The most uncomfortable seats in the world - solution needed!

[anonymous-user]

I bought a new Audi Q5 in May, I've now done 5000 miles and on journeys of more than a couple of hours the front seats are the most uncomfortable of any car I've ever been in. As in, how did these get approved uncomfortable. I'm average height and build, it's not my fault...

Other than change the car because I like it in every other respect, does anyone have any experience of these gel or memory foam cushions or seat covers - perhaps any specific recommendations?

Sorry for the boring topic - Pistonheads, comfort matters!

[JustGREENI]

I saw the title and immediately 'Audi' came to mind, my s3 was terrible. Sold it.

My RS4 has the buckets and is sublime.
To clarify, buy an RS4 with buckets. HTH

[dan98]

yellowbentines said:

I bought a new Audi Q5 in May, I've now done 5000 miles and on journeys of more than a couple of hours the front seats are the most uncomfortable of any car I've ever been in. As in, how did these get approved uncomfortable. I'm average height and build, it's not my fault...

Other than change the car because I like it in every other respect, does anyone have any experience of these gel or memory foam cushions or seat covers - perhaps any specific recommendations?

Sorry for the boring topic - Pistonheads, comfort matters!

Car comfort is reaching an all time low IMO - OK for smooth German roads, crap everywhere else.
But you need to be much more specific - which part of the seat is uncomfortable, and in which way? Do you mean the whole thing is too firm, or the seating position is wrong or......?

[anonymous-user]

OK, more specifics, it's a Q5 Sport - specifically chosen over the S-Line as it has the 'comfort' suspension and higher profile tyres/slightly smaller wheels. That was a great choice, I think the ride vs handling is a good balance.

I get pain in my hips/pelvis down outer thighs after a couple of hours driving. No back or neck pain. It almost feels like it is pushing my hips together, but I also get pain in my calves and ankles on longer drives.

I've watched YouTube videos on how to adjust your seat correctly and have tried various methods, currently have the base down and flat (front of seat all the way down), backrest quite upright, seat pushed far back as it'll go whilst also allowing me to fully depress pedals, steering wheel pulled out to suit with slightly bent arms.

[Pica-Pica]

yellowbentines said:

OK, more specifics, it's a Q5 Sport - specifically chosen over the S-Line as it has the 'comfort' suspension and higher profile tyres/slightly smaller wheels. That was a great choice, I think the ride vs handling is a good balance.

I get pain in my hips/pelvis down outer thighs after a couple of hours driving. No back or neck pain. It almost feels like it is pushing my hips together, but I also get pain in my calves and ankles on longer drives.

I've watched YouTube videos on how to adjust your seat correctly and have tried various methods, currently have the base down and flat (front of seat all the way down), backrest quite upright, seat pushed far back as it'll go whilst also allowing me to fully depress pedals, steering wheel pulled out to suit with slightly bent arms.

Quite frankly, no car in the past used to be an issue, and they were pretty crappy seats back then. I can’t believe seats are worse now, so for me I assume
a) longer journeys, or
b) advancing years.

Perhaps exercise (yoga or Pilates) are the answer.

[dan98]

yellowbentines said:

OK, more specifics, it's a Q5 Sport - specifically chosen over the S-Line as it has the 'comfort' suspension and higher profile tyres/slightly smaller wheels. That was a great choice, I think the ride vs handling is a good balance.

I get pain in my hips/pelvis down outer thighs after a couple of hours driving. No back or neck pain. It almost feels like it is pushing my hips together, but I also get pain in my calves and ankles on longer drives.

I've watched YouTube videos on how to adjust your seat correctly and have tried various methods, currently have the base down and flat (front of seat all the way down), backrest quite upright, seat pushed far back as it'll go whilst also allowing me to fully depress pedals, steering wheel pulled out to suit with slightly bent arms.

Well if the seats have high sporty-style bolsters which are squeezing around the hips I'd look to raising the centre of the seat using a piece of memory foam cut to the correct size.
The tension in calves/ankles could well be as a reaction to the main problem which I'd look at fixing first.
Don't throw money at accessories randomly as they may make things worse.

[TVRBRZ]

I think I may get the award for most unhelpful reply as my solution is now impossible.

The sports seats on my A4 Quattro were equally awful, so I sold it for a brand new Saab 9-5 with the most supportive and wonderful seats ever. London to Scotland was a breeze.

Utterly unhelpful reply as having decent seats was not good enough to keep Saab in business.....

Erm. Subaru and Volvo seats are almost as good as Saab IMHO but it is still a car swap which you do not want....

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the replies so far - even if they are just to confirm that it could just be a modern car or an Audi-specific problem. I was toying with the idea of buying a Volvo V90CC or XC60, seems like I made the wrong choice.

I had thought it too early in the depreciation curve to swap, but according to we buy any car I'll lose £2125 against what I paid for it, and I've had 5000 miles of use - much better than I'd have anticipated, it's the answer I didn't want to consider as I find the car buying/selling process a real chore.

The reviews of various wedge type cushions on Amazon are all from 70-90yr olds with sciatica, I didn't think I'd be looking at these things at half the age whilst still in good health!

[Krikkit]

You could try swapping the seats out - either for more comfortable Audi ones, or something like the custom Recaro ones, but all that will be expensive.

Tbh I'd just sell it and buy something else.

[TVRBRZ]

I've found the very rigid hard seats with some BMW and Audis to be the issue. Normal Beemer/Audi seats are fine (A4, All road and 5 series) but there is something about how they make sports seats that is ruinous for long journeys. I'd say get some thin cushions to give you more squidge, but shape and support are part of the mix too. Just adding a squidge layer may not cut it and you may slide around too much.

