TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2014 Nissan Versa Note
2014 Nissan Versa Note Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2014
"Oh, man!" my son groaned as I pulled up in the Nissan Versa Note. Nothing against the car's looks. He just noticed that the Note is a very small car and feared he'd feel cramped in the back seat. Then he opened the door. "Never mind."
The Versa sedan does have a couple of strengths. To the sedan's surprising amount of rear legroom (some midsize sedans, two size classes up, don't have as much) the Versa Note adds another inch. Plus there's no coupe-like roofline, so unlike in the sedan rear seat headroom is also abundant. Adults well over six feet will fit.
But they won't necessarily be comfortable. The seat back is reclined too much for my taste, and the seat cushion doesn't provide much in the way of thigh support. A shame given the amount of space Nissan's seating folks had to work with.
Also, it's easy to get the rear seatbelts caught behind the latches when you fold the seat then return it to its full upright position. You'll discover this has happened when your kids can't buckle up, and you have to get everyone out of the car to sort the belts out.
While the Versa Note has the roomiest rear seat in the segment, the Ford Fiesta has the tightest. The latter is a squeeze for even the average adult.
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2014 Nissan Versa Note Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
Year
Comment
If you have a relatively vertical neck, you'll find that the head restraints are positioned too far forward for comfort. Reclining the seat more than you otherwise would can help with this. But then the seat is reclined more than you would like.
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2015 Volkswagen Golf / GTI
2015 Volkswagen Golf / GTI Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2015
The original Golf revolutionized the automotive world by demonstrating how practical a small car could be. Though the latest, seventh-generation Golf is much larger than the original, and every major auto maker now offers a Golf-like compact, the Volkswagen continues to impress with its practicality.
Let's start with the front seat. The seat itself is shaped and padded to provide nearly ideal comfort and support in daily driving. The performance buckets in the GTI and R have firmer bolsters that provide more lateral support, but the regular Golf's buckets are cushier and more comfortably contoured. The e-Golf uses the same exemplary seats. In comparison, the seats in the Soul EV are merely okay.
The view forward from the e-Golf's driver seat is also about as good as it gets in a current compact, with a reasonably-sized instrument panel and an expansive, comfortably raked windshield flanked by relatively thin pillars. This said, some people might prefer the higher driving position in the quasi-crossover Soul EV. For me, a conventional car's lower position continues to feel more natural, especially in turns.
Battery packs take up space. Even with the (roughly) 1.5-kWh battery packs used by hybrids cargo capacity usually takes a hit. In the Soul EV, rear seat legroom suffers a three-inch reduction due to the underfloor location of the car's 27-kWh battery pack. But VW engineers managed to design and package a 24-kWh battery pack so cleverly that the e-Golf's passenger and cargo room are identical to those of a regular Golf. Adults will comfortably fit in the car's back seat. The same can't be said about most other EVs--the Soul being a second exception. Even with the three-inch cut, the Kia's back seat is about as roomy as the Golf's. The i3's back seat is far tighter.
Which EV treats its passengers best depends on the season. The e-Golf includes rear air vents, while the Soul EV+ includes rear seat bun warmers.
Moving to the cargo area, the Soul EV's battery pack eats up a dozen cubic feet, leaving just under 50. The uncompromised e-Golf can contain a couple more. But these figures don't convey the differing proportions of the cars' cargo holds. The e-Golf's is a few inches longer, while the Soul EV's is a few inches taller. Which is the better cargo hauler depends on the shape of your cargo.
The much larger Tesla Model S can hold a few more cubic feet, the Mercedes-Benz B-Class about the same as the e-Golf. No other EV comes close, especially not the 12-cube BMW i3.
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2015 Volkswagen Golf / GTI Seat Room and Comfort: Cons