Most uncomfortable car seats on a modern car (to you)?

[cerb4.5lee]

Pig benis said:

Any new Mini with the leather seats option. My gf has a new Mini Cooper S, and whilst the seats are supportive when cornering, they are incredibly uncomfortable on any trip over 1hr.

I'm pleased I'm not the only one to think this. I have the leather seats in my 2017 Cooper S and I don't rate them much at all. A rock hard base and not especially comfortable.

It is strange because I really liked the leather sport seats in my E90 330d/330i though. The side bolsters in the Mini remind me of the Bmw seats a bit, but I found the Bmw seats much more comfortable over long distances.

[GW65]

Jag XE without the optional electric seats (and therefore no lumbar support adjustment). The seat backs aren't just flat, they feel positively concave. Had one as a (dis)courtesy car and it crippled me even just driving 15 mins to the station.

[Pig benis]

cerb4.5lee said:

I'm pleased I'm not the only one to think this. I have the leather seats in my 2017 Cooper S and I don't rate them much at all. A rock hard base and not especially comfortable.

It is strange because I really liked the leather sport seats in my E90 330d/330i though. The side bolsters in the Mini remind me of the Bmw seats a bit, but I found the Bmw seats much more comfortable over long distances.

I couldn't agree more. The base is rock hard, I do not understand why manufacturers make seats this way. Maybe someone could explain this? Surely through the testing phases the crap seats would have been highlighted.

So my daily is an e91 330D with the leather seats (electric side bolsters etc) and they are fantastic. I've driven thousands of miles through Europe in this car and never get any back ache. My track E46 330ci is exactly the same, but will be much worse when bucket seats have been installed

[MXRod]

AM DB9 , No matter what I did with squab angle , back rest angle , lumber support , height reach and angle of steering wheel , could not get comfortable . Not my car BTW , Brothers
Still a blinding drive though .

[Shakermaker]

PomBstard said:

In before everyone says how lovely they are, but those that graced the front of the V70 I had a few years ago were terrible. Flat, slippery and just not very supportive at all. Combined with an iffy driving position, it was genuinely disappointing and meant I couldn't really go more than about an hour without wanting to shift about. Can't understand what the fuss is all about.

Otherwise, the fronts in the Horizon I had as a first car about 30 years ago were pretty rubbish in that they were like broken sponge sofas.

They're not the "least" comfortable but they are a definite step down in comfort from the Skoda Superb seats of my old car.

But most uncomfortable post-2010 car for me would have to be the BMW 1 series, though that was more a "whole package" type affair where the seat, coupled with where I had to have it positioned to have legroom and headroom, put me too close to the B-pillar to be comfortable. Also the Mercedes A-Class that my mate had, the 2013-ish era, those where not good seats even for a 20 minute drive

[Jack Mansfield]

Another vote for Fiat 500 seats - rented a couple of them in Italy and they some how make me sit crooked and off balance!

I find most modern car seats give me a bit of lower back pain. Funnily enough one of the only seats that hasn't done this is a Lotus Elise 250 Cup with the carbon bucket thingys...

[The GMan]

Auto810graphy said:

Over the years we have had drivers complaining about seats on various cars, mainly it seems due to bad adjustment or posture but the one that sticks in my mind is the 2005-2017 Aston Martin Vantage as I know of two people who had to sell them due to the poor seats.

I had problems with mine, I posted on here about it too.

[lufbramatt]

Pig benis said:

I couldn't agree more. The base is rock hard, I do not understand why manufacturers make seats this way. Maybe someone could explain this? Surely through the testing phases the crap seats would have been highlighted.

So my daily is an e91 330D with the leather seats (electric side bolsters etc) and they are fantastic. I've driven thousands of miles through Europe in this car and never get any back ache. My track E46 330ci is exactly the same, but will be much worse when bucket seats have been installed

Maybe there are ECUs etc. under the seats reducing the vertical space for the seat, so a big thick soft bit of foam would reduce the headroom too much. Similar to how short haul airlines have horrible thin hard seats so they can fit more seats in.

[SkodaIan]

By far the worst seats for a long journey are those on the new 'Intercity Express' trains on the routes to the south-west, and slowly appearing on the East Coast route now. No give whatsoever in the foam, and not really shaped either. Next time I'll take a cushion I think.

