By Robert Emslie
Before we kickoff today’s conundrum let’s get one thing straight: when we’re discussing back seats and their individual comfort, we’re doing so relative to being seated in one for any length of time, not in the salacious, drive-in theater teenage fumbling with the bra snaps manner, m’kay?
Now that we’ve got that elephant in the room hustled back to hang with Jugdish, Mohammet and Lonny, let’s get down to brass tacks about what are the most comfortable back seats you might have experienced. You might just recognize the pair of thrones above, which hail from an ’80s BMW 6-series coupe. A few years back a bunch of us were hanging with Mad_Science and The Missus at their house while Tim wrenched mechanically upon the Uberbird LeMons contender. Seeking a place to plant my weary butt while conversing, I slotted myself into one of the extracted buckets set conveniently to the side of the action, and immediately discovered the fit to be exemplary. It was all anyone could do to tempt be out of there, and it required both beer and pizza.
What about you, have you found an automotive back seat to be a nirvana-like enclave above all others? If so, in what car did it reside? An ancillary question: what car has represented, in your mind, the worst in back seat experience? You needn’t mention the Jaguar XJ-S convertible, as I already can cover that one for you.
Let’s talk back seats!
Image source: profilekiss
Jeff Glucker
1994-1998 Saab 9000 aero, this goes for the front seats as well.
The answer to seat questions is normally "Insert something Swedish."
That's what she said
Best – Audi A8L
Worst – 911S jump seats
Really? I always found the A8L seats to be somewhat hard and disappointing. I mean, they weren't terrible, but…
For "surprising comfort"… My sister's 2004 GTO. Hard as hell to get into, but wonderful and spacious once you're in. A close runner up is my 2000 e39 530iT/5. They got the angle perfect. Audi's have been generally bad, between the A3 and A8L I've been in.
Yup. I have an 06 GTO and when people finally get back there, they're always impressed with the level of comfort. Certainly not the best back seats ever, but for a coupe, they're mighty impressive.
I knew the GTO was going to be in the list, but didn't realize it would be in the first 3… If you can manage to wait for the front seat to slowly mosey its way forward just barely enough, you are rewarded with remarkably comfortable faux-buckets. It was kinda funny when I first removed them to work on the stereo, I found that the entire things were only two pieces, like most back seats.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/s5jqzW9.jpg" width="550">
Also, as a bonus, here's the color name: USA Coupe for red hot child comfort.
<img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3rOtxDuqqH0/TyeMhIzAjmI/AAAAAAAABTs/cn_F0LsXEHw/s550/IMG_20120130_184652.jpg">
I had a 20 km taxi-ride in a Citroën C6 once, it was great! Spacious and comfortable.
<img src="http://www.luxury-club.fr/images/voiture-chauffeur/citroen-c6-interieur.jpg">
<img src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZD-l9i1GyxXhK4-ZTlki0RmJ3rWqjFa6u_u-EwpM8c4ohnoJk4A"> <a href="http://;http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZD-l9i1GyxXhK4-ZTlki0RmJ3rWqjFa6u_u-EwpM8c4ohnoJk4A” target=”_blank”>;http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZD-l9i1GyxXhK4-ZTlki0RmJ3rWqjFa6u_u-EwpM8c4ohnoJk4A
Band: Swedish Ergonomics
Track: Volvo S60R
Most Fun: My grandparents had a 1987 Ford Crown Vic wagon. The way back seats flipped open so the two passengers were facing each other looking out the side of the car. My brother, sister and I used to fight over who sat back there. As an adult, I can't imagine cramming myself back there, but as kids it was super cool.
Most Comfortable: Audi A8L. Seriously the most comfortable seats my butt has ever been in.
<img src="http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/02/A8.jpg">
Image from TTAC.
Least Comfortable: 2001 Jeep Cherokee with saggy leaf springs and 4 people's worth of camping gear in the back.
Yes, the A8 is amazing, as is the BMW 7-series.. my Ur S6 would be right up there if only you could put your feet under the front seats.
Sticking with Audis the back of a TT Coupe might qualify as the worst place I have ever personally sat – no place for your legs at all, and no place for your head if you are over 4' 6".
The answer for a question containing the word "best" is usually: "My dear 1971 Volvo 145". So it is now. A bench with springs, incredibly nice to sit on. Very easily and quickly folded down if also your company is willing to fold down. Perfect!
