Model Year | 2003 | 2018 | |
Model | Ford Focus | Toyota Corolla Hatchback | |
Engine | |||
Transmission | |||
Drivetrain | |||
Body | |||
Difference | |||
Total Legroom | 0 in (over 1 rows) | 0 in (over 1 rows) | 0 in |
2003 Ford Focus Seat Room and Comfort: Pros | ||
Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
2004 | 2dr Hatch 145-horsepower 2.3L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
Adequate room for me, at six-foot-six and 275 pounds, and my normal-size wife. The back seat is, well - it's the back seat of a two-door hatchback. see full Ford Focus review |
2004 | 4dr Sedan 145-horsepower 2.3L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
I like seat backs that are firm and have the bolstered sides fairly wide apart for my back comfort. I never get physically tired in this seat. see full Ford Focus review |
2003 | 4dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
The original Ford Focus actually had a roomier, more comfortable rear seat than the 2012+. The seat cushion is even high enough off the floor to provide adults with thigh support. see full Ford Focus review |
2003 | 2dr Hatch 170-horsepower 2.0L I4 6-speed manual FWD |
The Recaro sport seats are very supportive with adjustable lumbar support and electric height adjustment. see full Ford Focus review |
2003 Ford Focus Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Body/Powertrain | Comment |
2004 | 2dr Hatch 145-horsepower 2.3L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
Driver's seat collapses like clockwork every 50,000 miles and needs to be replaced. With a used one from a junkyard, since dealer cost is over $1,000. Yeah - a thousand bucks for a manual cloth seat! see full Ford Focus review |
2003 | 4dr Wagon 145-horsepower 2.3L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
This is fine for small children, but the bench lacks padding. see full Ford Focus review |
2002 | 2dr Hatch 130-horsepower 2.0L I4 5-speed manual FWD |
little room see full Ford Focus review |
2018 Toyota Corolla Hatchback Seat Room and Comfort: Cons | ||
Year | Comment | |
The Scion iM / Toyota Corolla iM was engineered primarily for the European market on a totally different platform than the Toyota Corolla sedan. The 2019 Corolla Hatchback shares a new platform with the 2020 Corolla sedan (and with the new Camry and Avalon as well). But it's still a smaller car than the Corolla sedan, with a wheelbase shorter by 2.4 inches. This somehow translates to a foot less rear legroom on the spec sheets, a tremendous difference. Toyota seems to cheat the sedan's legroom specs by a couple of inches--but ten inches is still a huge difference. Is the actual difference this large? I doubt it. The official spec for the Corolla Hatchback, 29.9 inches, is TIGHT, about a half-foot short of what the average adult male needs. There's more space back there than this spec suggests--but not a lot more. At 5-9, I could sit behind myself, but with only a couple of inches between my knees and the front seat. Put someone taller in either row and, well... Aside from the lack of space, the Corolla Hatchback's rear seat cushion is higher offer the floor than the Civic's and provides decent thigh support. On paper, the new Mazda3 offers about five inches more rear legroom than the Toyota. The actual difference is closer to two inches, maybe three. Not huge, but even two inches often could make the difference between people fitting comfortable and not. Starting once again with the spec sheets, the Honda Civic offers an inch more rear legroom than the Mazda. The actual difference seems larger. Another clear win for the Honda, especially compared to the Toyota. Focus on perceived roominess, and this Honda win becomes a rout. Although all of the cars are about equally wide, the Civic has a much wider cabin, especially up front. While the other two cars definitely feel like compacts from the driver seat, the Civic feels nearly as spacious as a midsize car. Here the spec sheet doesn't mislead: Honda claims three more inches of front shoulder room than Toyota does. see full Toyota Corolla Hatchback review |
None of our members have yet commented on the seat room and comfort of the 2018 Toyota Corolla Hatchback.