Summary: ride issues aside, cabin softness and comfort can be increased by moving the seat tracks and by reshaping seat foam.
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Regarding the now-elderly lady shopping for a (small) car with a softer ride (and also a poster whose Honda seat hurts):
I too have felt how so many newer cars feel hard. Some of it is ride, some is seating. I drive a 98 Grand Cherokee, so you have some idea of a ride I feel comfortable in. My 84 Accord was great; starting sometime in the 90’s Honda seats began getting hard.
Due to how my Jeep seat was contoured I began experiencing increasing leg pain. Plus, I realized I wanted more leg room. Trips to two shops solved the problems:
- find a shop that customizes vans – like dropping their floors to install mobility device ramps. Why a shop this “robust”? Cos you know their welds will be good! Have them move the seat rails back. They may fabricate and weld new mounting plates to bolt to the floor to accommodate this. If need be you can extend the gas pedal with a small piece of new shoe sole. Takes a little dong but for the handyman it’s easy.
- use an automotive upholstery shop to reshape your seat. They can cut foam away and/or add foam, whichever you need. Arrange to go there after they’ve loosened the seat fabric and are shaping foam. Work together bit by bit until comfort is achieved.
For my Jeep the upholstery work cost about 1.5x the welding; this surprised me. It was vitally important for my driving comfort though; very worth the ~$300 spent 7 yrs ago.
I’ve long felt that automotive seat design is a lost art. Seats are designed now to force us into the theoretical perfect shape that the kids learned in Ergonpmics 101. It isn’t working IMHO.
I Have Never Thought Of Using “Softness” And “Jeep” In the Same Paragraph.
That’s just one reason I don’t drive a Jeep. I could have when I was younger. I’ve got better things to do these days than re-engineer my vehicle. Now I’m more into built-in “softness”. Thank You.
CommonSense: Well, remember, this is a Grand Cherokee, not a CJ (if I remember the shorthand accurately). I actually went several years before doing it; only gradually did I become less comfortable.
Mountainbike: exactly! but the point is that we can actually do something about it to better fit our vehicles to ourselves.
For the listener looking for a smaller car with a soft ride, I have a 2003 Jaguar X-Type. Not very expensive when bought used, not too big, very smooth ride. Seats are very comfortable, with lumbar supports. I am currently getting 28-29mpg. Enjoy
I See. The Last Jeep Grand Cherokee I Was A Front Seat Passenger In, . . .
. . . if I’m remembering correctly, required me to keep turned slightly to the left because of inadequate and asymetrical footwell room. My back and legs were uncomfortable during just a short trip. Does that sound possible? This isn’t exactly a softness issue, but just another issue.
Besides that, attaching parts of one’s apparel to parts of the car and hiring people to cut parts away in an attempt to be comfortable reminds me of that famous video. You know, that one that shows the guy with the old beater car in which he had installed a room-size home air conditioner in the passenger side rear door window opening and attached a home gasoline powered generator on the trunk lid to power it up.
I’m not that much into TV’s MacGyver or Roadrunner/Wyle E. Coyote customization projects when it comes to comfort.
I guess if you’re happy with it, go for it.
CSA
That’s Just What I Need! My Nearest Jaguar Dealer Is Just Less Than A Light-Year Away.