I plead the Fifth.
For remarkably uncomfortable fun, the rear-facing third-row of my old Volvo 745. For actual journeys, either that car (the front seats were the most comfortable seats in the world, but the rears were also nice, when the /40 seat cushion stayed in place) or the Grand Marquis that's part of the family I live with.
Least comfortable? Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
Moving on.
Least comfortable civilian vehicle? New Beetle, in my experience, is second-to-worst. I'm 6' with a 32" inseam; I'm on the tall side, but definitely not freakish or giant. Legroom is… sort of a theoretical concept; it's okay if the front seats are crammed forward, because your feet actually fit underneath the seat, unlike in some lesser vehicles. However, your knees remain pressed against the seatback, which I can accept in a car with a 99-inch wheelbase. More glaring is the headroom, or rather, lack thereof – as a young teenager, my head brushed the roof of the car; now, sitting up straight, my head is pressed against the top of the rear window frame. The curve of the C-pillars means that you'll likely hit your head on 'em if the driver attempts any spirited motoring, if you're (un)lucky enough not to have your head firmly braced against the headliner. The seats themselves were okay, so I'm being harder than I need to be on the little guy, but hey, I like being able to sit up.
What's worse than that? The first-generation Hyundai Tiburon. All of the VW's faults applied, except that the roofline was lower-slung – my scalp was up against the hatch glass itself. Moreover, I was constantly aware that in an accident, if I was miraculously not instantly killed, I would never be able to escape unless the rear window was shattered; it took me a few minutes to fold myself in, and getting out was hardly simpler.
I, too, was amazed by how very little room there is in the back of a Police Interceptor, with that damned security barrier and all.
Not to mention the lack of upholstery.
On the other hand Checker Marathon police cars had plenty of space in the back. The later Crown Vics had surprisingly poor back seat room to start with.
Citroën DS seats whether in the car or out as a bribe for the LeMons judges. French Ass Pleasure ™ Jay Lamm.
My wife and I went on a trout fishing trip in our friends' new 2013 Sienna, and I have to give the "mom-jeans of cars" some deserved props. The second row is a remarkably enjoyable place to be for an extended period.
<img src="http://www.toyotaofnaperville.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/00001-2013-Toyota-Sienna-MID.jpg">
HONORABLE MENTION: While no means "best," I have to mention the GMT400 based Tahoe. I've ridden in the back of one on several long trips, and the comfy leather rear seats kept me pleasantly content, despite the truckish ride.
In contrast, the middle and back rows of a Caravan are only suitable for children who don't know any better.
The back row of a Caravan is nice with the middle row out/stowed.
Lots of legroom but I find the seat itself very unforgiving.
Not that I've spent enough time in them to find out how they hold up on long trips, but at least the '11 and newer Caravans have a bit more padding. Plus, the Swivel 'N Go '08-'10 Vans aren't too bad either (to say nothing of the Stow-less Routans and bench-seat equipped Canada Value Package Caravans).
I'll be finding out soon, as I'm in the market for a replacement for our disintegrating '05. I wish I could be more excited about it.
Sensible family vehicle you can get excited about? Dajiban!
Believe me, I've tried to sell it. She ain't buying.
This is decidedly un-Hoonlike, but the seats in the top-of-the-line Toyota Sienna XLE and Limited are "lounge" style, which means they lay down almost completely flat, have a little footrest that pops out, and there is an air vent right at your fingertips. I nearly napped in one at the Cleveland Auto Show.
I recognized the Beemer seats immediately. Were it not for the locked-in leg position, the 635 seats would get my vote also.
Back seats mounted in the front?
I took an Isuzu Trooper rear bench and mounted it in the front of my '62 Mercury. Those seats were as perfect as Benches come. Soft enough to hold you in place but enough bolster to not have comfort issues.
Most comfortable is the rear seat in any Volvo S-70. The most uncomfortable was the ranger kjng cab jumpseats or Nissan, Mazda, any quarter ton king cab sucks unless you are under three feet tall.
Not a personal experience but this could be very comfortable in certain ocassions.
<img src="http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/P1010108.jpg">
My grandfather had a pearl white 1996 Cadillac DeVille Concours very similar to this. That was probably the most comfortable back seat I've ever sat in. It had a full white leather interior and it smelled like leather inside, which was great. Everything you needed was right at your finger tips and the seats were so soft that you just melted into them. I think that was also one of the first cars I sat in with rear air conditioning vents too.
