TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2013 Subaru Forester
2013 Subaru Forester Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2014
Beyond visibility, people buy crossovers to get more space for people and cargo. As in previous Subaru Foresters, the 2014's ceiling is cathedral-high. I could have worn a top hat inside. If you're very tall, and have been seeking a compact vehicle in which you'll easily fit, you've found one. If, on the other hand, you've been seeking expansive elbow room, the Honda CR-V has more of it.
And legroom? A combined (first and second row) figure of 81 inches tops every other compact SUV, including the otherwise segment-leading Honda (79.6 inches) and Toyota RAV-4 (79.8 inches). The Chevrolet Equinox offers another tenth of an inch, but with a 188-inch length (vs. the Forester's 181) and 4,083-pound curb weight (vs. the Forester 2.5i's 3,366) it's not truly compact.
Subaru has worked no such miracles with shoulder room. At 56.5 inches, the Forester's is typical of the compact crossover class. Add in a small driveline hump (absent in the Honda) and three adults won't happily share the rear seat for long. But how many car owners put three adult-sized people in the second row for long, anyway?
Measurements don't tell the entire story. The Honda's rear seat cushion is too low to the floor to provide adults with thigh support, and its rear seatback can be reclined to only two nearly identical positions. In constrast, the Forester's passengers enjoy a comfortably high rear seat that reclines through a broader range.
One negative for rear seat comfort: unlike the Ford Escape (but like nearly all other compact crossovers, including the CR-V), the Forester has no rear air vents.
Thanks to the tall, square rear body, cargo space is also the best in the segment, though not by as large a margin as the rear seat. Up front, there are plenty of bins in which to stash your stuff.
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What Our Members Are Saying about the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2013 Subaru Forester
Excellent rear seat comfort and rear seats are 60/ 40 and easy to fold flat. rear seats also have recline function which is nice ... excellent leg room
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2014 Hyundai Veloster
2014 Hyundai Veloster Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2013
Okay, adults won't want to spend a long road trip in the back seat of a Veloster. But given the car's sleek styling and tidy exterior dimensions, there's a surprising amount of room back there. Not only is the third door justified, but a fourth portal would also be welcome. As is, whoever sits in the left rear seat has no easy way to get to it. Between the lack of a fourth door and the presence of a low console where a fifth person might otherwise sit, it's as if they want people who regularly tote kids to get an Elantra GT. Which, sadly, isn't offered with a 201-horsepower engine.
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What Our Members Are Saying about the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2014 Hyundai Veloster
The Veloster is setup like a sports car - stiff suspension, low riding height, and sport seats designed to keep you in place. What this car is not is comfortable. At all. There is almost no back support, and little coushining. On a long trip, it will be PAIN. On roads trampled on by dinosaurs, it will be PAIN. The interior accents also get in the way of resting your legs on anything, so you have to just deal with the space provided, which isn't much. This car is just big enough, and not a milimeter more.
see full Hyundai Veloster review