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 2018 Kia Cadenza
2018 Kia Cadenza Seat Room and Comfort: Pros
Year
Comment
2017
Due to its shorter greenhouse and taller, more intrusive center console, the Buick's front row doesn't feel nearly as roomy as the Kia's, or even as roomy as the related Chevrolet Malibu's. Large sedans aren't what they used to be. While in the past they were both longer and wider than midsize sedans, these days they more often than not share platforms with the latter, and thus are not significantly wider, only longer. Even in the official specs the LaCrosse has nearly an inch less front shoulder room than the "smaller" Malibu.
Likewise, the Cadenza's front row dimensions are within fractions of an inch of the Optima's. If you're seeking more front seat room than in a midsize sedan, you won't find it in these cars. To be fair, midsize sedans have grown.
Both the Cadenza and LaCrosse have comfortable front seats, with the Buick's cushion perhaps slightly cushier. Take a turn aggressively, though, and you're much more likely to slide off the Buick's non-bucket, as it provides hardly any lateral support. The Cadenza's bolsters are more effective.
The payoff for the additional size of these largish sedans can be found in the back seat, where each offers about two inches more legroom than its junior partner. On paper, the Kia Cadenza offers only slightly more total legroom than the Buick LaCrosse. In reality, it offers much more. With the front seat positioned for my 30-inch inseam (I'm not long of leg), I had about ten inches of knee room in the Kia's back seat. The Kia's rear seat cushion is also a little more supportive and comfortable than the Buick's.
Not so good: in both cars there's not enough space under the front seats for the rear seat passengers' feet, essentially robbing them of about a half-foot of legroom. This design flaw is more the rule than the exception in upscale sedans. Still, it's not right.
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