<img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5098/5449054981_5d2d7da79d_z.jpg">
I rode in the back of one that looked exactly like that. It belonged to a friend's grandparents. That thing rode like a cloud, and it felt like relaxing in a spacious living room.
"Like a cloud" is very fitting, because as I remember, these rode on self leveling air suspension.
I almost feel like I don't have enough of a sample size here since I'm usually riding up front.
Surprisingly good: Saab 99 – Way more room than there appears to be at first glance
Surprisingly bad: Volvo S60 – No leg room whatsoever, no room for your feet if you're wearing winter boots.
Holy hell that's awful: SN95 Mustang – Did humans exist back in the 70's when the fox body was designed? The whole car is an ergonomic mess.
Totally biased winner: Volvo 940. I don't actually get to ride in my own back seat very much, BUT, that pop out child seat is AWESOME!!!
Before he passed, my grandpa had a 1980's era Bentley Mulsanne. Those were some comfy rear seats.
I rode in an early-80s Mercedes S-class with power adjustable rear seats once. That was pretty nice. For an econobox, the rear seats in my '86 Civic Wagon had crazy-good footroom, nice seat fabric, a touch of reclin-ability, and cute little roof skylights.
I had three guys in my 1990 Honda CRX Si once. Guy in the 'back seat' would argue his seat-time experience to be the worst back seat ever.
Bar none:
<img src="http://jdm-car-parts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Brat-seat-2.jpg">
Jeez, did she steal a heat shield off the Apollo lunar module?
Yea, that pose makes sense…because your neck and head don't ordinarily get nearly as much sun as your torso.
But Brat bed seats were just hard plastic…wouldn't some padding and a center console be even better?
<img src="http://image.trucktrend.com/f/16445405+w750+st0/163_0908_product_spotlight_02z+bedryder+truck_bed_seat_kits.jpg" width="500">
Those pillows look awful comfortable.
They're most likely even more comfortable than they look, because I'm pretty sure those cushions are the expensive kind that are equipped with some sort of gel inner padding.
That would make for one classy brat.
Heh. Boobies.
Probably the least comfortable I have experienced, being 6'4", are the rear seats in a New Beetle. That rear slope of the roof seems specifically designed to keep chiropractors in business…
Image courtesy of Edmunds.
<img src="http://i.imgur.com/eIqJZWi.jpg" width="550">
Even without the headroom problems, the back seat of my neighbor's '67 Austin-Healey was torturous, even for a skinny, limber teen.
<img src="http://www.barrett-jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsize/Cars/81615/81615_Interior_Web.jpg" width="500">
The key difference between it and the New Beetle is that a ride in the back of the Healey was definitely worth it.
I've actually had grown-up people ride in the back seat of my MGBGT… although not without much belly-aching and outright nasty language.
Such hatred out of that pretty lady's mouth.
(edit: random internet photo… not my kid, not my car)
<img src="http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_images/1/1897/4581/4742290004_large.jpg">
I had a rear seat cushion for my MGB but never managed to convince anyone to ride there. The cushion was not the same as an MGBGT rear seat; I'm pretty sure it was an aftermarket product, however, instead of an actual example of the factory item that was available for earlier MGBs.
Most comfortable: the front seats of my former 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited. Butter soft leather! Least comfortable: the rear seats of my current 2008 Grand Cherokee Laredo. How is it possible to make such a large vehicle with no rear seat legroom?
Actually, the front seats in the '94 GC limited I used to have were quite comfy.
Nothing like having a pretty serious off-roader with a nice interior!
Comfy, eh?
Front: the seats in my wife and I's '99 Fleetwood 40' motorcoach. They're literally like sitting in a really comfy armchair, but with lumbar adjustment. Flexsteel, I'm pretty certain. Yep, this is them.
http://compare.ebay.com/like/170926529039?var=lv&…
Sure, no lateral support, but if I pull more than 0.25G in that beast, it's an evasive maneuver.
Rear: I don't really know, 'cause I'm driving 99.9% of the time, but I did sit in the rear of my '89 LWB W126 sedan before purchasing it, and it was quite nice.
Horsehair padding…FTW!!!
Worst rear? Easy! 1977 Porsche 924. That was brutal.
