Background idea: Hello. I have noticed that the only car seats I feel somewhat comfortable in are Honda seats. I feel that this is because the angle of the surface of the seat base is is greater than zero degrees; that is, because the part under your knees is higher than the part under your butt.
Question to forum: what is your observation, knowledge, or experience with respect to this question?
Restated in objective form, my question is: do different car manufacturers tend to use front seats with specific seat base inclination angles with respect to the horizontal plane?
The reason I ask this question is because I feel it's relevant to my car buying decision process. The questions that I am trying to answer for myself are:
1. Are Honda seats different enough from other manufacturers' seats that I should focus on Honda for my upcoming car purchase?
2. Has anyone else noticed that Honda car seats have a firm consistency? I feel that the foam (I have read on line that car seats are usually made of polyester) in Honda car seats is firm, resilient, and durable.
Proposition: if it's true that Honda car seats are different than the seats of other manufacturers, and this is the reason they fit me better than the seats of other cars, I should buy a Honda.
If I conclude that my hypothesis that Honda seat base angles are best for me, I will focus my car search on Honda and ask further questions about specific Honda models and model years.
If I conclude that Honda seat angles are not unique, and, therefore, that they are not a reason for me to exclude other car manufacturers, I will look for cars made by other manufacturers to test drive.
Thank you in advance for reading and for sharing your thoughts.
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Below, I will share my experience of sitting in cars, hoping that someone will glean information that will enable them to help me:
1. In every car I can think of, I feel like I'm leaning back too far when I sit in the driver's seat or the front passenger seat.
2. I have felt most comfortable sitting in the most upright seats. For example, driving a mini-van or a truck-based car platform.
3. In sedans, I have been uncomfortable in the following car models:
2016 Toyota Corolla
Toyota Camry, various years. Never felt comfortable sitting in any Camry.
Dodge Charger - 2015 - seat feels mushy, and I am leaning back far, feel like I'm going to slide under the seat belt.
4. I have felt more comfortable in these cars:
2002 Honda Accord - but still feel I have to lean back too far.
Volkswagen Passat, Jetta, or Golf - vague recollection, never drove those, only sat in cockpits.
5. In upright-driving-position cars (see #2), I have been the most comfortable in the Toyota Previa from the 1980's or early nineties. I think it was a '91. Also had a Ford Bronco II from 1985 or 1986 that was pretty comfortable as far as driving position was concerned, although the seat was mushy in consistency, and that did not feel good.
6. Yesterday I test drove: 2018 or 19 Mazda Cx3, 2019 Mazda 3, 2018 or 19 Mazda 6, and sat in a 2022 Mazda CX5. All were uncomfortable for the same reason.
Everybody has a different body shape, and so I think everybody will prefer different seats. For example, I think Ford and Toyota are awful.
My current vehicle has power seats, which I absolutely love. I can precisely adjust the seat base angle which you speak of to exactly what suits me (among other things). I miss having telescopic steering wheels.
I don't know how to include the body of your answer in my comment, so I will just number my comments in the order of your ideas:
1. different body shape - amen to that
2. prefer different seats - amen to that, thank you for the confirmation
3. Ford and Toyota awful - interesting. Ford, I felt were mushy in general but there were one or two ford seats i liked, i rented a ford fusion maybe for a drive about 15 to 20 years ago, drove it a long way, it was a pretty firm seat. i mostly liked the driving characteristics, probably made the uncomfortable seat more comfortable.
Toyota - my best vehicle possession experience was Toyota Previa. The seats were very firm, i liked that. Driving position was not great but tolerable. I loved the full time all wheel drive, it had perfect low end torque and handling, and beautiful highway performance too. steering was imprecise but more than acceptable for a mini-van. Turn radius was wonderful, i felt very nimble in that big thing.
Seat base angle - yes i understand. I concluded yesterday that power adjust seat base is almost a must have. Unfortunately on all seat bases which have been adjustable, i have never been able to find a comfortable angle. i would have to consitantly re-adjust. in my 02 accord SE the seat base angle was fixed but it was acceptably comfortable. the issue was that I wished the floor was lower. I ended up wearing a hold in the bottom of the foot well from my right heel digging in to the floor.
