[dark.knight]

I think there is more to this than just about seat compound or thickness or type of bolstering. True comfort for the driver is when the controls (steering, gearshift and pedals) are set to compliment the seat and encourage the driver to use the full support of the seats by assuming a comfortable position. For the front passenger it has to be a mix of support and convenience of getting in and out of the seats. The rear.. well I've not found something comfortable till date.. I suppose its because for each body shape the opinion of comfort will change though brands like Volvo and Mercedes (both of which I've never sat in till date) may have them optimized to suit all body types. I'm 5'10 so I can almost forget thigh support in most affordable cars but here are a few examples of my perception :

1) Swift Dzire Tour : Superbly soft seats, you sink in them and I loved them for short travel BUT, for long travel the seats make you bounce around and have no firmness. THIS is when I realized that soft isn't good.

2) Nissan Micra : One word - horrible, a proper bench in the back, the only redeeming factor is its easy ingress/egress due to higher roof but the seats themselves are the worst in class.

3) BMW 3 : Its kind of firm cushioning and I never paid attention to its seat comfort, it does lack in thigh support due to its lower slung stance but otherwise it should get the job done. Firm is better than soft any day.

4) Nissan Sunny : I like that the rear seats have bolsters for both sides of the body, it felt good.. above average if I may say so combined with the room available and wide door for ingress/egress

5) Santro : Nothing to write home about, it used to be my car and for its time it lacked bolstering but that was par for the course, the thigh support was better due to height and space was good but it was average.

6) Getz : This is a comfy car, very ideally made seats and compound (hasn't changed in 9 years) and just the right bolster for the front, the rear though extremely spacious and reclined, does lack side bolsters but still much better than Polo and Swift.

I've almost given up hope for superbly comfortable seats, yes most do get the job done but nothing extraordinary and I've sat in Yeti, Octavia, Jetta (which was above average) and Hyundais like Tucson, Elantra etc.. though the Santa Fe was very very plush when I sat in it, the best of them all. BMW is a lot of things, great styling, great responsive engine+gearbox, ec but comfort isn't its best virtue, maybe because of the RFTs and firm ride which do not compliment the well bolstered seats, their cars sit very low as well and also their pedals have a slight offset. Fiat Punto has wide seats as someone else mentioned but they are kind of firm and set low, also given the offset positioning of steering and pedals, its surely not the driver's best friend.

[$t@llion kh@n]

IMO the best seats under 10 L bracket have to be
HONDA WR-V.
The seat contour, side bolstering, foam density all very good. The head support is at very comfortable angle too.
I found it to have right balance of softness while providing good support.

[CoolFire]

As members have pointed out, there are lot of cars with good seats these days. However, considering the long life we car lovers tend to expect from our well maintained vehicles, seats often lose these qualities. Replacement is quite impractical given the huge costs of OEM seats and non availability of good non OEM compatible parts.

Given this, seats with hard compounds have the added benefit of lasting much longer apart from being more comfortable for long drives. Especially so for the big population with back problems. Hence my personal preference for the harder seats of Ford, Skoda, Volkswagen, and most luxury brands

[srivatsahg]

Not to sound biased especially since I own one. I find the seats of Fiat Grande Punto 90HP to be one of the best. I have been driving regularly to Pune from Bangalore since 2011 once in every 6 months and to my hometown Shimoga which is ~275kms once a month. Believe me never even once I have felt fatigued post those long drives. Yes, I agree that the seat ergonomics takes more time getting used to compared to other cars. But once you find the right position of the seat and steering heights the drive never gets tiring.

In terms of luxury SUV's that I have personally experienced is to vouch for Volvo XC90. From Rome to Stuttgart in straight 10 hours and I was feeling fresh in spite of almost 1000kms drive.

In terms of Rear seating comfort, nothing can beat our good old Amby.

[himanshugoswami]

My Pick would be:
1. Safari Dicor (not Storme)- The front seats are supremely comfortable.

2. XUV 500- These seats can rival a Merc for comfort. Just did a 500 km round trip in one day with zero fatigue!

[AirWind]

Good topic... but unfortunately there is no ONE size fits ALL!

