I have been car shopping for a couple of weeks now. I’d like it used, '16 or newer. I want a land yacht- smooth riding, comfortable, quiet, with enough power to handle the Appalachian Foothills parkway and Monteagle. Well, three out of four are easily found. So far, I have driven Lincolns, Buicks, Ford Tauruses, Cadillacs, a Nissan Maxima, a Lexus or two, and Chevy Impalas.
What amazes me is the lack of cushioning in the driver’s seats of these cars. They all have been ergonomically shaped, I suppose, but it doesn’t matter how smooth and quiet the ride is if the seats are hard as bleachers. Four hours into a ten hour trip and my backside’s gonna be screaming. I want my '82 Coupe Deville seats!!
The '18 Impala I drove today had the best seats, probably tied with the Lexuses. I refuse to buy any European car due to their shoddy reliability records of late.
Mainly, I just wanted to let off steam, but I’ll take suggestions. I haven’t tried any Chrysler products. Any input on them?
I have a GMC Terrain with surprisingly cushy seats. They sit up straighter than sedan seats, but I suppose that can be adjusted. I would guess the more different directions you can adjust the power seats, the better.
Maybe GM understands the American buttocks better than anyone else.
No idea if this is still true of the current models, but back in 2013 when my wife and I were shopping for a new vehicle, we test drove 19 different cars and SUVs. While it wasn’t what we ultimately bought, we both thought the Ford Fusion had, by far, the most comfortable seats of anything we’d ever driven.
I had a 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser, which had exceptionally comfortable seats (at least in the front). My wife and I used it for a 5000 mile road trip, which included several 12-hour days of driving, and neither of us ever felt uncomfortable in those seats.
The rest of the car kind of went to hell after 6 years or so, but, man, those were good seats.
Well, I found an Impala that may fill the bill. I’ll know more by tomorrow afternoon. These things are scarce as hen’s teeth here in South Georgia dealerships but* they eat up with* (to turn a southern phrase) trucks and SUVs! The lot I’m going to tomorrow has 14 cars and 74 trucks and SUVs. It’s a Chevy dealership and has only two Impalas.