The brake pedal was closer to me than the accelerator/throttle valve pedal. this was a nuisance, to where i learned to drive with both feet, left foot on the brake, right foot on the gas, to make it so i could extend both of my legs at the same time, and not have one leg extended (right), with left foot on floor doing nothing with knee bent. I felt like I was driving with my body pointed towards the midline of the car, felt crooked.
The Civic I test drove had a brake pedal that was also closer to me than the throttle adjustor pedal. this was a real nuisance. i had to scoot my seat all the way forward to reach the throttle with my right foot, but the brak pedal was like in my face. also very grabby brakes, hard to control.
Telescopic steering wheel - i get you. i feel that that is a must for me, telescopic and angle adjustment so that the distance to me and the angle it's pointed can be changed. i change those constantly while driving whenever i drove a car with adjustable steering column parameters.
I feel i am now ready to post about specific cars,
Thank you for your comment; it helped me a lot.
Unfortunately on all seat bases which have been adjustable, i have never been able to find a comfortable angle.
Sounds like the problem exists between the seat and the steering wheel.
the issue was that I wished the floor was lower.
Power seats have adjustable height as well.
i learned to drive with both feet, left foot on the brake, right foot on the gas
Well that's a pretty dumb idea. There's a reason the accelerator and brake should be operated by one foot. It's the reason this happens:
Pedals can be adjusted too. Just ask the dealership.
@MountainManJoe,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I feel that you were being honest, and I appreciate that.
I feel like I should be diplomatic, but I feel it's better for me to be direct. I didn't like the tone of your reply. I feel insulted, and I feel angry, or maybe hurt is a better word. A combination of insulted, hurt, and angry.
I don't feel it's acceptable behavior to subtly insult people as you did in comment #1. That's gaslighting. I can see that you may have been trying to be humorous or subtle, but I don't feel there's any way that a comment like that can be considered anything less than an insult or a personal attack. I am not saying you mean it as such, but I want you to consider how your words might feel to someone.
I'm going to go through your comments and tell you why I disagree with them. I feel that you jumped to conclusions without getting enough information.
I feel that the reason I've not been able to be comfortable is because of my body proportions. I have a long torso and shorter legs. For example, changing the seat height does not work because if I raise it, my head will be too high. Also, my thighs would hit the steering wheel. If I raised the steering wheel, it would not be comfortable for my arms, because it would feel like being a bus driver with a steering wheel that is closer to 0 degrees from the horizontal than to 90 degrees.
I don't understand why people think that the accident you pictured could happen. I know that that is the conventional wisdom out there but I never found an explanation that made sense to me. I made the decision to drive with two feet with great care, over a long period of time. It actually was a great improvement. I could slow down faster if I wanted to, and taking curves was a lot more nimble. I was more comfortable in my driving position because I had both legs active at the same time, and they were extended at similar lengths, instead of being cockeyed with my body to reach the gas pedal. I feel like it improved my driving performance without adding any risk, because I trained myself carefully so I would not get confused between legs. I can drive with left and right feet, and I can also drive with just my right foot. I feel like it's just like learning any coordination activity.
I would not drive with both feet if I were comfortable in the cockpit. But the gas and brake pedals are at different levels of distance from the pelvis, and I have always found it uncomfortable to move between them.
About adjusting the pedals, it's great that the dealership can adjust them. However, I feel that the amount that they can adjust it won't be enough. But I will definitely explore it and I appreciate the tip.
The reason I wished the floor was lower is that when the seat base is close to the floor, my knee has to be higher when my foot is on the floor. The Accord presented a difficulty for me because it would strain my hamstrings and back. This is why I feel more comfortable in a mini-van, in any vehicle where the driving posture is more upright and less reclined.
You just have to deal with these insults in your context which is part of life. He is trying to give you some good advice even though it might sound like an insult.
I agree that having more tilt in the seat is better; it spreads out your weight along the thigh instead of just your pelvis/ischium.
I don't know that Honda is really that different from others. For a long time, the Japanese made their seats firmer than the American Big 3, but these days there seems to be more variation between models than between brands.
