TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2015 BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo
2015 BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2014
Though the latest 3-Series has a much roomier back seat than its predecessors, many people still find it insufficient for their needs, and step up to a midsize sedan or wagon such as the 5-Series or E-Class. Well, most of the 3-Series Gran Turismo's wheelbase stretch was put towards rear seat legroom, bumping it from 35.0 to 37.9 inches. Though a larger car, the E-Class has nearly four inches less total legroom--barely more than the 3 wagon, in fact. (But with a more comfortably positioned rear seat than the 3 wagon.)
What the specs don't tell you is that the 3 GT's rear seat cushion, since it is positioned much higher than that in the wagons, provides better thigh support and a much more open view forward. To top it off, the 3 GT's rear seat back reclines.
Here again, though, the E-Class wagon has a trick bonus: a rear-facing third-row seat. Though there's not enough headroom back there for anyone over 5-4, the seat is well-padded. If you want to seat seven in a pinch, the E-Class wagon is your only option with a sedan-like driving position (aside from the Tesla Model S).
Update: this review originally stated that the 3GT has much more shoulder room than the regular 3-Series, and about as much as the E-Class. But it seems that the initial specs were inaccurate. The latest specs suggest shoulder room in the 3GT is about the same as that in the regular 3-Series. Its interior does feel significantly roomier, though, so the initial specs could yet provide the more accurate set.see full BMW 3-Series Gran Turismo review
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra GT
2017 Hyundai Elantra GT Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
Year
Comment
The front seats are comfortable and supportive in both cars, with Hyundai's likely agreeable for a wider range of body sizes and types.
And the rear seat?
Here we have another area where the Elantra Touring excelled, but neither Elantra GT has. The culprit this time isn't design, but a decision by those who make the big bucks at the corporate level. Hyundai offers Europeans the i30 (the same car with a different model name) in two lengths. These are marketed as a hatchback and as an estate or touring or tourer or kombi or whatever other label might help sell what Americans call station wagons. With the Elantra Touring, we got the latter, and consequently far more rear seat room and cargo carrying capacity than in any other compact hatchback. But we didn't buy the car. So with the first and second Elantra GT we've been getting the much less lengthy, more athletically proportioned hatchback.
As it stands (or rather, sits), the Elantra GT's rear seat shouldn't be condemned as useless unless you're a driver of above-average height with similarly sized passsengers. At 5-9, I fit behind a driver seat set for myself with perhaps three inches between my knees and the seat back and about a half-inch to spare between the top of my head and the headliner (in a two-pedal Elantra GT with the optional sunroof). But people even a couple inches taller than me will feel cramped. The rear seats in the GTI and Civic are roomier.
One plus in the Elantra GT's column: its rear seat passengers get air vents. The Civic's don't.
In terms of cargo space the Elantra GT is more competitive, but nothing special the way it was with the Elantra Touring.
see full Hyundai Elantra GT review
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