TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2015 Chevrolet Cruze
2015 Chevrolet Cruze Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2016
The old Chevrolet Cruze, like the Ford Focus, had a rear seat on the tight side even by compact sedan standards. According to the specs, the new one has only gained a few tenths of legroom. But the improvement feels much larger. Chevrolet claims that rear knee room (not a standard spec) has increased by two inches, and this aligns much better with my perceptions.
Some competitors, including the Honda Civic, continue to offer more rear seat space. But the new Cruze's back seat could be the most comfortable in the class for two average-sized men. With a position well above the floor, the rear seat cushion provides much better thigh support than the typical sedan, much less the typical compact sedan. The Civic has a lower rear cushion and insufficient foot space under its front seats, squandering its on-paper legroom advantage.
Up front the Cruze has comfortable seats (though, like those in the Civic, without adjustable lumbar support) but shoulder room typical of a compact car. The Civic has two more inches of shoulder room and feels more like a midsize sedan in the front seat. Both cars have good driving positions with reasonably compact instrument panels.
In L and LS trim, the new Cruze has a 14.9-cubic-foot trunk, nearly identical to that of the new Civic and about as large as you'll find in the class. But the LT and Premier have a compact spare tire that reduces cargo volume to 13.6 cubic feet. Still pretty good.
Next year both cars will also be available as hatchbacks.
see full Chevrolet Cruze review
2015 Chevrolet Cruze Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
Year
Comment
The Cruze's rear seat is among the tightest in a compact sedan, and the diesel engine doesn't affect this. Though rear seat headroom is abundant, adults will feel a bit cramped even behind a driver of average height. The Jetta's rear seat has a little less headroom but far more legroom. So the best option depends on whether your rear seat passengers have long legs or long torsos.
see full Chevrolet Cruze review
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT
2019 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
What Our Members Are Saying about the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT
None of our members have yet commented on the seat room and comfort of the 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT.
