[mentor561]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

I would want to stir up the dirt. !Need to be careful here!

Removed for brevity

But this being a driver enthusiast website, I guess there are more than a few who agree with me.

I dont think you are stirring anything up. This is a valid question but like anything it depends.

I am a driving enthusiast but that does not mean I should drive all the time. For example as part of work I know I am distracted and driving myself may not be safe for myself or for other drivers. This is just like anything else Photography for example. Just because I am a photography enthusiast does not mean that I have to take pictures for every occasion. Sometimes a photographer is required and will be able to do a better job. Just like a driver can do a better / safer job without other distractions.

In the same vein we outsource so many other things in life. Things like a domestic helper to help with household chores, a plumber an electrician etc. 99% of what 99.99% plumbers do are things we can do our self if we tried.

I hope I'm not pontificating but in the end its up to each individual to decide

[devsoftech]

Sitting at the rear is usually a signature and status thing.

But these are my take:
1. If I will afford a driver, I will be "told" to sit at back eventually due to my criticism, legs hitting the "void" pedals on the LHS front. Everytime I will be squinting to see how the driver's treating my car.
During summers, I'd stick to the seat which gives me the best cooling. No status/comfort matters.
2. If its a female, it think it is comfortable for them to seat them at the back seat. Even It would be my preference even if I'm the driver.
3. I do not work on laptop or read newspapers. But if I upgrade my lifestyle, I'd rather play PS3 / watch terrestrial video feed on the back seat while commuting to office. So need for space without jeopardizing driver's comfort zone still remains valid.
4. The front wheel as it goes over the humps allows me to lift me off the seat little prematurely to embrace the humps with poise.
5. If the stomach is having a bad time !
6. I can even lie down with wider space at the back.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by devsoftech

Sitting at the rear is usually a signature and status thing.

Exactly. If you arrive at a hotel or any function the watchman/security will look at the rear seat first as it is known that a owner who is not driving will hardly sit on the front beside the driver so naturally the watchman/security will approach the rear door.

Originally Posted by devsoftech

1. If I will afford a driver, I will be "told" to sit at back eventually due to my criticism, Everytime I will be squinting to see how the driver's treating my car.

Thus is the main problem with we enthusiastic and automobile loving creatures. We just can't take it when someone else is driving it or mishandling our property. It is like giving our life in their hands and when they don't handle it will we grumble and crib.

Originally Posted by devsoftech

During summers, I'd stick to the seat which gives me the best cooling. No status/comfort matters.

This has to be the front seat unless you have a car that has rear A/C vents.

Originally Posted by devsoftech

3. I do not work on laptop or read newspapers. But if I upgrade my lifestyle, I'd rather play PS3 / watch terrestrial video feed on the back seat while commuting to office. So need for space without jeopardizing driver's comfort zone still remains valid.

If I ever do this I will see to it that the driver is NOT distracted and he has the needed comfort and space to drive efficiently and safely.

Anurag.

[ashishpotdar]

Have wavered between self-driving for most of below reasons vs having a driver - However after a few weeks of facing 2-way traffic of 3 hrs+, realised that a driver essentially is a productivity tool (an expensive one at that)

1. 3+ hrs of Mumbai kind of peak hour commute can drain you physically and mentally - I became snappy at home and office after overdoing my "driving enthusiast" bit

2. You can schedule your day in the morning commute and unwind or catch up on something to learn/improve on the way back. It is very precious me-time now.

3. For the driver, if it is a office commute job, it is a predictable "duty". 3 Hrs of what they know best, rest time in the afternoon and nothing less that 10K to 18K a month. However, I have seen drivers getting fed up with "business" kind of duties (multiple places in a single day) or extended late nights.

4. With continuous work on Metro and Highways, there is no way to enjoy driving on daily commutes - The driver ensures a safe and stable drive. There is no joy in zooming and cutting through bumper-2-bumper traffic.

5. I enjoy my driving on the weekends and that too out of the city. So on weekends, my driver gets a complete off (one of the reasons he chooses to stick with me)

6. BTW digressing, but to minimize all driver related hassles, have availed of a drivers hiring service (on a long term basis) - So guaranteed quality drivers, when I want them and flexibility to not call them when I do not need them. No bonus, gaav ki chutti and other assorted head-aches

Having said all of that, the outgo definitely hurts every month for what you feel you can easily do yourself !

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

I would want to stir up the dirt. !Need to be careful here!
=============
But this being a driver enthusiast website, I guess there are more than a few who agree with me.

[TheTeacher]

My father always sat in the back seat of the Ambassador - that's all we had in those days! My brother-in-law always sits in the front with the driver, regardless of the car used, including his recent vintage MB 300. His son (my nephew) also sits besides the driver in the Superb.

It's certainly safer in the back seat.

I guess it's a personal thing.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

It's certainly safer in the back seat.
.

I doubt that very much.

Jeroen

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by TheTeacher

It's certainly safer in the back seat.

Ambassador is a different league and can't be compared to current generation cars.

Back seat being safer, what in case of a hit from the rear by a car or a heavy vehicle? What in case of a hit from the sides?

