Ouch! My seats. My back.

teabag

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Half time report.

Raising the seat and bringing the steering wheel closer has alleviated the pain in my shoulder but has started putting pressure on one of the sore points on my back (one of the vertebrae) - seems the seats are too hard. :-(

I'm going to have to find a car with squidgier seats. Do e classes or s classes have seats as soft as say a BMW e38 7 series?

I can't comment on the 7 series seats as I have never driven one, however, I have longstanding spinal problems both lumbar and cervical and only last week I drove my W220 S class with standard seats non stop from Sunderland to Weymouth (363 miles) in six and a half hours.
I stayed in Weymouth for a 2 hour meeting and then filled up with fuel for the return journey which was completed in 7 hours with one stop for coffee and a bite to eat after 200 miles.
I arrived home at 8-20pm feeling tired after a very long day, but my back felt as good as good as it did when I started the journey at 4-30am.

The seats and steering column on the W220 have such a massive and almost infinite range of adjustment to make me believe anyone of fairly normal height and stature will be able to find a comfortable and supportive driving position after a few days experimentation.
I am 56 years old, six feet tall and weigh 15 stones so I am probably just on the larger side of average, but I believe spinal fusion in both lumbar and cervical vertabrae makes me a difficult challenge for any car seat, however the S class shrugged of this challenge with ease.
 

poolshark

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C CLASS 220 CDI
hello newbie here,
mine are very comfortable over any distance.
it has Recaro Style Leather Seats and i am wondering are these seats standard on a 2006 year c220 cdi avantgarde model?.
mine was second hand.
 

television

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hello newbie here,
mine are very comfortable over any distance.
it has Recaro Style Leather Seats and i am wondering are these seats standard on a 2006 year c220 cdi avantgarde model?.
mine was second hand.

Welcome to the forum :D:D
 

hawk20

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I am surprised at the difference in the seats across the MB range,,you really have to know the model before commenting.

The one thing that I hate in any seat is one where the top of the back forces you to bend forwards,,and that can be a car or armchair in the house, .

Absolutely agree. And look at those CLK seats. Very little shape in the lumbar region and sadly it has that roll of foam at the top of the backrest which pushes you forwards and causes backache, just as you describe. One of the few MB seats I have found uncomfortable.
 

Alex M Grieve

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B Class d200 Sport Premium Plus (66)
My first experience of MB seating was a basic 190, MY 1989. Initially I found it gave me low back pain around waist level after about 30 minutes.

On a longish journey down to St Ives, I decided to adjust the position. My first attempt was to recline the seat back about 20 degrees from the vertical, and that solved it almost immediately - and permanently.

Standard 190 seats were not blessed with any of the toys we enjoy today and were not powered. I found that the correctly adjusted seat was peerless, however, and the upholstery still looked new when we sold it many years later.

My current cars each have seats with all mod cons, and are supremely comfortable, but I can imagine that , if not properly adjusted, they could be a pain.
 
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Seeker_UK

Seeker_UK

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Drove for 40 miles today.,

Stepped out of the car like b****y Quasimodo.

I've tilted, turned, moved and all ways it doesn't help.

I'm not happy - this car's been a jinx.
 
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Alex M Grieve

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Drove for 40 miles today.,

Stepped out of the car like b****y Quasimodo.

I've tilted, turned, moved and all ways it doesn't help.

I'm not happy - this car's been a jinx.

Does this include the deafness?

Did you hear about his redundancy package?

All his back pay in a lump sum, and a case of Bell's!
 

Rory

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Was up visiting MB world earlier in the summer and had a chance to sit in most of the models in the current MB range, and was surprised how much the seats varied between models.
C/CLK/CLC - low seat position, not much cushioning but good adjustment still
E/CLS - less hard, wider and more adjustment and you can sit higher up
S/CL - really very comfy indeed, adjust in every possible way but not much lateral support

It's even more complicated that that, as most models have several different types of seat available as options. The Comfort seat option always amuses me, as if you get uncomfortable as standard!