FWIW, I have found that a 2" memory foam seat cushion can make just about any car seat comfortable (same thing, it spreads out the weight across a larger area.
2. Has anyone else noticed that Honda car seats have a firm consistency? I feel that the foam (I have read on line that car seats are usually made of polyester) in Honda car seats is firm, resilient, and durable
Almost all car makers buy their seats from companies that only produce seats. I haven't found Honda seats to be particularly good or anything - quite honestly they feel average to me, quite honestly even a bit uncomfortable...
I love the seats in my Volvo, especially the rear buckets (the only backseat I've ever felt comfortable in, a bit unexpected from a coupe - you sit very deep and a bit upright but it's just perfect for a hot hatch.) (A pic from the internet to illustrate:)
3. In sedans, I have been uncomfortable in the following car models:
2016 Toyota Corolla
Well, everyone is different - Toyota hasn't changed their seats much in the last two decades. I find the seats in my good old corolla to be some of the most comfotable as they're very firm and my thigh actually gets to rest on the seat base because the angles are just perfect.
Volkswagen Passat, Jetta, or Golf - vague recollection, never drove those, only sat in cockpits
I sat in many VW group cars and seats felt a bit worse than average to me, too thin IMO.
The thing about 90% of cars in the $20k-$40k is that on those seats are just "good enough".
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
You should try the Tesla Model 3 seats, with all of the terrible things I have to say about Tesla - they make their own seats and they're close to being perfect from an ergonomics standpoint.
You should also try the seats of an old Cadillac those look phenomenal.
In Europe there's a car called the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso, and it has 7 of the best seats I've seen.
(pic from the internet to illustrate:)
Interesting statement.
glad to hear. I am finally speaking up... Realizing that finding a comfortable car has been a difficult process over a lifetime...
Honda is the definition of vehicle balance in terms of reliability, sportiness, and comforts.
That could be a great clue for me. I liked driving my Honda Accord for 15 years. I drove Mazdas yesterday and I felt the following:
1. body lean away from the center of turn radius on any turn.
2. throttle latency
3. felt high from the ground, like sitting on top of a playground seat, a spring connected to the ground, wiggling back and forth.
Immediately concluded could not feel good driving a Mazda.
Sat in a Civic the other day and drove it, really lliked it.
Sati in a HRV and drove it, liked it, but it does not hold a candle to the civic. The civic had enough low end torque to somewhat satisfy me. The HRV was nice but felt uinderpowered, and the body lean was excessive for my taste.
My old Accord, I loved the steering so much on that for lane changes, highway driving. So precise. I loved the suspension, it took curves pretty well for a sedan which in my opinion is pretty heavy.
Thank you so much for your comment. Always helpful, and I am glad to be back.
Technically the Honda HRV is much more cheaper vehicle since it is made in Mexico. I assume the Honda HRV is not the best Honda because it rides higher which means it doesn't handle as good as a Honda sedan.
I felt something about that vehicle, that it would be a headache over time, because it's relatively untested or untried. Will stay away. Thank you, was negotiation price on it the day I test drove, glad I didn't buy. It felt hollow, for lack of a better word.
I've been in one as a passenger and I can tell it is hard to get up to speed in the highway during a 8 hour roadtrip. You maybe haven't notice but the sliding window in the doors shake a lot as you leave them open.
@legendaryslayer<
I have taken liberty to post your comment, which was originally in the form of a comment on my original post asking this question, because I want to adhere to the guidelinies of the forum better. I hope you don't mind.
To readers: @legendaryslayer's comment was about the Honda HRV, which I test drove a week ago. If you want more context, please see the comments to the original post/original question in this thread.
You (you=@legendaryslayer)said:
"I've been in one as a passenger and I can tell it is hard to get up to speed in the highway during a 8 hour roadtrip. You maybe haven't notice but the sliding window in the doors shake a lot as you leave them open.
This is probably one of the most interesting questions I have seen in my lifetime lol.
I moved your conversation with OP down here. Please make sure all comments, etc. are placed down here next time, so we can keep the threads a bit more tidy. Thank you.
Sure no problem @daywalker