When It Comes To LUXURY Vehicles, How Important Are Seats To YOU When You're Buying?

In lieu of this week's Lincoln event, I started thinking — especially as I was writing the last thread.

How important are seats for YOU, especially in luxury vehicles?

For me, it's a big consideration in ANY vehicle I decide to own or drive. That's because I like to think I am a unique case. Being 6'8 and 260-270 pounds is not easy. Not only can it be difficult to find a "good fit" when it comes to an interior, seats are designed to be essentially one-size-fits-all unless you're talking about some serious hardware.

When I picked up my daily driver, a Volkswagen Golf, one of the things I loved about the product were its standard cloth seats. Well bolstered and sized, they fit like a glove. You wouldn't believe how poor some other vehicles seating was though. Take, for example, the standard seats in the last-gen Cadillac CTS. Literally, the bottom portion was so tiny that only my derriere fit — literally the worst bottom cushion I have ever experienced. That meant there was zero support for my thighs and legs.

For years, I adored BMW's comfort seats that found their way into many of the Bavarian products and for some peculiar reason Mercedes-Benz's seats always gave me a sharp pain in my right leg after one hour of driving — this ranged from cars like the E63 AMG to the last-gen S550, but thankfully the latest generation of Mercedes seats work brilliantly. Audi's sport seats found in the S4 were some of my favorites for a while especially as I tooled around in one. In my experience, Lexus' are neither here nor there. They just get the job done.

Obviously most people are not of my stature, however, I am curious: How important are seats for YOU in the buying decision? Is it of zero importance, some importance or can it be a deal breaker if a vehicle comes ill-equipped?

What say YOU, Spies?

MDarringer - 8/9/2015 6:39:27 PM

-1 Boost

@AGENT00R I agree 100% that when buying ANY vehicle, the seats are important. I have been surprised by how more money does not always translate into more comfortable seats. I'm 6'2" 190# at the moment, so my butt and thighs should fit seats better than yours, but I do have to agree about your CTS example.

One unexpectedly good seat is in the base V6 Mustang. Prior to 2015 the base-no-added-options Mustang V6 had barely passable seats and Ford was only too happy to upcharge you for better ones. That has changed. While the new base seats are not exactly hard charging sport seats, Ford hit a nice balance of gripping you but not being overly hard as some sport seats can be. The seats in my Fusion SE were really quite comfortable.

Agent00R - 8/9/2015 7:05:33 PM

-3 Boost

Agree the Mustang base seats have improved big time. In addition, the Fusion seats are excellent, IMHO.

TomM - 8/10/2015 8:45:45 AM

0 Boost

Completely agree - In fact - it is the first thing I "test drive" when I am buying a car. Also being large - -It is hard to find a seat that I can be comfortable in - and - then I also check how the pedals match up to my feet - if I can use the dead pedal area (which is too close on some cars) - and how close I am to the floor - as well. (It is hard to get out of a car that has you almost lying down. ) Surprisingly - I found the seat in my new Mini-Van to be adjustable to get almost perfect setting. Of course - my S-600 could not be beat - but I still cannot find that right setting in my company Fusion Hybrid

TheSteve - 8/9/2015 7:12:43 PM

0 Boost

Yup, seats are really important to me. My favorite ones were BMW's sport seats in my old 3 series. I'm current in Audi's sport seats. They're okay, but not as comfortable as BMW's, as far as my body is concerned.

Maulvader - 8/9/2015 8:19:01 PM

+1 Boost

Pretty important! I ain't buying no car if it ain't got at least one. Still upset bout that one time when Billy sold me his damn truck with an upside down bucket bolted to the floor.

cidflekken - 8/10/2015 2:39:11 AM

0 Boost

The best seats for me, hands down, were in my 350Z. Absolutely form-fitted to my anatomy. The worst were the ones in my S5. It literally took me an entire year to finally find the right adjustments.

MDarringer - 8/10/2015 9:53:14 AM

0 Boost

Perhaps the worst "automaker" for seats--not surprisingly--is TVR. One of my benefactors has a passel of TVRs, which in theory can only be driven at a track. He is a diehard fan. It's his money to burn, but I am thankful to have access to them. His Tuscan S (bought new) came with dreadfully uncomfortable seats. His first Sagaris came with great seats, but the bolsters broke easily. The second Sag came with Sparcos and they were serviceable, but not perfect. All three now have Recaros.

TomM - 8/10/2015 5:11:59 PM

+1 Boost

@MDarringer
It was the one point I never mentioned. Back in the day - we really did not care how the seat was -it would not be there for long. And if we needed to - we would move the mounting holes - and even change the pedals. . The early performance cars from Detroit had awful seats - sometimes still came with bench seats - and none of that made it to the track.

MDarringer - 8/10/2015 6:15:51 PM

0 Boost

@TomM
I know exactly what you're saying. A lot depends on intended use. If you're dragging or going to the track, you don't care about authenticity. If you're just cruising around then the stock seats are just fine. When we reupholster seats in older cars where a stock look is desired, replacing the "stuffing" of the seats with more modern materials makes a huge difference.