... I might be called a weirdo after this article, but as the comments here might already suggest, I'm more than OK with getting flamed for exposing my opinion. So, here it goes. Am I the only one who thinks that nowadays most car manufacturers are pretty clueless about passenger comfort when it comes to seating?
Everyone knows that for decades and decades, most car seats have been designed with passenger comfort and safety in mind, right? Nobody has ever tried marketing a car that uses Spanish torture chairs as seats. Yet, after more than a century of car-making evolution, I find that some – if not most – car seats are not comfortable when used for longer periods of time.
I'm not talking about seats that are meant to be highly supportive, like for example those used in sports cars, but about seats used in normal, everyday cars. It didn't seem to be the case 15 or 20 years ago, but in the last decade I began noticing a distinct increase in the hardness of car seats.
From the top of my head I'm inclined to think that I've mostly experienced "hard seating" in German cars. The VAG Group, for example, uses some of the hardest seats in the industry. Whether we're talking about Volkswagen, Seat (what a coincidence!), Skoda and especially Audi, these manufacturers have some of the most back ache-inducing seats I've ever sat on.
The first time I get into either one they feel more than OK, actually providing a very premium feel, but after a few hours of continuous driving, no matter how I adjust them they start to feel like wooden benches. It's like trying to feel comfortable on moai statue from Easter Island. It's not going to work.
And the VAG Group isn't alone in this. BMW, for example, used to make some of the most masochistic seats ever. This is no longer the case with models starting from the F10 5-Series upwards, which are comfortable no matter how long you sit in them, but the "tooshie flattening" feel can still be found in the current 3-Series and 1-Series.
Another provider of firm seats is the Fiat Group, which has apparently "stolen" this idea from VAG. Every modern Fiat or Alfa Romeo I've driven for more than an hour has felt the same from this point of view. Lancia's seats are a bit softer though, but not by much.
Is it so hard to manufacture a seat that won't give you hemorrhoids after a few hours of continuos driving? Apparently not, at least when looking at other brands. The French have got it right whether we're talking about the PSA Group or Renault. I recently drove a Citroen DS3 with extreme-looking, body-hugging seats that were also soft enough to feel comfy, so we know it is possible.
Sporty and/or supportive seats don't necessarily have to be rock hard. Infiniti for example, is another car maker that has great seats, which are both comfortable and don't let you slip away from them on tight bends. But it doesn't have to be a premium manufacturer.
Opel, which doesn't exactly make the most expensive cars on the market, has a number of models that use orthopedic-approved seats. We tested them in the Insignia and they really work - no back pain whatsoever, after sitting in the car almost a whole day. And this without sacrificing the size of the side bolster support.
So, what is up with all the rest of the manufacturers? Audi, who is probably using the hardest seat compounds this side of a FIA GT racer or a WRC car, are apparently upgrading this tirade against drivers' gluteus maximus to every model in their current range.
Why? Is this a marketing-led dichotomy that separates what the customers want from what the customers think they want? Does any perfectly normal driver want a hard seat in his non-supercar daily driver that he uses to run errands? Maybe I'm alone in this... By the way, how comfortable are the seats in your car?
Everyone knows that for decades and decades, most car seats have been designed with passenger comfort and safety in mind, right? Nobody has ever tried marketing a car that uses Spanish torture chairs as seats. Yet, after more than a century of car-making evolution, I find that some – if not most – car seats are not comfortable when used for longer periods of time.
I'm not talking about seats that are meant to be highly supportive, like for example those used in sports cars, but about seats used in normal, everyday cars. It didn't seem to be the case 15 or 20 years ago, but in the last decade I began noticing a distinct increase in the hardness of car seats.
From the top of my head I'm inclined to think that I've mostly experienced "hard seating" in German cars. The VAG Group, for example, uses some of the hardest seats in the industry. Whether we're talking about Volkswagen, Seat (what a coincidence!), Skoda and especially Audi, these manufacturers have some of the most back ache-inducing seats I've ever sat on.
The first time I get into either one they feel more than OK, actually providing a very premium feel, but after a few hours of continuous driving, no matter how I adjust them they start to feel like wooden benches. It's like trying to feel comfortable on moai statue from Easter Island. It's not going to work.
And the VAG Group isn't alone in this. BMW, for example, used to make some of the most masochistic seats ever. This is no longer the case with models starting from the F10 5-Series upwards, which are comfortable no matter how long you sit in them, but the "tooshie flattening" feel can still be found in the current 3-Series and 1-Series.
Another provider of firm seats is the Fiat Group, which has apparently "stolen" this idea from VAG. Every modern Fiat or Alfa Romeo I've driven for more than an hour has felt the same from this point of view. Lancia's seats are a bit softer though, but not by much.
Is it so hard to manufacture a seat that won't give you hemorrhoids after a few hours of continuos driving? Apparently not, at least when looking at other brands. The French have got it right whether we're talking about the PSA Group or Renault. I recently drove a Citroen DS3 with extreme-looking, body-hugging seats that were also soft enough to feel comfy, so we know it is possible.
Sporty and/or supportive seats don't necessarily have to be rock hard. Infiniti for example, is another car maker that has great seats, which are both comfortable and don't let you slip away from them on tight bends. But it doesn't have to be a premium manufacturer.
Opel, which doesn't exactly make the most expensive cars on the market, has a number of models that use orthopedic-approved seats. We tested them in the Insignia and they really work - no back pain whatsoever, after sitting in the car almost a whole day. And this without sacrificing the size of the side bolster support.
So, what is up with all the rest of the manufacturers? Audi, who is probably using the hardest seat compounds this side of a FIA GT racer or a WRC car, are apparently upgrading this tirade against drivers' gluteus maximus to every model in their current range.
Why? Is this a marketing-led dichotomy that separates what the customers want from what the customers think they want? Does any perfectly normal driver want a hard seat in his non-supercar daily driver that he uses to run errands? Maybe I'm alone in this... By the way, how comfortable are the seats in your car?
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