What car to buy if you don’t want your butt to get sore after about an hour in a car? I’m 6’2", not overweight, and have driven at 2006 Subaru Forester and a 2008 Prius. After an hour, my butt gets sore. It doesn’t happen on my 1998 Ford Explorer, but that Explorer isn’t 4WD, which is what I need now that I live in Colorado mountains. Suggestions? I’m considering Subaru Outback, Acura MDX, Toyota Venza, Ford Escape. Problem is, I need to sit in a test car at least an hour before I can tell if it’s going to be comfortable on long trip.
Explain The Situation To The Car Seller And Be Sure You Can Take An Hour Or Two Test Drive. No Drive, No Deal.
CSA
All of our butts are different. If you need an hour to tell, how can you expect us to know over the internet?
CSA is right. Simply go on long test drives.
As indicted above, We are not going to be able to tell you want you will be comfortable with. It is sort of like asking me wether you will prefer Coke or Pep* (I just can’t make myself type or say that word.?)
Try them if you can, consider renting one.
Also consider buying one or more seat cushion. Make sure it does not interfere with the air bags. Then start out and when you start feeling less comfortable, switch. Switch as often as needed. The change helps.
Try Hyundai Tuscon/Santa Fe, Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4.
Twotone
I’ve tried adding a seat cushion–almost no improvement. As for renting a “test car,” I can’t rent any of the cars I’m considering (at least here in Colorado Springs). For example, Enterprise has an one Outback in its fleet here, but you can’t reserve it. The dealers I’ve spoken with aren’t readily willing to let me do a long test drive (but Acura dealer, maybe). I’m not sure if the problem is mainly related to leg room or seat design.
I have the same problem that you do. Our main vehicles now are a 2003 Toyota 4Runner and a 2011 Toyote Sienna. I find them both great for long distance drives because the seat is like a chair. In many cars, the seat is so low that it feels as though you are sitting on the ground. We bought a Ford Aerostar minivan almost 20 years ago and found it very comfortable on long trips. Later, we purchased a 2003 Oldsmobile 88, but kept the Ford Aerostar minivan. We used the Aerostar for long trips because the Oldsmobile wasn’t comfortable for me even though it had a power seat.
Back in 1992, Consumer Reports tested larger family sedans–an Oldsmobile 88, a Buick Roadmaster, a Mercury Grand Marquis and some other similarly priced car. Consumer Reports also dug up a 1952 Buick Roadmaster. CR found that the seats and the seating position was more comfortable in the 1952 Roadmaster than the new cars that they were testing.
One simple test would be to take your wallet out of your pants pocket before you head off down the road, this could be a cause. I own a Mazda CX-7 and the seats are pretty comfortable for me, but it’s also the GT model, so the SV/Sport models might not be up to snuff
To me, it seems that the longer the seat is, i.e. the closer the front of the seat is to my knees, the more comfortable I find it.
The most comfortable seats are in Volvos. If you buy a Volvo, get a new one and sell it before the factory warranty expires. Older Volvo’s have great seats too, but the repairs bills put holes in your pockets.
Comfort is spelled C-R-O-W-N V-I-C-T-O-R-I-A LX. The Mercury Grand Marq is equally comfortable. 800 miles a day, no problem…