Our long-term 2012 Ford Explorer XLT EcoBoost has a feature that's similar to the Nissan R35 GT-R.
WTH?
(Photo by Scott Jacobs)
It's a small, but annoying thing. See that little lump on the seat bottom of the Explorer, next to the seat back? It feels like there's a towel underneath your butt.
The Nissan GT-R has a similar deal. But on the R35 that lump is higher, and narrower in width.
I don't understand why Ford and Nissan just remove that so it's like most cars (see Camry pic at the bottom.)
So there you go. Something our Explorer has in common with the GT-R.
And probably the only thing.
Does your car have such a butt-intruding seat lump and does it bug you?
Albert Austria, Senior VE Engineer @ ~9,500 miles
sierrabravo says:
01:32 PM, 02/ 1/12
Can't be the only thing. They are also both turbocharged (though to varying degrees). :-)
elgac says:
02:05 PM, 02/ 1/12
I bet both have power windows.
greenpony says:
02:31 PM, 02/ 1/12
Both have curb weights above 3800 lbs.
texases says:
02:49 PM, 02/ 1/12
After 100+ years of building seats, you'd think they'd figure that out! I never get the 'push it forward' seat bottoms. My '83 GTI got it right, just copy it.
explorerx4 says:
04:04 PM, 02/ 1/12
They each have one turbo per cylinder bank.
I just sat in my '11 Explorer with the same seats.
Get to a gym.
brn says:
04:29 PM, 02/ 1/12
I hate seat bumps. I also hate lumbar support (it hurts my back).
flapsmcgee says:
07:43 PM, 02/ 1/12
How come you guys haven't dynoed the explorer yet. See how the 2.0L turbo compares to other company's turbo 4 cylinders.
emajor says:
09:43 PM, 02/ 1/12
A 2007 Ford Focus ZX5 that I rented had a similar obnoxious contour in the seat cushion there. Deal breaker; seats have to be comfortable no matter what else the car does well. Irritated me every time I drove it, which is a shame because I loved the way that car drove.
legacygt says:
06:08 AM, 02/ 2/12
What is the reasoning behind this design? Does it keep change from falling in the space between the bottom and back cushions?