Here is my family feedback on the best seats in the cars that we've owned so far,

Me: Skoda Octavia mk1 vRS (Recaro type seats that hugs you while shooting the corners at higher G's)
Wife: Hyundai Santro (Higher seating offering her the road presence and feel)
Mom: Swift (Easy Ingress/Egress in their old age and higher seating that the other cars we owned)
Dad: Maruti 800 no Sipani Dolphin (because he bought it and it runs on the road like the rest - period no arguing!)
Daughter: VW Jetta (she sleeps like a baby as we start to move; she used to throw tantrums in the Octy - both me and the car to be blamed... LOL)

[justwheels]

I guess this thread and responses will always be very subjective due to the varied use, body structure, requirement, even medical issues etc. nonetheless, you will hardly go wrong in the luxury segment, specially to the likes of Volvo or may the Range Rover.

I own an Ecosport and just love the snug fit of the seats. However my wife doesn't love the shorter squabs in the long journeys. She says she was more comfortable in Celerio (previously owned) due to much larger seats inspire of the fact it had no lumbar support or snug fit.
Larger people won't like Ecosport seats as they are too narrow. Put my frame in a large SUV seat, and I often feel I am a small being on a large sofa, which for me isn't comfortable if I am driving.
In all honesty, with car manufacturers cutting costs by giving wafer thin seats (e.g. Mobilio), and fixed head rests, it's a sad state of affairs often in the lower bracket.

[Rehaan]

Not exactly a mainstream car, but you did say...

Originally Posted by sridhu

Which is the best you have sat on (front or rear) in any car sold in India?

F10 BMW M5

I have a bad back, and bumpy roads tend to aggravate it further.

I spent close to 8 hours at a stretch in the driver's seat of the M5, and I kid you not - I got out with my back feeling better than when i got in!

They are 12-way adjustable, and the backrest can even tilt forward and back in two individual parts! As expected, lumbar and lateral support are brilliant too.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

[sandeepmdas]

Among my three cars, the XUV has the best seats. The seating is better than Pajero, C-class and Q3 but inferior to the present generation Range Rovers, Jetta and Passat. I can vouch for its bang-4-bucks factor.

The Indica V2 that I bought in 2004 had better seats than both my Punto and Duster. The roads then were a lot worse than today too...

[Horizon85]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Bonus Review: My work seat

Made by a company called VJ Interior, costing just about Rs. 6,300 on Snapdeal - this is one of the most comfortable chairs around. The bolstering especially in the lower back area is perfect for my frame. The seat cannot be reclined though, but that does not seem to reduce the comfort factor. My kids too love the fact that they can sit on it, and go round and round.

Thanks a lot! I was looking for a comfortable work char with a low budget. All the good ones from featherlite are 10k upwards. I need a high back chair, something similar to what you have. Maybe I can find something good in this brand. Thanks again!

[S.MJet]

In addition to quality, design etc of the seat, suspension setup also plays its role.
A softer suspension setup with good seats will obviously feel good for short duration rides, handling bumps at city speeds but the same seats may start feeling uncomfortable on longer drives and highway speeds.
Similar seats in a stiffer suspension setup car will not tire you on longer drives/highway speeds but may feel not so good in handling bumps at slower city speeds.

[rangarx]

In my experience, Front seats and rear seats - Honda City.
Rear seat only - Indigo Manza.

Innova's ride is comfortable but even the captain seats suffer my lower back. But again, hardly any car below 15 Lakhs are 6+ foot friendly in our country.

[ashwin489]

Eon probably has the best car seats in the sub-5L category.

Adequate thigh and lumbar support with good side bolstering; a decent fabric to top it off. Great design overall.

Way more comfortable than the way more expensive Brio.

[aabhimanyu04]

Interesting thread this. I own an EcoSport and I feel the seats are a bit narrow on both backrest and under thigh( for reference I am 6.1 with a lot of weight at wrong places)
. That said, If you are a fit and lean man, you will love its seats My mom drives a Swift Dzire and her's is a lot more comfy than mine.My lancer GLXi was amazing both on front and backseat.

[thatfastdude19]

The following discussion really has too many variables in it.

Like everyone one has a different driving position. Also it depends on a person's dimensions and his preference of comfort. Apart from that to really have a good perspective one has to get some miles behind not just the wheel of that car but also as a passenger. Also, as I said, it depends on individual driving positions. For example while on a relaxed cruise I would place my left hand at a 7 o'clock and right hand on a 3 o'clock position but while driving more dynamically I position my hands in 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock position (Though it should be 9 and 3 ) and I really don't see find any discomfort in this practice in the cars we own but while some other person may have a different position and may not find his/her ideal position.

I find the seating position of our Vista quite good. And though I am 6-Foot tall, finding a comfortable position for me really is not a problem. Also the old Safari Dicor we have has pretty comfortable seats and are good for a relaxed cruise. The individual armrests in front are really a boon and allow you to take a very relaxed position which I like.