My wife needs a softer, shock absorbing ride in order to travel any distance without pain and discomfort. I’ve heard that adjustable lumbar seats would help. Do they help?
They seem to be on the more expensive cars. I would like some recommendations on vehicles to fit her need but cost less that $35K.
Dave72
Lumbar support supports the lower back. It really depends on where your wifes pain is to know if a lumbar support will help.
For $35k there should be something that will work. Stay away from the sportier vehicles as to their seats tend to be more firm. The only real way to tell is test drive one. I suggest you go to a rental car agency and test them out. Just rent one for a day and take a trip. May be an expensive way to do it…but it’s cheaper then buying the wrong car.
Mike makes a good point. If all else fails you may have to start shopping for Recaro seats. They make an orthoped line just for your wife’s condition.
Stop at a truck stop. They tend to stock a variety of seat pads, lumbar supports etc for the truck drivers.
Seats can be very personal, and expensive is not always the answer. I use a simple foam lumbar support (AutoZone) in my Saturn to go more than one hour. I once had the cheapest, bottom line 1990 Dodge Colt, it had the most comfortable seats of any vehicle i have ever had. I could drive it for 12-14 hours at a stretch with no discomfort.
One of the company cars that I used to drive had an adjustable lumbar support built in, as well as a half dozen other adjustments. I never found a combination that worked for me.
The cheaper seats would just make your wife uncomfortable even with no back problems. I had a Saturn Vue 2003 and the seats were really useless.
I have a disability that prevents me from sitting in some seats and from riding in some cars without disabling pain. I can tell you from painful personal experience that ecery such problem is totally unique, and the only way to find vehicle that will work is be extensive test driving. With your budget, you’ll at least have lots of options.
Sincere best.
Quite a few cars should have lumbar support, and should fit in under the $35k price range, but you might have to order a vehicle with the optional leather interior to get this option.
I know this was the case on the Mazda RX-8 I just bought.
Leather has the lumbar adjustment, either of the other two interior choices don’t.
That’s an under $32k car, but the suspension isn’t on the soft side, but it does absorb road imperfections better than my Porsche did, without transmitting as much of the force into the cabin.
You might be better off seeing a health professional and having her body looked at, and getting the cause taken care of, to be honest. A visit to the chiropractor third week would be cheaper than a new car payment, by a lot. And if the pain is weight related, there’s no better reason to lose weight than pain.
BC.