RoyF

Happy for you, enjoy your new car and long may it be comfortable for you 🙂

Numskull, The best advice I can offer is that when buying another car, be sure to give it an extended test drive ie 1.5 - 2 hours minumum. More if you can. That way you can really check the new cars seat suitability to your body frame. If you have a lower back injury as I have, maybe even ask if you can have the car for 1/2 a day. Or it can be an expensive mistake selling an uncomfortable car onwards at a £sss loss soon after. Posted 18 hours ago (edited) I’ve had a left sacroiliac joint injury for more than six years and due to that, I had to change the MKII once I was able to afford it as the seats became unbearable. I’ve found the Superb MKIII seats to be as good as the MKI, in which I drove more than 30,000 miles a year and we still have today. Seats are a very personal thing and I’ve driven and had more cars than most, having worked for two car rental companies for more than 20 years. I had a new cocar every three months and was driving a different car every day when I was in operations. I found the Ford Mondeo seats of all models to be really uncomfortable, Mercedes seats were great (some find them too hard) but I could never get comfortable in any BMW I drove. Getting the seat position is the most important thing and the guide Budster posted is excellent. It’s amazing how the smallest change can make a massive improvement. Edited 18 hours ago by numskull

The Jag XE I had was a 2017 model quite highly spec'ed with pan roof etc and electric adjust front seats. No idea how many adjust ways it had but there were lots. Seats softer than the Superb but similar in lack of lateral support if your of slim build.

Hi, best decision I've made in years. Reitterated how harsh and ergonomically poor the Superb seats are. The bmw 5 series has fantastic comfortable seats, compliant and with great side bolsters support. My car has the fully electric adjustment including lumbar. Electric adjust seats are an optional extra on the majority of BMW models so be careful there. Car is generally much quieter to drive too. I chose the SE model as a much smoother ride than the M Sports.

The S90 is a lovely car, a minimalist dash & interior but extremely comfortable. Nice to drive too, the T5 engine is great. I preferred the BMWs though.

Update on my discomfort issues with the Skoda Superb L&K seats. Continued playing with various foam pads and made some headway with that. Unfortunately I still found the drivers seat harsh and uncomfortable, certainly no good for a long journey. I visited my local Skoda dealership, where I bought the car, a couple of times over the past week to seek their advice and help with potential seat fix-it or swap-out options, a trade-in for another Skoda or even a car buy-back by them. Reaction from salesperson was fairly dismissive and following each visit I received none of the promised return phone calls with their updates and offers. I gave up chasing. When buying they are all over you, best friends and all that. Post sale if got a problem, I'm an unwanted irritant as they disappear in the mist. Final nail in the coffin for me and motivation to move on. Once the lockdown lifted I test drove a couple of Volvo S90s, BMW 520M, 640M & 730M. S90s not for me, BMWs much better. 5 Series BMW was the best model spec for me but not an M Sport. So today I paid a deposit to buy a BMW 530d SE and trade my Superb in as part of that deal. Took car for two 1 hour test drives to make sure I missed nothing this time. Drivers seat significantly more comfortable for me, has all the elec adjustments including lumbar and also adjustable headrest X & Y. I collect the car Thursday next week. Its a real shame as the Skoda Superb L&K is otherwise a great car. Thanks for all the feedback. Cheers, Roy

Similarly I prolapsed a compressed disc in 1992 and could write a book about subsequent treatment for that. A daily stretching routine keeps me mobile now though. I'm informed that no further treatment can improve it as such other than a vertibrae fusion which I shall give a miss. So for me I have to find an adequately supportive car seat that works.

Thanks, but like you, standard pre-made lumbar supports haven't really worked for me, hence trying the foams etc. My Skoda seat needs both extra lumbar and side bolster support. I've an arrangement which makes driving acceptable for now but alas, I won't tolerate that long term.

Coincidently I bought a Jaguar XE 18 months ago, utterly horrendous seats, even much worse than the Skoda, which again I didn't properly realise during the test drive. Like you I sold that on a few months later at a loss. Am looking forward to checking out the two Volvos next week.

Been experimenting with more foams etc and think I may have found something that works reasonably well. Certainly the best by far for me and maybe can be of help to others. Piece from a 'memory' foam and cut to 500 x 230 x 52mm. Standard foam block I bought is 560 x 500 x 52mm. Cost circa £10. I still use a piece of 40mm dia pipe insulation in the cavity where the seat back meets the base. Then the foam pad over this. I found that if you position the foam forward slightly so that you are sat on its lower leading edge, then this seems to be more comfy. The material stiction from the foam pad keeps it positioned relative to the seat and then it shapes itself nicely to your body shape. Really improves lateral support and stops sliding when driving around corners. The nice part about this memory foam is it'll compress to almost nothing with little load applied yet stay supportive in the other areas. I'd been using standard seat foams mostly before and of course these feel much firmer and are somewhat less compliant. That said, I'll still be checking out the Volvos end of next week....

Yes will do. I've scheduled to view and test two S90s, a T4 Momentum and a T5 Inscription on 3rd Dec on the hopeful assumption the lockdown is lifted as planned.

DB72, thanks for uploading the photos and good to see how others tackle their seating issues. The support pad looks very much in keeping with the seat design and are nicely done. I think my needs require more of a LH bolster and lumber support. What I've got padded at present helps and is snug but feels awkwarly intrusive. But I'm now also convinced its as much an ergonomic alignment issue too. I have an old classic Triumph Stag and have just been out on a 10 mile drive this afternoon, absolutely no back issues at all with the seats feeling nicely supportive and neutral. They are pretty basic being a 50 year old design but are comfy. So the more I consider this, the realisation is I may need to look for something else. When this current lockdown ends in a couple of weeks I plan to go look at a Volvo S90 and take it from there. In the meantime I will continue to try and find something that works with the foams etc.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions, these are most helpful and very much appreciated.

I guess me being on the slim side doesn't help and I agree with your assessment of the seat base design causing me to slide around. Theres no doubt that most folks who have no back issues will find the Superb's seats are fine.

Interesting point you make that the seating realtive to wheel and pedals is not ergonomically neutral ie not all are on a common center line. That would explain in part the pulling effect I get on my lower LH buttock side. I'll try your seat position settings also and yes, please do let me see a photo of the support you made.