I fly an aeroplane for 2-3 hrs at a time, with a fixed hard bucket seat and interchangeable cushions for height adjustment. After a morning and afternoon strapped into the thing it is agony as the cushions are just squidgy slabs and have no shape or support.

Given that the Swedes are rather good at seats (and TVR for what it is worth), the science behind it cannot just be soft vs hard. Older Subarus have been bad for uncomfortable squidgy seats as much as Audi are bad for rock hard sports seats.

I guess you need to decide if the Q5 pros outweigh the cons. I lost a lot of money to p/ex the A4 but when I needed to drive it to Scotland every so often, a car I couldn't sit in for more than 40 mins was not feasible anymore...

[anonymous-user]

TVRBRZ said:

I think I may get the award for most unhelpful reply as my solution is now impossible.

The sports seats on my A4 Quattro were equally awful, so I sold it for a brand new Saab 9-5 with the most supportive and wonderful seats ever. London to Scotland was a breeze.

Utterly unhelpful reply as having decent seats was not good enough to keep Saab in business.....

Erm. Subaru and Volvo seats are almost as good as Saab IMHO but it is still a car swap which you do not want....

I’ll agree, Saab seats were the best and I still love mine. The Recaros in my wife’s new focus are also really comfy. I’d sell the Audi or get a bead seat for it.

[Baldchap]

JustGREENI said:

I saw the title and immediately 'Audi' came to mind, my s3 was terrible. Sold it.

My RS4 has the buckets and is sublime.
To clarify, buy an RS4 with buckets. HTH

This is the right answer. They even have a massage function.

[Garvin]

Before going for any expensive solution check that you have the lumbar support correctly adjusted.

[bakerstreet]

TVRBRZ said:

I think I may get the award for most unhelpful reply as my solution is now impossible.

The sports seats on my A4 Quattro were equally awful, so I sold it for a brand new Saab 9-5 with the most supportive and wonderful seats ever. London to Scotland was a breeze.

Utterly unhelpful reply as having decent seats was not good enough to keep Saab in business.....

Erm. Subaru and Volvo seats are almost as good as Saab IMHO but it is still a car swap which you do not want....

I currently have a 2008 Subaru Legacy S (Base spec). Horrible seats. Next to no side support and the ergonomics of the interior are pretty bad too. However, they are better than my old 2006 Nissan Cube. They were bench seats up front and were pretty bad. Not my best car purchase

However in the past I have had a 2005 9-3 Vector TID and a 2005 9-5 Aero. Seats in those were superb and worth noting that the Aero had 200k on it!

[TVRBRZ]

bakerstreet said:

I currently have a 2008 Subaru Legacy S (Base spec). Horrible seats. Next to no side support and the ergonomics of the interior are pretty bad too. However, they are better than my old 2006 Nissan Cube. They were bench seats up front and were pretty bad. Not my best car purchase

However in the past I have had a 2005 9-3 Vector TID and a 2005 9-5 Aero. Seats in those were superb and worth noting that the Aero had 200k on it!

I never got to your miles but but both my Saabs got to 120k

Scooby seats are a mixed bag. Saab are consistently good. My straw poll from ownership:

1999 Legacy awful
2008 Forester grim
2103 BRZ surprisingly good for first few hrs but then pain
2013 Legacy softer, not as good as BRZ but better than forester. Mate says seats on new Outback are superb - hope so as this will replace Legacy

9-5 perfection
9-3 ditto

Interestingly the scoobies were only kept 2-3 yrs each. Both Saabs were kept for 10 yrs each. I wonder why....?

[Trikster]

I've sold 2 cars (BWM 235 and Honda CRV) within weeks due to the seats and now am really picky on getting more that a spin around the block test drive

As a previous poster - lumbar support adjustment can be key - if it has it - also find that cars with 'ratchet' type back adjustment seem to be worst, even with Lumbar

What i have had work for me was a sprung lumbar support cushion - does look a bit OAP but works in my wife's mini, which i find underivable after 5-10mins without it.

[anonymous-user]

Get some of these, problem solved

https://m.made-in-china.com/product/Wholesale-Wint...




“Exquisite workmanship” which should appeal to any Audi driver.

Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 23 August 16:35

[anonymous-user]

Pica-Pica said:

Quite frankly, no car in the past used to be an issue, and they were pretty crappy seats back then. I can’t believe seats are worse now, so for me I assume
a) longer journeys, or
b) advancing years.

Perhaps exercise (yoga or Pilates) are the answer.

You're joking?! Modern car seats are bloody awful! Sit in anything made up until about the mid 90s and the seats are incredible, big soft foamy efforts that feel like you're sitting on your bed! I had a 1991, base-spec Fiesta a few years back, the seats were without hesitation many times more comfortable than the horrible 'sports' efforts my sister's BMW repmobile has in it today. Admittedly they probably weren't remotely fire resistant and I doubt they'd have done much for you in a crash, but cumfy very definitely!

The missus now has a 17 plate CRV with fabric trim, and we've both commented that it's amazingly comfortable - it feels just like an old car!

[Whataguy]

I found this seat adjustment guide from Recaro to be brilliant at setting up the seats in any new car I've driven recently:

https://www.recaro-automotive.com/en/services/reca...

To increase rear legroom some manufacturers have made their front seats thinner than older ones. The seats in a brand new XC90 loan car I had weren't as good as the seats in my older V40.

Edited by Whataguy on Monday 23 August 17:26

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the link to the Recaro seat adjustment guide, I'll give that a go!

With regards to origin of manufacturer, I have had Mercs for years and found them supremely comfortable on long journeys, this is my first (and probably last!) Audi.

As for the classy seat covers above, can you get them with initials monogrammed