The driver seat may not be the sexiest aspect of a vehicle but it's an important part of your everyday relationship with your ride. A comfortable seat can keep you smiling through gridlocked commutes and long road trips, while one that's a poor fit for your physique can leave you feeling achy and sour.
We've perched our butts in quite a few seats over the years. The front seats in the six models listed below (shown in alphabetical order) have been standouts, for varied reasons.
1: Chevrolet Impala
Best Seats for the Mobility-Challenged: If you're in a wheelchair or have some more moderate disability that makes entering and exiting a car cumbersome, you know that a front bench seat can be a real godsend, since these seats are roomy enough to allow you to slide in and out with little fuss. Trouble is, not too many cars offer them these days; in fact, they're virtually extinct. Happily, the Chevy Impala hasn't abandoned this feature -- it's available as an option.
2: Dodge Challenger
Most Livable Muscle Car Seats: The bad news is that the broad front seats found in the Challenger don't lend themselves to muscle-car hooning and such shenanigans, since they don't offer enough lateral support. The good news is that these seats provide a supremely comfortable perch during the more mundane travels that will likely constitute 99.9 percent of your drive time.
3: Ford Focus
Best Cheap Seats: When it comes to cars in the econobox price range, one model whose seats really impress us is the Ford Focus. Why? Well, they're wonderfully supportive. Some cars leave you feeling as stiff and creaky as the Tin Man during long drives, but that's not the case with the Focus; these seats remain comfy even after hours spent in the saddle.
4: Porsche Panamera
Best Luxury/Performance Seats: Ah, we could go on and on about the seats in the Porsche Panamera. They excel when it comes to function, cradling your body in exquisitely crafted cocoons; they hug tightly enough to offer all-around support, but none of this comes at the expense of everyday comfort. And they're great to look at as well -- just check out those gorgeous lines.
5: Toyota Camry
Best Seats for the Wide-Bodied: Americans have a longstanding love affair with the Camry, and it may have something to do with the car's wide, accommodating seats. The seats aren’t terribly supportive for those with leaner frames, but more heavy-set drivers will appreciate all the extra room.
6: Volvo S60 (or pretty much any Volvo)
Best All-Rounder: Volvos have long been known for delivering the goods in the seat department and the S60 follows in this admirable tradition. The handsome, angular driver seat is a superb fit for most body types, and it definitely enhances time spent behind the wheel.
Which seats get your vote?
church123 says:
10:40 AM, 10/30/11
Wow, you guys are really starting to reach with these lists. A bench seat is superlative? Really? Most livable musclecar seats? Wow, a class of, what, 3 competitors?
Then again, I suppose this is just a shameless attempt to drive traffic and I'm the first one posting so smack me upside the head. Since I'm here, if you guys were serious you'd be mentioning the optional Recaros in the Caddy CTS-V, the leather Recaros in the Mitsu EvoX MR, the seats in the Honda Civic Si (even if the material on the 2012 is inferior to the previous model) and BMW's incredibly adjustable sport seats. All these seats are comfortable, do the job of positioning and holding the driver, and outside of the Evo seats, are very adjustable.
Falconx84 says:
10:47 AM, 10/30/11
2007 MS3... the seats sealed the deal versus the WRX. Very comfortable even after 8-10 hrs.
wasaabi92 says:
11:18 AM, 10/30/11
@Falcon
I'm not sure if the MS3 and MS6 had the same seats, but my brother had an 06 MS6 and it had the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat on in quite some time. I was always wiggling trying to get cozy, and it just never happend. Mix in the hard, unsupportive seats with that taut and bouncy ride (and my brothers awful gear changes), and it added up to one of my least favorite cars to ride in. Or drive..
agentorange says:
03:01 PM, 10/30/11
Volvo wins hands down. Some complain about the headrests, but that goes away once you actually get the seat adjusted properly.
Years ago I had an '88 3-series and I found the seats in that very good. However, they did produce this comment from my girlfriend of the day after mistakenly throwing herself in to the passenger seat. "Oof! I forgot how German everything is in this car."
seppoboy says:
05:46 PM, 10/30/11
I would have to agree with the Volvo, those are impressively excellent seats, and have been for years.
The Focus must be an enormous upgrade over the original Focus of a decade ago, those seats were catastrophically bad. If I were William Ford I would be ashamed to this day that a company with my family name on the nameplate had offered such lousy seats. There was at least a three inch gap between the rear of the cushion and the seatback, no support, and they just screamed "loser, you didn't buy the Taurus or Explorer we tried to sell you, so here's our revenge". The Focus was otherwise a quite decent car, but unacceptable because of the seats. I'm happy to hear that the very nice current Focus has put that far behind with their seating.
sharpend says:
06:08 PM, 10/30/11
What, no Corvette seats?
;-)
firstwagon says:
07:17 PM, 10/30/11
church123
Bad mood tonight?
