[Ashish0485]

Over the last 5 years, I have taken multiple long road trips (>3 k kms).

These were the car choices- 4th gen honda city, VW Polo, Skoda Octavia vRS 230, BMW 320d g20, and Swift Vxi.

I think it’s much more than the low slung car thing. It’s a function of chassis and suspension set-up, seat cushioning, ride height, alloy size.

Here’s the order in the decreasing level of comfort:
Honda City>BMW 320d>Swift>Skoda vRS>VW Polo.

It’s difficult to reach a conclusion just based on the stance.

[venbas]

Originally Posted by Ashish0485

Over the last 5 years, I have taken multiple long road trips (>3 k kms).

Here’s the order in the decreasing level of comfort:
Honda City>BMW 320d>Swift>Skoda vRS>VW Polo.

It’s difficult to reach a conclusion just based on the stance.

Wow... Pleasantly surprised to hear that the City scores even above the Merc 320d in terms of drive comfort.

[Ashish0485]

Originally Posted by venbas

Wow... Pleasantly surprised to hear that the City scores even above the Merc 320d in terms of drive comfort.

Yeah! My daughter and wife just loved the city for the long drives. We did a 3,500 km Kerala trip (in 7 days) in 2016 and there wasn’t any lower pain. In fact, we all were appreciative of the ride comfort. However, when we did a similar trip on my vRS, both me and wifey got severe pain in the tailbone.

Initially, I thought it’s because of the low stance but was proven wrong when we took Polo (high-line plus with 16 inch rims) for a spin. Although, the seating position was much higher than my other cars, still it was very uncomfortable. I then searched on multiple forums and got to know that many people complaint about Polo’s uncomfortable seats.

So, net/net, it depends on multiple factors.

[hummer]

According to me, back pain is primarily due to life style and age related (there could be stray incidents of younger people getting back pain during long drives, but it may not be permanent).

Back pain could get triggered and aggravated when driving for a long time on low slung cars or high seating SUVs. We need to improve/change our life style as we get older. Some people don't want to accept their body not coping, they want to show there is no problem, but the problems starts there.

When we reach late 30s:
1. Sitting for long hours at office, staring at laptops, no breaks
2. Driving back home in heavy traffic
3. No exercise evening or morning
4. No goodnight sleep (bad bed or something else)
5. Again drive to office in heavy traffic

Repeat of steps 1-6 especially in a manual transmission in Bangalore would GIFT severe back pain (+knee).

What I did over the years:
1. Moved from ZEN MT to VERNA MT
2. VERNA MT to TERRANO MT
3. TERRANO MT to DUSTER AMT with lumbar support
4. Changed office commute hours (pre-covid), start early morning and return by late noon
5. Take breaks b/n work at office
6. Exercise/yoga

I sleep well now

Now I get back discomfort only when getting out of my father-in-law's Lancer after a long drive (only when getting out).

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Ashish0485

Yeah! My daughter and wife just loved the city for the long drives. We did a 3,500 km Kerala trip (in 7 days) in 2016 and there wasn’t any lower pain. In fact, we all were appreciative of the ride comfort. However, when we did a similar trip on my vRS, both me and wifey got severe pain in the tailbone.

Initially, I thought it’s because of the low stance but was proven wrong when we took Polo (high-line plus with 16 inch rims) for a spin. Although, the seating position was much higher than my other cars, still it was very uncomfortable. I then searched on multiple forums and got to know that many people complaint about Polo’s uncomfortable seats.

So, net/net, it depends on multiple factors.

Your experience matches exactly with mine. I have no problem driving my MT Fluidic Verna for long distances. Recently I bought a Polo GT TSI and got severe back pain after a drive of around 700 Kms. Sat in a friend's VRS for an entire day and suffered. For the return, I sat with the small VRS cushion on my back and was perfectly alright.

My theory is that the lumbar support and the seat design matter more than the height.

[RoadMonkey]

Small update: So after everyone's insistence that it's more to do with ergonomics than the car, I tried to look for a solution since the seats clealry aren't adequate.

