TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2020 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
2020 Toyota Corolla Hatchback Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
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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.
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TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2013
2013 Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
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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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2013 Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
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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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