TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI
2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2016
As I've noted before (when reviewing the e-Golf), the seventh-generation Golf's front seats are shaped and padded to provide nearly ideal comfort and support in daily driving. The CX-5's driver seat also fit me well, but not quite as well as the Volkswagen's.
Compared to other compact hatchbacks and its ancestors, the current Golf has a roomy rear seat. I can sit behind my 5-9 self with about five inches of air ahead of my knees. Unless unusually tall people populate both rows, the amount of space should be beyond adequate.
Compare the Golf SportWagen's rear seat to that in the CX-5, and a funny thing happens. On paper, the Mazda provides about 3.5 more inches of legroom. When sitting behind myself in both vehicles, though, I had about half as much space ahead of my knees in the CX-5. I've noticed in the past that VW measures rear legroom very conservatively, and apparently they continue to do so. The Golf's interior is roomier than the official specs suggest. Plus its rear seat passengers get air vents. The Mazda's do not.
This said, I'm not entirely comfortable in the Golf SportWagen's rear seat. To me it feels overly reclined. In neither the GSW nor the CX-5 is the degree of recline adjustable. It is in some compact crossovers.
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2017 Volkswagen Golf / GTI Seat Room and Comfort: Cons
TrueDelta Reviews the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze
2016 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.
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What Our Members Are Saying about the Seat Room and Comfort of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze
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