I got this for the seat - https://www.amazon.in/FOVERA-Orthope...dp/B07GC599LY/

And as advertised, my tailbone pain has completely vanished. Gone! Completely! The joint stiffness is also down, but I still feel like the clutch pressing exercise is taking an unnecessary toll on my knee joint. I might soon be looking to switch to an automatic. I still thought I should share this with everyone else.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

Small update: ....my tailbone pain has completely vanished. Gone! Completely! The joint stiffness is also down, but I still feel like the clutch pressing exercise is taking an unnecessary toll on my knee joint. I might soon be looking to switch to an automatic. I still thought I should share this with everyone else.

Glad to know your tailbone pain is gone.

I was in the same boat last year this time. No driving, but desk job/rotating stool/standing for 10+ hour shifts had taken its toll. Was obese too. 110kg+. Add to that I used to cycle heavily as I didn't get my Qatar DL.
A couple of falls, my tailbone pain (coccyx?) started to hurt so bad I couldn't sleep properly.
Started to repent taking long road trips, bus journeys instead of taking the train. Thought my youth was gone in my 20s itself, hobbling like an old man.

Stopped cycling for a while, worked hard on weight control and a couple of months of exurciating pain. The tailbone pain went away just like that. Huge relief!!!
Though have to say, if I sit on a hard plastic chair for too long, sometimes it does make the lower back numb.

Regarding the knee joint, if changing cars in the near future, do look at the automatic options. Since you drive a fair bit daily in the city, it would be a boon.

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by DicKy

Stopped cycling for a while, worked hard on weight control and a couple of months of exurciating pain. The tailbone pain went away just like that. Huge relief!!!
Though have to say, if I sit on a hard plastic chair for too long, sometimes it does make the lower back numb.

Regarding the knee joint, if changing cars in the near future, do look at the automatic options. Since you drive a fair bit daily in the city, it would be a boon.

I think my tailbone pain was more due to the feeling of being sunken in the Baleno's seat. I've never had this pain before. I weigh around 80 but my body fat percentage is low. Weight isn't what matters, it's about muscle mass, body fat% , exercising the muscles and of course, diet. Even if you sit for long hours, you could do small exercises for your shoulders, back, and so on. Make sure to get up every hour and walk a little. I follow all of these practices, which is why I was sure the reason for the pain was the car itself.

[Punatic]

Originally Posted by RoadMonkey

And as advertised, my tailbone pain has completely vanished. Gone! Completely! The joint stiffness is also down, but I still feel like the clutch pressing exercise is taking an unnecessary toll on my knee joint. I might soon be looking to switch to an automatic.

That is wonderful news indeed, good to hear. Hopefully this concludes your long and unfortunate ordeal! We will have to look someplace else now to express our unfounded conclusions...

And best wishes for the car hunting. I'd suggest renting an AT through Zoomcar etc and doing some lengthy driving stints, several hundred kilometres worth, with and without your seat cushion, and with various body types if possible.

Good luck!

[amitayu]

It is not about low slung, but more about the sitting position in the car. Just like every bike has a rider's triangle irrespective of the bikes GC, the same applies for cars as well. If your position is wrong, you will have problems irrespective of what kind of car it is.

Seat height, space in the driver's well, steering wheel position, under-thigh supports from the seat etc all contribute to this factor. This is why seat height and steering height and rake adjustments are so important.

[Kosfactor]

Depends!

Many will agree that a sedan like 3rd gen Honda City's seats and driving position is better than the taller SUV Duster. That said it's better to fix duster's seating position than taking City on a long trip.

Originally Posted by DicKy

That said I do believe that the vast majority of cars below the compact sedan segment have kind of a compromised set-up. Unless it is 90s go-kart like low position or something like that of the present Honda City, you sacrifice long distance comfort for ease of entry/exit.
Full size sedans, however low they are, seems to be the best ones for long journeys. For the driver that is.

At the other end, too high a seating position is also detrimental. Not sure about Scorpio, but a couple of BHPians have reported serious back pain/spine problems using the Safari.
Maybe that's why Japanese/American SUVs for all their size and bulk have the seats set at a lower position than our homegrown SUVs. Could be wrong, as I have no idea about Landrover/Range rover seating.

You are right, for packaging purpose there are a lot of compromises made. The foreign SUVs also do not give you the tall seating that their appearance would suggest, it's more like a car. There is a trend these days to have a tall massive bonnet and low cabin . The result is low seat height, more knees up position, having to reach for the steering wheel and strain the neck because you can't see the edges of the bonnet.

In the end your lower back, shoulder, knee and neck will hurt.

