Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler I think I'm in trouble

The recent gas prices have put me in the car buying mood. I started looking around and found a low mileage honda civic. I test drove the car and it was stellar, mechanically. The only thing is I found the seat about as uncomfortable as I have ever experienced. And when you have a bad back, a hard, uncomfortable car seat is almost unbearable. Does anyone here have similar problems with modern compact cars and if so, what models should I be looking at? I have a feeling I'll get stuck with a Dodge and will have to pay for extensive repairs every Tuesday just because I can't stand to sit in an Asian import. Help!!!

I have a Mazda3 Sport GT and the seats are extremely comfortable and highly adjustable. This coupled with tilt and telescopic steering should allow you to get comfortable. BTW, this is the first vehicle (out of the tens I've driven) where I can actually rest my head against the headrest and still feel comfortable driving. Good luck.

The most comfortable seat I’ve ever sat in was a Bently on display in Heathrow. It was only 180,000 pounds.

The next most comfortable seat was a Volvo I had for a while (S60-R AWD). Too small for me, but it sure was fun to rally aournd in, and very comfortable seats. I don’t think you could go wrong with any of the newer Volvos as far as having comfortable seats. http://www.volvocars.us/models/s60/

I just bought an '01 Civic, and I'm coming to a similar conclusion about the seats. My wife hates them. The rest of the car is great, and the infant seat actually fits in the back.

Live and learn, I guess...

My '95 firebird is the most comfortable car I've been in. Getting in and out passes for work but once in the seat it's very comfortable and you're there- no sliding around.
I would suggest a Pontiac, or barring that- look into an aftermarket seat. Not that ricer crap, somethig good like a recarro. When you sell the car just keep your seat and put the stocker back in.

Thank you all for your replies. I won't be test drving anything for awhile until the discomfort subsides. I'm dealing with a pinched nerve situation all because I test drove that darn car. I know I'll never sit in a Honda Civic again, never, no way, no how.

Given the choice between sitting in a Honda Civic or cramming myself in the back seat of a Ford Festiva for a 4-hour road trip, I'd pick the former. Spoken from experience, naturally.

Peter,

I think either of these circumstances might just put me in the hospital, with me screaming, "I want morphine."

I'm still driving the Magnum and paying too much for gas 'cause I can't find a small car that fits me unless I take out the front seats and drive from the back seat (like we used to do with the old Minis).

EDIT -- actually I think we were sitting on beer cases just in front of the back seat. Ahh, those were the days

The Mazda 3 does look promising. If that doesn't work, maybe a Smart Car ? I think they're built by tall people.

Hope you get over your "small car syndrome" quickly and permanently.

If gas mileage is the issue why not a hybrid Camry or Altima? Bigger car, better mileage and the seats are very comfy. OK so the expense kind of kills the savings in fuel but they are very nice to drive. I have an 07 Camry(not hybrid) and the seats are very nice although I do find them a touch narrow with the side bolsters, but I am not exactly average width.

Interesting idea. Hadn't looked at anything in that size range. I don't fit in a Camry particularly well, although I do think it's a great car, but I might fit in an Altima. It has a pretty high roof so worth a try. Haven't seen a Hybrid Altima up here in the GWN but it's only a matter of time.

Current thinking is to hold out for a full hybrid GMC Sierra in 08 -- sounds like an interesting drive train and solves a bunch of my vehicle choice problems at the same time. I don't do all that much stop & go but apparently they're getting pretty good highway mileage as well.

I am 6' and have about 5" to the roof in my Camry. I would think that the new design of the Camry just might fit you as well as an Altima. The Hybrids are up here in the GWN but the cost is about even with a fully loaded V6 version of either car. I followed an Altima hybrid the other day down the highway, it looked good in black.

The hybrid truck still doesn't achieve the fuel mileage of any car yet but it is better than any truck, much like the hybrid Escape. The Escape gets great mileage for a samll SUV but only as good as some V6 sedans, however it pollutes much less, thus gets a green award.

I hope you all know that Mazda is made by FORD...

Bit more accurate that certain Fords are made by Mazda.

Next time I see a Ford Miata will be the first...

Or Mazda Taurus, heaven forbid.

100% correct. Mazda is *partially* owned by Ford. It's more of a colaborative thing. Not unlike when GM owned part of Subaru (Saab 9-2X=Subaru WRX) for a year or so. They share technologies, but one is not in control of the other. This is a bit different than, say, Volvo's relationship to Ford or Saab's relationship to GM. They are both 100% owned by their parent company. For example...