Pretty much any late model mini-van with 2nd row buckets is going to trump any regular car. It's sort of like bringing a gun to a knife fight.
On the other hand, car back seats and even SUV/CUV back seats can be decent places to sit. I'm going to offer up the Hyundai Equus as an example. I got to sit in one while waiting for a friend who was dropping off their car for service. It was most excellent.
<img src="http://www.autotribute.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Hyundai-Equus-back-seats.jpg" width=600>
Swanky!
Don't really have a best – though I remember really liking the grandmotherly sofa vibe of '90s Buicks – but the worst is the '98 Ford Windstar with integrated child seats.
See, Ford had a problem, they wanted to offer these child seats to families, but also wanted to keep the seats the same size as the regular Windstar seats (which were fine). So, as a result, they made the seatbacks almost completely devoid of padding, which might not have been a problem if they were not also really badly shaped. Thus, I could not sit in those seats for any length of time.
<img src="http://llwproductions.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/smiling-dog-back-of-pick-up-truck.jpg">
I'll admit I don't have a lot of experience in back seats. I liked the cushy and nicely sprung back seat of the w124 Merc though. Or, had I not been annoyed by the sloping roof, I could've suggested my own back seat.
<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8135/8707451440_e5eccc1773_b.jpg" width="600">
<img src="http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc433/Ifan_Jones/2011-09-17134500.jpg" width="600">
Peugeot 505 rear seats are made of butter-soft leather that are akin to sitting on Kate Upton's mams. Every man needs a set of these for his cave.
I'll throw in 84 mercury grand marquis. Very comfortable. Lincoln mkvii back seats are nice once you've managed to cram yourself in there past the front seat.
'48 Nash Ambassador rear seats are dreamlike. Entering through suicide doors, having ridiculous headroom and walking to the rear seat left quite an impression on this 6'5" fella. Honorable mention was my friends grandmother's late 70's Olds Vista Cruiser, the spitting image of the Foreman 70's Show Cruiser, I suspect it was due the rear seat sunroof, which was totally awesome when your 12… or older.
Personally, my wife's A8L for best. My old 924 for worst. Although my BRZ is pretty bad.
<img src="http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/porsche-924-100_5-26.jpg" width="600">
The best,Citroen CX Prestige, ( the long wheelbase version ),with it's occupant's own airconditioning system tucked behind the seats,lovely soft leather and the hydropneumatic ride.
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Cw-vMSopW7s/SqNf9ZsT2xI/AAAAAAAABro/vLZGnMADSUU/DSC_0370.JPG"width="600">
The worst, MGB Roadster,just because there are set belts doesn't mean you can use them, (except for holding luggage – and not the talking kind ! )
<img src="http://www.mgexp.com/phile/1/85712/BGT%20seats%20in%20rear.jpg'width="600">
<img src="http://www.mgexp.com/phile/1/85712/BGT%20seats%20in%20rear.jpg"width="600">
Define comfort
<img src="http://www.focusauto.fr/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/f1_interior.jpg"width="600">
Or define 'best' .Sitting next to a howling 3 litre F1 V10 in the Renault Espace F1 would certainly never be forgotten!
There's a seat that's not the driver's? Seriously, the only back seat I've spent any real amount of time in in the past couple years belong to my in-laws' cars. My mother-in-law's Rondo is probably the best by virtue of most head room, but none of them stand out.
On the other hand, well, they're not back seats here in North America, but I've wedged myself back here. I don't recommend it.
<img src="http://www.geek.com/gearlog/images/20110214-29-HondaCRZ.jpg" /img>
Worst: Renault Clio Symbol. It's like you're sitting on a kitchen stool.
Best: Mercedes W140, Volvo 850, BMW 3 series M Technik all with soft cloth (flock)
For a 2-door, the back seats in my e30 were fairly comfortable.
<img src="http://e30.bmwdiy.info/rear-seat-removal/rear-seat-01.jpg"width=400>
The worst was the jump seats in my dad's S10. For a man with five kids, I don't know what he was thinking.
<img src="http://oi44.tinypic.com/2v8205z.jpg"width=400>
Either the new Lexus LS600h L with the executive package or an older Pontiac Grand Prix
best back seat I see lots of pics with leather covered this and fancy consoles etc but comfort so far the best back seat I have ever sat in was a 48 Plymouth nothing fancy just lots of room (more then the front) and a quality bench seat before I think the word ergonomics existed