[arunk]

which cars in india offer a high seating position...if you avoid SUVs?

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by arunk

I have heard that high seating position offers better long drive comfort. why is it so? Also, if that is true, why most of the cars come with low seats.

I prefer a low sitting when driving fast on highways and high sitting when in the city. But yeah, low sitting is a bit stressful for long drives as your legs have lesser chances to attain a relaxed posture. At high speeds a low sitting makes cornering more comfortable and gives the driver more confidence IMO.
With low sitting, you can have a car with better aerodynamics, and IMHO looks more appealing, for eg. Lancers & Civics, the 2 amazing looking cars. Furthermore, it improves the fuel efficiency of the vehicle.

[GTO]

I prefer a low seating position.......feels more with with car rather than "on top" of it.

[Venkatesh.C]

Hey guys think about it. Lower seating has following advantages
lower overall car height and it Reduces drag and therefore improves mileage
and reduces power required to propel the car, reduces center of gravity and hence inherently has a lower body roll, requires lesser sheet metal to make than a taller car (than a caller that is just on taller springs) and costs maybe a wee bit lesser to make and maybe the company can pass on that cost to the buyer.
AND NONE OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH THE COMFORT OF THE BUYER
as for comfort we all have chairs at home are any of those in the same height as your esteems/zens ? Hell No!
The natural posture of human body is to sit erect with our limbs orthogonal to our body. Be it sitting on the floor or on a chair or a sofa.
Keeping our knees taller than our hips is not comfortable for simple reason that for people with 'Not so flat abs' will find your things pressing against the lower abdomen and its not comfortable. and needless to say that when you try and get out you need extra effort especially when lifting your leg out from the car over the lower portion of the body frame that is slightly taller than the car floor so you will end up pressing your leg further against your abdomen when doing that and it is really not comfortable to many and that is the most difficult part then of course getting from the lower height effort.
Tall boys are inherently comfortable for seating but unfortunately the taller cars generally come with a stiffer suspension(to counter the effects of Higher CG on body roll) that throws away the advantage of having a comfortable chair. Only cars like Scorpio or Safari are known to have plushier ride albeit at the cost of ride.
The two rules
i performance is inversely proportional to FE
ii. Ride is inversely proportional to Handling

You can have only one of these. Even human body is like that. Try Pooping and peeing at the same time!!!

[rahul_intlad]

How many cars today offer higher sitting?

Maruti suzuki SX4,kind of repeating myself again and again but in the sx4 you could give a complex to people in a honda crv.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

How many cars today offer higher sitting?

The Swift. Initially when I bought it, I used to gloat how I used to tower over people sitting in other cars next to mine. Gotten used to it since.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by theMAG

The Swift. Initially when I bought it, I used to gloat how I used to tower over people sitting in other cars next to mine. Gotten used to it since.

So you like to be on top eh maggie?

Well the OHC and lancer were always low car's. The alto also is low. the WagonR, Santro and all tall boys have higher seating.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by narayan

i think ur mistaken on this point.,...very few cars sold today offer low seating.....

by low seating - im referring to the ESTEEM/OHC types....

i dont think any car offers this low a seating ...even the alto has a much higher seating than the above2 ( u may add the OLD ZEN to the above list )

low seating obviously results in lower comfort bcos

1) ur closer to the ground and hence feel the road surface better ( or worse!!! ) - this is bcos a low car is also assumed to have a lower suspension play ( assuming all other factors being same )

2) in a lower car - u push ur front seats further back to have a comfortable position which results in lesser rear leg room...

3) low seats also does result in steering not being too comfortable allthough thats not necessarily true in all cases

Rightly said Narayan
Zen, OHC, Esteem have low seating position.

The reason why my previous OHC sold the car was only due to it's lower seating comfort, sometimes it's not that fun for old people to travel in low seating position.
Anyway
I like it very much .. It makes me feel like i'm driving a Race car or something like that.

[crazydiablo]

Low seating position for sporty driving. But generally love the high seating position of SUVs. Definitely more comfortable.

[vivek_pinkoo]

Low sitting is always felt like with the car rather otherwise. once you are in then do not have any problem and drive to any distance provided you have good support from the seat (thigh and lumber).

The only benefit i could see out of higher sitting is getting out and in are more convenient, thats all.

And today people do not prefer to do exercise and feel stress when they have to bend their body, thats is why normal (aged also) people opt for higher sitting.

As far as ride is concerned if analyzed carefully low sitting car have better suspension .

Honda Civic
Baleno
Honda CITY (Old)
ZEN (when compare to WR or Santro)
Optra

it all depend upon how the suspension has been designed rather low sitting or higher siting.

[arunk]

then how come lancers are deemed very good for long distance travelling?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by arunk

then how come lancers are deemed very good for long distance travelling?

The are? Not at all. My mom can't even sit for an hour in that low down position. I guess for driver they are as his legs are more straight and parallel to the floor. Else it's not really comfy for highway journeys especially the back seat. I found the Safari to be the best in that and the innova. Innova has the best seating height not too high or too low. I can't fit comfortably into the front of the Scorpio or Qualis as I have long legs which hit the steering wheel.

Same goes for the Santro, it has a tall seating but you really cant stretch or extend your legs as seat travel is limited.

I think the lowest seating was in the old Zen and the Esteem.

[R18A]

High seating allows for better seating posture, hence no back ache over long drives.
However for short drives, a low seat with slouch position is more comfortable...

[arunk]

vid, that means if the floor is flat and the seats have nice under thigh support and doesnt push your knees above hip level, the ride will be comfortable. May that is the reason civic and lancer (front seat) are deemed comfortable, ofcourse keeping many other factors in mind. I had an open corsa, has a very good suspension, but frankly i feel comfortable after a long drive in a wagon R on a good highway than in the corsa.

[gemithomas]

Originally Posted by arunk

which cars in india offer a high seating position...if you avoid SUVs?

The FIAT Adventure...eh!!! hmm!!! i know majority would not have experienced this vehicle.