At one end of the spectrum, the Miata and RX-8 are both 100% Mazda, with nothing borrowed from Ford parts bins. If you're a died-in-the-wool Mazda fanboy, these are the only two Mazda's that are purely Mazda.

The Mazda 6 is mostly it's own thing, but shares some parts with other Ford sedans. I believe I've read somewhere that the Fusion & MKZ share some parts with the 6. Not to worry about a Mazda Taurus...The Ford 500 is being renamed back to the Ford Taurus for 2008+, and that car is not based on the 6 at all, but basically from the previous generation Volvo S80.

The CX-7/CX-9 shares a similar chassis with the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, but AFAIK, they're not made in the same plant, nor do they share drivetrains (CX7=2.3L turbo 4 vs/ 3.0L V6 in the Edge)

The Mazda 3 shares parts of the chassis and some of the components with the European Ford Focus and also the Volvo S40, but that's really about it. Drivetrains are different. The brakes on the MazdaSpeed3, for instance, are the same brakes used on the Volvo S40.

And at the other end of the spectrum, the Mazda Tribute is essentially mechanically identical to the Ford Escape. Ok, so there might be a few tiny tweaks to the suspension or shift logic of one vs. the other. They're made on the same assembly line by the same workers. Same engines, transmissions, etc. The only differences are cosmetic & option packages (if that).

And back to the original topic...

As far as comfortable seats goes, I own an '05 Volvo S40 2.4i and an '06 Saab 9-3 Aero. I'd have to say they're tied for the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in. That includes a few MB, BMW, and Lexi. No problem at all in doing fillup-to-fillup driving trips. The miles just fly by.

I'm not sure if a used S40 2.4i would fall in your price range, but it would definitely be a comfy car that's great for gas mileage, 32+mpg on the highway.

You could look into a used Mini Cooper. I've test-driven both the regular and S a few times, and they're quite roomy in the front seats for being such a small car. I'm 6" even and a big guy, and could barely reach the pedals with the seat all the way back, which is a rare surprise. Way fun to drive (the S) and great gas mileage too.

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Bit more accurate that certain Fords are made by Mazda.

Next time I see a Ford Miata will be the first...

Or Mazda Taurus, heaven forbid.

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Since I've been traveling for work, I've developed a hatred for Tauruses. I like to call them Sponges. "Oh, you'd like to brake? I might do that sometime... Accelerate? Um... I'm not sure how to do that. Steer? Maybe in the next few minutes..."

But I did get to drive the Mercury version of the 500 (why does Mercury exist, anyway?) several months ago, and it was light-years better. Now I know why.

I'd like a Smart car too, especially if it's one of the ones built by this guy. Yes, that's a 170+hp Suzuki GSXR1000 engine in a Smart car. WHEEEE!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vExpEl0_5-Y

and (music sucks, and it's a bit boring, but it nicely shows off the size of a Smart car)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gseTGwppbg

That ought to still get pretty good gas mileage and be *really* fun to drive.

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If that doesn't work, maybe a Smart Car ? I think they're built by tall people.

Hope you get over your "small car syndrome" quickly and permanently.

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mdrew,

Our drilling and completion supervisors always have the "latest and greatest" trucks. You guys are all alike, you love to show off the toys on the wellsite :P

My father in law used to call the original version of the Taurus an upside down bathtub.

We had a Taurus wagon as a "family car" for a bit and my major concern was the accelerator pedal. The pedal and linkage was made of a highly elastic form of rubber. Push on the gas and see what happens. Release the gas a bit and see again what happens.

The biggest problem with it in my estimation was its' relationship to the brake pedal. Way too easy to have a foot overlap from accelerator to brake pedal.

The poor vehicle would then be receiving conflicting commands. Particularly nasty at a crowded intersection.

My favorites were always the "Bathtub Nashes'" of the very late 40s or very early 50s.

A neighbor kids parents had one and I swore at the time that it was bigger than their house!

I think Airstream started that trend, actually.

That sounds about right. I don't remember my parent's Taurus being that bad, but what did I know?

Denkt? Nein. Kennt.

Que?

If you reboot your computer it'll go back to English.

Tengo una iManzana.

Bargain-o para menos pesos.