superior seats? Keep in mind that her 60 year old 5'6" thin body may be part of the issue. Not that I'd ever mention that to her, of course. Also, has anyone else had problems with Mazda seats? Should she look around for a used Volvo, and all that entails, if she wants real comfort? Oh, yeah, she's tried some after market seat cushions to no avail. It seems the issue may be the shortness of the seat bottom on the Mazda.

In general German cars seem more comfortable to me than Japanese cars. Just some of the differences in seat design between countries make the German cars fit me better than the Japanese. Of course, every person is different, I'm not saying that German seats are objectively better for everybody.

The Jetta is a good option, as is a base Volvo (I absolutely adored the seats in the S40, and a stripped-out C30 has the same seats). Of American and Japanese cars, the best non-luxury seats I've experienced were in a Ford Fusion...is that out of her price range?

tpl · « **Reply #10 on:** June 27, 2009, 02:22:42 pm »

My last SAAB, a real SAAB not a GM car had the best seats for me. The BMW second.

I judge them by how much back and hip ache I have and how long it lasts after a drive of 100 km or more. This is skewed somewhat as I get older of course. The GTI seats are not at all bad.
I can live with the FIT seats just, only just.

Trainman · « **Reply #11 on:** June 27, 2009, 02:44:17 pm »

Ah yes, seats. Everyone will have their own requirements for seats; here are my observations:

I have 2 discs in my lower back that are thinner than they should be, causing all sorts of issues, so good seats are important. My Forester has good seats, I can drive for 8-12 hrs and have no discomfort after. Of course I take breaks every 2-3 hrs to stretch. They also have good lateral support for when the driving gets spirited. There is no adjustments for lumbar on these; they only have manual for/aft, recline and height.

The Pathfinder seats were also very good, but had started to deteriorate when I got rid of it.

The Sienna seats are comfy but lack any kind of lateral support, making the van less fun to drive as you are also trying to stay in the seat.

The Mystique had very good seats.

None of the above had any issues with depth of the seat cushion.

The Ford F series bench seats were the absolute worst I have ever sat on. After 40 kms my back would be in agony. It was for that the I got the Obus Form back rest, that helped quite a bit.

I too would suggest aftermarket seats, it will be much cheaper than turning in a 2 year old car and taking that depreciation hit.

mmret · « **Reply #12 on:** June 27, 2009, 02:53:08 pm »

Have not sat in too many different cars for extended periods of time..but:

1. Acura TSX...can drive pretty much all day. But then again it doesn't make you go "ahh". It just works and doesn't bother you.

2. Volvo S40...these things are great.

3. Impala.. terrible after 5 minutes.

Cord · « **Reply #13 on:** June 27, 2009, 03:00:17 pm »

Re: aftermarket seats. Can you buy seats that aren't meant for racing in? I'm thinking that the big side bolsters often seen on racing seats probably wouldn't be considered too comfortable to the average 60 year old female driver.

initial_D · « **Reply #14 on:** June 27, 2009, 03:46:05 pm »

Not all aftermarket seats are boy racer style, and some racing style seats are ultra comfy ... pricey as well. And 'Buick' style seats are available as well.

http://www.katzkin.com/main.html

PJungnitsch · « **Reply #15 on:** June 27, 2009, 04:55:19 pm »

I find the seats in the Versa extremely comfortable, big car seats wedged into a small car. Cobalt was the opposite, thin and cheap, had to wedge a rolled up jacket under my back to make it home from Calgary. The Dodge pickups I drive for work are quite good, but the upright sitting position of a pickup makes it easier to be comfortable, IMO, not so much weight on the tailbone.

A friend did a lengthy series of test drives of small cars and would not stop talking about how great the seats were in the Volvo C30. Not surprised, back in the day I swapped out the seats in my old 510 for some from a Volvo station wagon, it was the best upgrade I ever did, and not especially difficult.

Cord · « **Reply #16 on:** June 27, 2009, 05:16:01 pm »

Quote from: initial_D on June 27, 2009, 03:46:05 pm

Not all aftermarket seats are boy racer style, and some racing style seats are ultra comfy ... pricey as well. And 'Buick' style seats are available as well.

http://www.katzkin.com/main.html

That looks to me to be just a leather covering company. I don't see anything on there about actually constructing seats. And who's to say that after buying one of those that it would even be more comfortable (I'm sure it would look better) than stock seats? Buying seats strictly for comfort sounds like a perilous task - sort of like buying shoes without trying them on.

Careener · « **Reply #17 on:** June 27, 2009, 05:26:46 pm »

I ended up swapping driving the Mazda 3 for the Mazda 6 with my wife as my hip was killing in the 3.
For me the issue was the wide centre console and the seat track not going back far enough. The seats in the 6 are better.

initial_D · « **Reply #18 on:** June 27, 2009, 05:27:05 pm »

Try before Buy? Original Sin! Bite thee Apple, Antonio. Not as bad (or good) as mail order brides.

Another way to add comfort is to find an upholstery guy and add more padding.

Careener · « **Reply #19 on:** June 27, 2009, 05:33:23 pm »

I had a whole thread going on another site on what to replace the 3 with - for seat comfort and being 6'4".
Volvo and BMW were mentioned a lot as being the best.