I had no clue about this earlier , I preferred to sit on the floor and drive but as the distances started to increase, so did the pain.

Things that seem to matter -

Seat height from the floor:

Seat base should be level enough to let the hip and knee to be at the almost the same level, the closer you get to this, the better as it distributes the weight more evenly rather than just the bum. You should be able to rest one feet flat on the floor while the other is working the pedals.

The seat base length:

Seat base should be able to cover most of your bottom till your knees for weight distribution but it should not compress the back side of your knee because that would cause circulation issues.

Seat back:

Should extend a bit above the shoulder as well as wider , slight recline enough to let the steering fall into the hand than having to reach for it.

Steering :

Should be facing the driver and not away from the driver like a tractor wherein you have to reach over to make full turns.

Japanese SUVs and American (Pickup based) tend to follow the Sit-in format with lower car like seating - good for highways though not as good visibility in comparison to the classic range rover style of Sit-on with tall seating, quite rare these days.

Scorpio follows a Sit-on format, cabin being the tallest and bonnet being relative low (old style), excellent seats and driving position if you are ~ 5.5 and above.

Tata got the seats and seating position right eventually in Hexa for the driver and passenger - excellent work there.

Finally, there is just way too many variables that a short test drive is often not enough to get us down to the basics. Don't go by the looks , specifications etc etc, get down to the task. If possible rent the same vehicle for a day among your final shortlist and experience it. Sometimes it's too late and you have already bought the wrong one, maybe a bit of modifications (cushions, back rest, permanent mods) to the seat should help you achieve the above mentioned seating position.

[TheHelix0202]

I'm not even 20, but the only reason I'll ever get a pain as mentioned is when I'm improperly seated in any type of car. I'm over 6'2" so that could play a part too. But my dad who's 5'8" and in his late 50's doesn't face any issue as of yet in the Rapid. So there's quite a bunch of factors involved I would say.

[abhinavrm]

Not much we can do when there are design defects.

I spent about 20 minutes analyzing the minutest of design defects in my ciaz MT a month ago. I have experienced aches during long drives since they amplify and highlight even the slightest of issues. Here are my observations with some illustrations.

Issues seen:

1. Steering is off center line
2. Steering is at an angle to the perpendicular
3. ABC Pedals are off center
4. Very thick seat pipes where fabric meets leather.
5. Forced incorrect sitting positions due to the above

Hope the designers at Maruti Udyog Limited are listening!

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by Punatic

That is wonderful news indeed, good to hear. Hopefully this concludes your long and unfortunate ordeal! We will have to look someplace else now to express our unfounded conclusions...

And best wishes for the car hunting. I'd suggest renting an AT through Zoomcar etc and doing some lengthy driving stints, several hundred kilometres worth, with and without your seat cushion, and with various body types if possible.

Good luck!

A small update was in order. I have since switched to a "low slung" AT. My new Polo is lower than my Baleno but my pain is a thing of the past! Not pressing the clutch pedal constantly in city traffic has been an absolute gamechanger!

So if I were to offer a conclusion based on my experience, the problem isn't low slung cars but of course, poor posture. However, the problem is exacerbated in low slung budget cars because they don't offer enough or adequate adjustments for a good posture and pressing the clutch with a poor posture takes a toll on your back and leg. That's where more upright position comes in, in more upright cars, the posture of the knee and hips is better regardless of available adjustments. This only applies to budget cars, of course.

As of right now, I also drive a Ritz with clutch twice as hard as my Baleno, I experience zero pain.

[vtecblast]

In my case I have never felt more comfortable in a car other than a Low slung one! We have had Honda Civic and currently Honda Brio. There was nothing as uncomfort I have ever faced in Civic or in Brio as well. But there's always a scope to make car more comfortable and I would never say no to it if any one offers me any such option. So, while the Brio's seat covers were due I tried contacting a local seat cover manufacturer and she informed me about how the car's seats can be customised according to the person's requirements. So, what I did was take an idea and told her the exact portions where an extra padding won't be any problem! And for my luck it went out really well. As per current scenario I have driven 15 Hours straight in my Brio, highway and hills everything in the same route and I have never faced any issue.
So, even you can look out for options available to get your seat customised.
Other than this spare some time for few planks or consult a physiotherapist for the same thing.
Hope this helps, Happy Driving!