[Naparajito]

I totally agree with ROY LIBRAN.Logan comfortably sits 4 people in the rear seat,and three people with ease.

Thanks to its width which is 1740mm.

[ani_meher]

1. Logan - very comfy sitting for 3
2. Indica/Indica Vista
3. Figo

Maruti WagonR other 1L cousins do not sit more than 2 people comfortably. Etios will most certainly be able to do it. I hope Mahindra baby xylo has this 5 seater capacity.

[CRDIsamir]

In m opinion its Tata Indigo. Can seat 5 ppl at ease along with the necessary luggage well accomodated in the boot.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by SILVERWOOD

You mean to say 4 adults sitting at rear seat comfortably.?

3 Regular sized people, without rubbing into each other. 4 regular sized people, pretty easily, with everyone sharing the backrest without the two forward and two backward alternating configuration. Try it sometime. Also the car does not ride low so with 6 people, it still had decent ground clearance left and the suspension, as always, is a dream for this price segment.

[PPS]

I miss my old Indica the most! It used to seat 5 rather comfortably. Most Tata cars are spacious. Manza,Accord,Cr-v can seat 3 people comfortably at the back, i know since i have tried it.
I dont think for most people a proper 5 seater is a deal-breaker though! Long time ago i managed to fit 7 people in my Fiat Palio.

[FanaticOnWheels]

The Palio seats 5 pretty comfortably.

[AirWind]

India is a unique market expecting a car to seat 5 in comfort... Logan, Indica Vista, Indigo Manza, Toyota Etios, make the cut, cant think of anything else...

[JediKnight]

Logan takes the cake when it comes to rear seat space and comfort. Great width and head room . It can take four reasonably sized adults in the rear seat.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Unfortunately this will be the case for most of the sedans - whether it cost 5 lakhs or 50 lakhs. Even in a 5-series, there could be sufficent shoulder room, but the huge transmission tunnel will rob the comfort.

Precisely, so why do these cars, inspite of being FWD need that transmission tunnel in the middle of the car?

Also, I m sure there are ways of designing the centre armrest in such a way that it doesn't pose a bottleneck to the middle passenger.

Aren't we going backwards when it comes to making our cars spacious?

[ACM]

n devdath

We still have the Fiat that you mention in the first post that we used to travel in comfort years back relative to todays times.

But it is also a case of expectations changing. My parents still visualise that they were in more comfort in the fiat than in the cielo than in the laura when they sat 4 let alone 5 but I did a physical check and the reality is that the Laura seats 5 more comfortably than the Cielo than the premier padmini. It's just that earlier our expectations were low and they are higher now we then were quite happy cudling together while now we all sit facing the front. Even a Laura today is not a comfortable 5 seater due to the centre tunnel and centre armrest considering our expectations today.

Ofcourse the amby is in a different league.

That said seating 5 in comfort today can be best achieved in the following in no particular order. Have also suggested how one could be seated row wise below.

1) Vista
2) Manza
3) Aria 2+3
4) Safari 2+3
5) Grande Mark II 2+3
6) Innova - 2 + 2 +1
7) Fortuner - 2 + 2 +1
8) Xylo - 2 + 2 + 1
9) Scorpio - 2 + 2 + 1 - will not work out if there are too many tall guys.

[roy_libran]

Originally Posted by ACM

n devdath
Ofcourse the amby is in a different league.

Well, I disagree on Amby because though it can easily seat 4 in the backseat, the side slant of the seat is such that the window side passengers get automatically pushed towards the doors. That is definitely not comfortable.

Originally Posted by ACM

n devdath
1) Vista
2) Manza
3) Aria 2+3
4) Safari 2+3
5) Grande Mark II 2+3
6) Innova - 2 + 2 +1
7) Fortuner - 2 + 2 +1
8) Xylo - 2 + 2 + 1
9) Scorpio - 2 + 2 + 1 - will not work out if there are too many tall guys.

You cannot realistically omit the Logan from that list. It IS VERY SPACIOUS, whatever else, it is not!

[akj53]

In our Ambassador, back in late 60's, we had a bench seat in front also and the gear lever on the steering side. 3 passengers used to sit in front quite easily, only the middle person had to keep his right shoulder behind the driver's left so gears could be changed easily. The rear bench was the most comfortable seat in a car even till today. It had high seating, low transmission tunnel, plenty of shoulder and head room. 3 people used to sit most comfortably in the back and even 2 children more could be accommodated with ease. The entire family plus friends or relatives used to travel without complaints.

The car never complained or scrapped it's bottom (may be the breakers were absent those days). I would say it was the most comfortable car till date in India. In fact Ratan Tata specified that Indica should have the space and comfort of Ambassador and economy of Maruti.

After that Premier 118 NE also used to have lots of room in rear, though the bench was low. Logan and 2nd gen City also get my vote. Regretfully can't say about Palio as have never sat in one.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by ACM

3) Aria 2+3
4) Safari 2+3
5) Grande Mark II 2+3
6) Innova - 2 + 2 +1
7) Fortuner - 2 + 2 +1
8) Xylo - 2 + 2 + 1
9) Scorpio - 2 + 2 + 1 - will not work out if there are too many tall guys.

So, are you saying that there is no sedan, in the range of the Fortuner, that can comfortably seat 5 adults? I ask you this since you have quite an interesting garage.

[VW2010]

So, are you saying that there is no sedan, in the range of the Fortuner, that can comfortably seat 5 adults? I ask you this since you have quite an interesting garage.

The list does not include Logan or Civic or the Superb.

Superb can sit 8 comfortably(just an exaggeration of the space that this car provides)

Civic has flat floor enabling better comfort for the third middle passenger.

Tata Indica is the cheapest five seater. I am guessing the Indigo to be of similar design seating 5 comfortably.

Fortuner rear seats with handrest is not really comfortable if you are behind pure comfort.

Ford Endy actually impressed me with seat spacing. It can seat a person comfortably in the third row. Seat design is low and has lots of leg space. But way better than a Scorpio, Safari, Fortuner or a pajero.

[haria]

Slightly off-track, How about SUVs ? can the current generation SUV/MUV's seat 5 comfortably ? (if the last row is not used ie, used ONLY for luggage ?) I didn't find innova or scorpio too comfortable when it comes to seating 3 well built adults in the second row. In scorpio, the middle person will have his leg almost on the Floor AC.

My question is if we discount the last row of suv/muv, which in this category seats 5 most comfortably ?