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I’ve always been more critical of steering than of any other control because you’re using it every moment the car’s in motion, but it wasn’t until I injured my back a few years back that I became more sensitive to seat support and ingress/egress.

It astounds me that given how integral the comfort of the driving position is to the connectedness and relaxation you feel behind the wheel that its so rarely mentioned in the media. Perhaps that’s why so many of today’s cars have inexcusably poor seats, visibility or ways of entry and exit.

Last month I spent time behind the wheel of three cars on extended road trips – the $16K Suzuki SX4, a $30K Pontiac Grand Prix and a $20K Hyundai Sonata and of all the things that made an impression it was the seat comfort.

Today’s cars are fairly competent at going straight down the road and after 3,500 miles behind the wheel of the SX4, sometimes for 7 hours at a time I never once had a backache. The more throne like seating position spreads the weight more evenly across your thighs which I imagine helps circulation but the seat foam in the SX4 also has a great balance between give and support. I always arrived with enough energy to do something after time in the SX4.

Driving from New York to Boston in the Grand Prix was quite the opposite. The steering required a firm hand on the overly large and lumpy rim, the car was difficult to see out of and the seats had contours in all the wrong places. I was wrecked after that 3 hour drive to the point where I’d rather never have to drive a Grand Prix again not because of the handling or acceleration – both surprisingly competent – but the phisiological effect on my body.

Last up was the new and improved Sonata, driven from Boston to New York in a heavy rainstorm. The path accuracy of the Sonata’s double wishbone front end, the energetic midrange passing power and decisive 5 speed auto made this car a real treat for intercity travel but the seats – what a letdown! I would choose this car over the current Accord or Camry in a heartbeat from a dynamic perspective but I started squirming ten minutes into the drive and three hours later my spine was literally popping in ways I haven’t heard in awhile.

I just had a client insist on purchasing a rather mediocre year old S60. As much as I hated to see her make the mistake I did understand her attachment to the Volvo brand – she’d had a Volvo previously and couldn’t get comfortable in any other maker’s seats…

This entry was posted on Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Hyundai, Pontiac, Volvo, errata, technical.