[srivatsahg]

I'm 5'9" and drive a Punto best known for its weird ergonomics. I tried the marker thing back in the early days. It never worked for me. Although strange as it may seem for many of you, I sometimes find my own setting to be not to my taste the next time I drive . Therefore the entire ritual of adjusting the seat (for height and space), mirror and steering height repeats before each drive.

[dheepak10]

My erstwhile A-star had both height and reach adjustment for the seat. Switching driving position between me and my wife was a tough one as I always found it difficult to get back to my desired position.

Now we have a Baleno Delta CVT, which lacks seat height adjustment and this is a boon for me . The height is set at a position convenient for both me and my wife and all I have to do now is adjust for reach, which I can do easily now keeping the adjustment lever's curved edge and the seat rails as reference (a thumb-space between the seat rail and curve on adjustment lever)

The absence of clutch aids this further!

[smsrini]

Seat height: Push it down to the lowest setting, and then count the number of pulls/push you do to get to your desired setting.

Seat back: something similar.

Seat reach: push to the most forward or rear position, and count the number of clicks ( its a ratchet slide, so there are stops to hold a position) you make to reach your desired setting.

[TSourav]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

In summary, driving around in a variety of vehicles over time, has made me quite "flexible".

Exactly the thoughts that were playing in my mind when I was reading this blog.

I remember the days when I used to drive my Dad's Mark IV Ambassador. It had a bench seat with steering mounted column shifter. The headlights and wipers were a stretch to the center of the metal dashboard. It was an art to not to take your eyes off the road while using the headlamp or wiper switches, with half of your body inclined towards the center of the dashboard. The speedo and the all other dials comfortably placed in the line of sight of the front passenger. No power steering, no power brakes, no AC, no power windows, no headrest, no central locking, no ABS or even disks. It was just pure motoring. Ergonomics were totally out of the window.

Here's a Google image for your reference:


I may be the odd one, but for me, the issue in question is not really an issue for me.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by TSourav

~~~~ The speedo and the all other dials comfortably placed in the line of sight of the front passenger. ~~~~~

To be precise - in line with the passenger sitting in the middle of the bench seat of a 3+3 configuration

It was also interesting, not known if it was by design though, that the steering column wasn't straight ahead of the driver. It was angled from the door to the middle of the car, thereby "ensuring" that the driver would have to lean on the door making room for the passenger in the middle

[Thilak29]

Mod Note: There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers. Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use a spell-checker.

Thanks!

[pinin]

I drive a Punto 90 HP. Here is how I manage:

1. Seat Height: Maximum (I am 5'5")
2. Seat Reach: Position where my knee touches the AC console in a normal seating position
3. Seat Back: Parallel to the B pillar

You may use similar reference points within your car to suite your driving position.

Cheers,
Pinin

[skchettry]

Indeed it takes a while to get back to the original position after my car has been driven by some one else. The steering, the seat, the three mirrors all need to be adjusted. And the biggest risk is not spending time to get back to that 'comfort' position and then attempting to readjust when the car is in motion.

[hybridpetrol]

The simpler the choices provided by the car, the easiest it is to find the perfect driving position!
In my Alto, there is no Steering adjustment, no seat height adjustment, no seat belt adjustment and all I have is the reclining adjustment & back / forward adjustment. So it is pretty easy to get back to my usual driving position, even if the service center guys or valets change the seat positions.
Actually, when you are first driving such cars with less adjustment options, if you can't find the perfect driving position in less than 2 minutes, then the car is not for you!

e.g You are short, and the pedals are not reachable even if you push completely to the front or if the seat belt is almost crossing your face.

[IshaanIan]

Honestly I don't really find this to be much of an issue unless the car has electronically adjustable seats with adjustment for back and thigh support as well. In most cases when the car has electronically adjustable seats it also has memory functions.

Otherwise I simply lower the seat as far down as it goes, raise the seat back close to its least reclined angle just a notch or sometimes two away from its most upright setting, and push/pull the seat to the setting where my legs have enough tactile ease over the pedals, yet don't feel cramped.

As far as steering wheel adjustment goes, Valet guys never usually fiddle with it otherwise if they have I simply adjust the rake to as low as it goes without coming in the way of my knees when rev matching, and pull the steering wheel out just enough so that my arms have good leverage over the steering and are comfortably yet not awkwardly bent.

Really it's just basic instinct drive loads of cars, and this becomes embedded in you. Otherwise drawing markings as others have suggested, can be done.

[livetodrive]

Big issue for me..since I share driver's seat with my wife. She drives almost like many lady drivers with seat near to steering. While I stretch my arms while driving. Inclination is also different. She keeps it straight while my seat is slightly tilted with laid back posture.

And I need to change the audio tracks too from Ghazal to contemporary.

In some Tesla review I read there is driver seat customization. Wish my car had the feature

[Gildarts]

I have struggled many times to get the right seating setup of my car's pilot seat as it was prior to handing over my car to someone else.I am sure many of you have had similar predicament.
Most common situations where I feel that I need a car with memory seats are
I know Memory settings for seats are present in high end cars but the question here is :how can I achieve the same in my car?

Variables to play with are:
1. Seat Inclination angle.
2. Height adjustment.
3. Seat distance adjustment from the steering.
4. Rake and Reach adjustments in the steering.

Please Note: Here I am not talking about the best driving position but to get back the same setup before it got altered.

Common guys pour in your views.[/quote]

My suggestion is to mark the position of the seat on the door or central console for its distance from dashboard. I have found that people don't fiddle with seat recline angle that often. I also have my steering at its top most position fully pushed in. So no issues there. As far as seat height adjustment, you can count the steps from either lowermost or topmost position. I have my seat at step 5 from lowermost.

[rageshgr]

Yes Driving position makes or breaks the driving experience for me. In fact it is even a safety hazard if one is forced to drive in a non-ergonomic position where one is not comfortable and one is not in a vantage point w.r.t visibility, flexibility, leg room, arm room etc.

Safety Experts advice that the seat recline be as vertical as possible. So I keep the seat at a minimum incline which is comfortable for me.

Once incline is decided, I adjust the to-fro of the seat, such that my wrists cut the steering wheel at 12 and my palm is hanging at the back of the steering and my arm is not stretched. This will give enough room as well as enough leverage. I also check if my leg is resting at a comfortable angle and not crammed up inside the foot well.

Well I am a 5' footer so my seat height is at max. I also check whether this position allows me the visibility that I want.

[Khushrav]

Could not agree more. The most common solutions are sticking a black tape at the precise position or using a permanent marker. But to a person like me (Parsi), I hate it if something like the happens as well.

If more manufacturers can give at least one memory function with electric seats on cars under 10L, it would possibly be one of the most important features and selling points. Indian with their varying heights and body frames could make the most of it.

BTW - I'm considering not buying the Hexa and one of the big reasons is just this. My Laura and C200 spoiled me.

[Ryuu]

I drive Punto Evo. Let me tell you that it's a royal pain when the setting gets changed. Me being 6 feet tall with relatively shorter torso doesn't really help. I struggle for days to find that perfect position after it's been changed. The inclination angle is the worst of all.

What I do to overcome this:

1. Once the best position is found, remember the number of slots from the farthest position for the seat adjustment.
2. My punto's seat sinks on a long drive, during this process I find the perfect height. Once found, I count the number of pulls required to reach that height.
3. Inclination is the worst. I just memorize the angle of seat to that of B pillar.

Sometimes, even after resetting it, I do not feel like earlier. The whole process starts again overwritting the values that were recorded earlier in Keep. The struggle is real with Punto. :(