Anurag.

[TheTeacher]

I wasn't clear - my bad. The quote reg the Ambassador was just narrating a habit in the family.

Assuming contemporary cars, isn't it safer to be in the back when there's a frontal crash? Assuming seat belts are worn all around.

Getting hit in the back is nearly always less serious than getting hit in the front where the speeds of the two vehicles get combined. And one can get hit in the side whether one sits in the front or rear.

[IshaanIan]

Frontal, Side, Offset or Rear impact collision; you are far safer in the front seats than sitting in the back. With chauffeur driven individuals comprising a very limited market, improving the safety of a car's cabin in relation to the passengers sitting in front, has become the norm. Even taking safety features from your average C2 segment cars will show you that the passengers in front enjoy (or are rather privileged to have) far more, like airbags, whiplash resistant headrests, seatbelts that push you into the seat when hard braking is detected etc.

Here's a link to an article I read stating that studies have shown that Adults in the front seat of a modern day car, are more likely to survive traffic collisions than ones seated behind and that the time has come for manufacturers to shift a little focus into improving the safety for passengers at the rear: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...nds-study.html

[GTO]

Even in Ubers, I prefer the front seat. Today, I had some work in Fort which meant a 90-minute round trip. Called for a 'Premier' car so that I get more room at the front (Xcent one way, Sunny on the other).

Slide the front seat all the way back, recline the backrest a little, cellphone data on tethering & laptop fired up. 90 minutes of productive time .

[ACM]

I generally use the front seat even in all types of Taxis.

I feel rear seats are safer if one wears the seatbelt even if there are only 2 airbags.

I also believe one shouldn't take a nap while sitting next to the driver.

If I am alone it is the front seat for me. If with someone we both would sit in the back seat. If there are 3 passengers I fight for the front seat.

There are also some people who find it below their dignity to sit next to a driver. This is the worst reason to sit in the Rear.

My dad (85) always prefers the front seat as it is easier to enter and exit in all vehicles. Infact when we had a driver take us outstation I was sent to the rear of the BMW X3 while he sat in the front. He dislikes even the E Class rear seat.

Hexa has equally comfortable rear and front seats. Many luxury brands are improving their rear seat experience significantly.

Sitting in the rear seat can be less stressful IF the seat is equally ccomfortable.

[am1m]

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was a discussion on why we're so obsessed with rear seat (and boot) space and why we don't have more sporty small cars that are geared to just 2-people usage.

In my case, the smaller the car the better. 90% of the time, our car is single-person driven in the city. 99% of the time it's max two of us with precious little luggage and the occasional highway drive. And that's the way the situation is going to be for the rest of our car-buying lives.

As such, I don't care about how comfortable the rear seat is, how many adults can sit comfortably there and how big the boot is. If the car could be made smaller by not having to worry about these factors, it would be easier to drive and park in the city.

Obviously such cases are the minority and would not make business sense for a manufacturer, I know that. Still, would be nice to see some sporty 2-person cars come up here. I think a couple of models did come out and were sales flops? I'm actually quite sad the new Swift has better rear legroom and boot space at the cost of making it 40mm wider. But yeah, I know that was the majority market feedback for the previous model.

[Ross]

I prefer sitting in the back on my Ola/Uber journeys as I feel it is safer than sitting in the front. Of course I belt up always. Moreover, I feel little more insulated from traffic and noise in the back hence comfortable.

I cannot take my eyes off the road if I sit alongside the driver and keep watching how he drives and often get as tired at the end of Journey as if I were driving myself.

[selfdrive]

For people like me who have migraine issues, brightness acts more like; well, kryptonite. Perhaps the extra sunlight will evaporate us vampires. So people like me would prefer to hide in the backseat.
It saves us from sunlight; both direct and reflected from the road surface.

After daylight hours, it would save us from the high beam of oncoming vehicles too.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by GTO

This is something that’s been on my mind since a while now. Why the heck do chauffeur-driven owners sit only on the back seat?! Rear bench space can’t really be termed as luxurious in any sub-10 lac sedan. Further, most of these cars don’t even have the backrest angle set ideally for comfort.

Why this obsession with the back seat? Prestige? “Sethia”?

My take on this question. I have had this thought thrashed through my mind a lot. I think it started from the days of Cabs/Hansoms/horse carriages in the past where the driver sits in the front to control the animals and the passenger sits in the rear seat(which was the only available). On subsequent generations of cars meant to be chaffeur driven, the rear seats were made more and more comfortable and culminated in the limousines.


Later when the motorised cabs were introduced they followed similar style.
https://whatshotlondon.co.uk/dec-6-o...sed-taxi-cabs/
Sitting in the rear gave multiple seating space and privacy to sit with the spouse, have a private conversation.


If you observe closely ladies, elderly and business executive prefer rear seat. Business people if travelling alone, Youngsters and explorers prefer front passenger seat.

The front passenger seat being more comfortable than the rear seat is more to do with the hatchback and sub-premium sedans being the primary sellers in our market.I usually prefer front seat but when I have some work to do or company then prefer rear seat.