BTW they explained the advantage of bench seats as they did all their other choices.
church123 says:
08:09 PM, 10/30/11
It's a stupid list firstwagon. When you define categories so narrowly as to approach a group of 1, you're just fellating yourself. But as I said, I responded first, so feel free to slap me.
ddark13 says:
08:10 PM, 10/30/11
i would definetly add volkswagen cc's seats. they look like theyre out of a maserati. in fact, i would pay extra to have them in my current audi a5, thats how great they were
louiswei says:
08:49 PM, 10/30/11
+1 for Volvo.
panamera4 says:
09:26 PM, 10/30/11
I love my Panamera's seats! Porsche's design seems basic compared to other German full size luxury seats but they are an ergonomic wonder. They easily surpass the 20 way multi-contour seats I had in my previous BMW and the drive dynamic seats I had in an S-class before that. The seats match Porsche's mentality of no frills/gimmicks yet are thoroughly designed and engineered to perfection. They lack the multitude of adjustments the BMW offered (literally half the adjustments) and the adjustable air chambers, active side bolsters, and massage functions of the Benz, but as soon as I sit in the car everything fits perfectly in a way the other two could never match. In the BMW it would take too much time finding a comfortable seating position, the powered bolsters made it hard to move around once in the car (the seats felt like they were cocooning you), once in my driving position my knees would be rubbing against the underside of the dash, and the separate articulating upper backrest would make my back ache on long trips (I'm guessing from a curved spine). Mercedes uses air chambers to handle the adjustments above the standard 14 way seats but what I found to be an issue was no matter how much air you filled in the chambers the seats never felt like they held you properly, just that your sitting on top of them, not in them. It always felt like in any sort of aggressive driving that I would slide off of them. The Porsche's seats even lack separate headrests but as soon as you sit in them it feels perfectly contoured to your body, hard yet comfortable, perfectly supportive but non-confining, and your head rests on the middle of the upper portion perfectly. I have taken several road trips from LA to SF, Napa Valley, Tahoe, etc. and have always come out refreshed with absolutely no aches or stiffness feeling like I can sit in the car for another 7 hours no issue. Also the Porsche seats are about half the width of the BMW and Benz seats, increasing rear leg room. The only feature I miss are the adjustable wings on the headrest that the BMW had which held your head in place in spirited driving.
kain77 says:
06:03 AM, 10/31/11
@wasaabi92
They aren't the same seats in the MS3 and MS6. Having driven both, the MS3 seats are more heavily bolstered and fit me like a glove. I have a history of back problems, so comfort especially on road trips is very important to me. I can go 8+ hours straight in my MS3 without a problem.
throwback says:
06:39 AM, 10/31/11
I can vouch for the Focus seats they are comfortable on my long commute. The best seats I have ever sat in are those in the Saab 9-5 Aero. Even the current generation cars have great seats.
wjtinatl says:
07:42 AM, 10/31/11
Lots of travel in my life and as such lots of rental cars. My favorites for seats:
Any Volvo
GM Tahoe/Suburbans
Volks CC
I agree about the standard Focus seats of old (and Cobalt) but nothing beats the Recaro's in my '03 Focus SVT. I still don't know how Ford managed to put 2 heated, leather Recaro's in such an expensive car.
litewerk says:
01:06 PM, 10/31/11
@seppoboy
I drove a friend's 1st gen. 5-speed Focus sedan and was very impressed with the seats and the overall car. Seats seemed very good for my build, frame, height.
Also, still insist that the Suzuki Kizashi seats are one of the best available on reasonably priced cars.
lincolnman3 says:
05:24 PM, 10/31/11
For folks that have walked by the Volvo dealership for whatever reason; too expensive to buy, too expensive to fix, it's an "old guys car", etc., you really should just go in and sit in one - any model - they all have superlative seats - they just hit you in all the right places.....amazingly comfortable.
roadburner says:
07:57 PM, 10/31/11
My favorite seats are found in my Club Sport, followed closely by the 320iS Recaros in my '02 and the chairs in my 2007 MS3.
menacingllama says:
06:29 AM, 11/ 1/11
church123: Why do you even bother reading and commenting then? If your delicate sensibilities are so offended by a "shameless attempt to drive traffic," there are plenty of other automotive websites around for you to bitch and moan about.
Seriously, you have a choice. Either exercise it, or quit whining. People don't come here to read douchey comments from self-entitled asshats like yourself.
awbmw6spd1 says:
09:02 AM, 11/ 1/11
3 Series Sport seats should be on there. Always great seats in sports package BMW.
bodyblue says:
02:33 PM, 11/ 1/11
"Either exercise it, or quit whining. People don't come here to read douchey comments from self-entitled asshats like yourself."
He has a right to say anything on here that does not violate the rules.....it seems like YOU are the one whining.....then you get personal over something not even directed at you....talk about "delicate sensibilities". Dont like it? Dont read it.
lautomobile says:
05:34 PM, 11/ 1/11
+1 for the Focus.