My daughter's entry level SEAT Ibiza has comfortable, supportive seats, and you sit very low in the car. Yet my C Class gives me back ache, although it is relieved by putting a rolled up towel at the base of my back.
 

whitenemesis

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Comfort is very personal. No one seat will be suitable for all occupants.

Time also has an impact, comfort for 30min agony there after.

I have chronic back pain, if I have an acute attack I sit in my car and .... relief! :)
 

television

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Comfort is very personal. No one seat will be suitable for all occupants.
)

Not true, you will be hard pushed to find a complaint about Volvo V70 seats or the SAAB come to that
 

whitenemesis

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Not true, you will be hard pushed to find a complaint about Volvo V70 seats or the SAAB come to that

I am sure one can if one asks a wide enough population. People are all different...
 

television

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I am sure one can if one asks a wide enough population. People are all different...

What I said has been backed up here by everyone who has had a V70 if you go onto the Volvo forums there are no such threads
 

Rory

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I am sure one can if one asks a wide enough population. People are all different...

Actually they're not - most people fall within certain percentile ranges that the seats should be designed to cope with.

I have a colleague who is 6'7" and even allowing for his height he has unusually long upper leg length. So you'd expect him to struggle for seat comfort, and he does.

However I'm normal sized and have never had a problem in any other car (and for many years did 30-40K/yr) yet my W203 is very uncomfortable.
 

whitenemesis

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I'm 6'1 and average proportion. Mine is the most comfortable seat I have experienced.

My statement stands...
 

hawk20

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Those with bad backs should try an ML. The high seating position is wonderful for bad backs and the lumbar support on the latest models can be adjusted up and down to suit different back heights -as well as the usual in and out adjustment. And it is so much easier to get in and out of cars that don't ask you to sit almost on the floor.
 

Alex M Grieve

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Those with bad backs should try an ML. The high seating position is wonderful for bad backs and the lumbar support on the latest models can be adjusted up and down to suit different back heights -as well as the usual in and out adjustment. And it is so much easier to get in and out of cars that don't ask you to sit almost on the floor.

The ideal seating position is upright, as you would sit on a dining chair. In a perfect world you could then push your feet back under the chair, which would emphasize your lumbar curve and relieve any pain in that area.

Driving a car, you can't sit quite that way. Various manufacturers have contrived to simulate that position. It is easier in 4x4s as they have a higher roof line. It also suits them to have you upright as their wheelbase is limited by other considerations, so having you sit with your feet stretched out in front of you would not suit them.

Various manufacturers have contrived to recreate the upright sitting posture. SAAB and Volvo have been very successful. Citroen, with typical flair, recessed the floor pan in many models, to accommodate the driver's feet while keeping a low roof line.

Otherwise, as has been said by others, the roof height is a limiting factor. Manufacturers generally go for a low roof line to help keep the drag coefficient down and that has an impact on seating comfort.

I suppose the ideal way would be to start with a person sitting comfortably, and then build a car around them.

Sadly, in some cases you feel that the driver's seat was squashed into the remaining space once the car had been built, and then the driver has to cope.
 

hawk20

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Great posting Alex. Fits what the consultant who operated on my back said.
 

television

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Great posting Alex. Fits what the consultant who operated on my back said.

Then what was the A class like,,I know that you did long mileages, from what I recall when I sat in one of yours, it was a mixture of both quite high, and the leg room was not bad either.

These seat comfort things can affect people later in life, when my SL is parked by the kerb, my ex can hardly get out, so I raise the car and the seat.
 

Alex M Grieve

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Then what was the A class like,,I know that you did long mileages, from what I recall when I sat in one of yours, it was a mixture of both quite high, and the leg room was not bad either.

These seat comfort things can affect people later in life, when my SL is parked by the kerb, my ex can hardly get out, so I raise the car and the seat.

Best to avoid Kensington then. Getting out of an XJ6 there you have to climb up to the kerb - that is if you can get the door open!
 


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