Worst hire car I've had in recent times is a Giulietta, it just didn't fit me at all. I've got an Octavia, which has been mentioned a few times. I find it OK, not great but good enough. My wife, who is about 4 inches shorter than me finds it absolutely crippling despite having no problems with the seat in her Leon. I think it's due to the vertical adjustment rocking the seat forwards slightly. She needs the seat higher than me, which rocks the squab forwards too much. I have the seat pretty much on the floor and it's fine.

[JD82]

AmosMoses said:

The Vambo said:

While not actually the most uncomfortable seats on a modern car, the Scirocco R leather seats must have the biggest gap between how fantastically comfortable they look and how arse and backpain inducing they are.

These get my vote, i have the same in my non R Scirocco and they are horrible.

Me too - have the fabric versions in mine (exact same shape) and they're crap for comfort. Find myself adjusting constantly. Best were in my Mazda 3.

[bloomen]

CharlieAlphaMike said:

You would think the standard multi adjustable leather Recaro's in a Ford Mondeo ST220 I owned a few years ago would have been extremely comfortable. They weren't. Quite the opposite in fact. The worst 'Numb Bum' seats in any car I've ever owned/driven.

I bought a Mondeo Titanium X primarily because the seats looked comfortable. Unfortunately it is literally the only Ford I've ever sat in that is uncomfortable. I've gotten a bit more used to it but I'm still getting a numb arse too.

Edited by bloomen on Monday 9th September 21:45

[CH2]

Jimmy Recard said:

DJP said:

The fifth generation Vauxhall Astra (we had them at work) had the worst seats that I've ever encountered.

Used to give me pins and needles after 20 minutes.

Which was odd since the previous model was fine.

I had one of those and was always really impressed with the seats. Mine had adjustable lumbar though, and I think more basic ones had flatter, less supportive seat squabs and backs

I had one of those and found the seats to be comfortable. Yet our works pool car at the time was the diesel estate version, and the seats were definitely not as good. I suppose alot can be down to condition and mileage of the car too.

I remember my dad getting a mk1 Zafira as a courtesy car when they were fairly new. The seats had quite short bases, which meant they didn't support the back of your knee. It was as uncomfortable as a passenger as it was in the driving position. I suppose that's how they fitted 3 rows of seats in!

In the 90's i had the use of a works 1992 VW Polo breadvan. The seats always felt quite thin and not well padded at all. I was glad I never had to do a long journey in it. My mate had the saloon "classic" version, and we drove to Cornwall and back with no backache issue. The seats in it felt fine.

At the other end of the scale, the most comfortable seats I've had were in my 2002 Laguna. And I'd say my current car, a 2013 Hyundai i30 has pretty comfortable seats, I've not had any bother with them

[reglard]

mikeiow said:

Curious.....I did over 300k miles in 3 Saab’s: 9-3 aero, 9-5 aero saloon then 9-5 aero estate: all had superbly comfy heated seats! Maybe the Aeros get a better spec seat?

Also love my 2014 XC60: 75k miles from new, just back from a 1,500 mile family Scotland “tour”, find it great (& prefer the higher position on motorways etc).

Bad? Could never get comfy in our previous SMax. Never found BMW seating good (but not been in one for perhaps 5 years now). Our Nissan Figaro is a cute motor, but seats awful for any long runs

My second-generation poverty spec 9-3 had awful seats made my butt go numb, however, my first-generation 9-3 has the most comfortable seats of any car I have driven.

[Mike335i]

Having avoided them for a few years, the rental company has delivered a Corsa to me for the next two days.

Having driven an hour in it this morning I am really aching, I remembered they were bad but not they bad. The prospect of using this again tomorrow is depressing

[Cobnapint]

swamp said:

BMW X3. Seats seemed to be too small. No thigh support and seriously uncomfortable over distance.

I'll second that. Recently test drove an X3 30d M Sport. Everything was spot on - except the seats. I felt like I was perched on top of the things. The side bolsters aren't quite big enough on the base and the back rest ones finish too early, they need to go higher up the side of the seat. I adjusted everything, side bolsters and all, and still got out with aches.