Back pain-best car

[oriki]

Have a look at this.

 

http://sundialclinics.co.uk/conditions/backpain/back-pain-what-car-is-best/

[Llanigraham]

Site blocked as "harmfull" by my virus checker!!

[whitep]

This is a very interesting write up. However...

 

My father (74) has severe (crippling) back problems and had a Focus, and my father in law (67) has terrible knees and had a Jag S-type. They both decided independently to look at new cars to ease getting in and out. Both asked my advice and I said to them both how about a Yeti. They both went, again independently, to different Skoda dealers and tried the Yeti and both ruled it out. Both said it had a lovely ride, both said good for the money, both said practical, father in law said too big in all honestly for him, fair enough. But both also said the distance from standing to the seat was too far. They couldn't slide in as such. My father is my height 5' 10" and my father in law is a shade over 6'. So both about average ish.

 

In they end My father bought a Golf Plus or whatever they call it now, and my father in law bought a B-Max. Watching them get in and out i can see both these cars are very easy for both of them to get in. My father says he would like a more powerful engine, the 105 (or 115 is it?) and my father in law says he wished he got the C-Max (and the Yeti is too big?) so they still aren't happy but they can get in and out the car easier now.

 

I dont have knee or back problems, and can get in and out of a Yeti without thinking about it, but its what they reported.

[137699]

My other half suffers from chronic back pain from a car accident suffered in 2009 from which she has never recovered.

She has said the seating position in the Yeti is the best of any car she has sat in since the accident - in terms of minimising her discomfort.

 

It was one of the reasons why we chose the Yeti, though at the time we did not know it had won an award for this very thing!

[BossFox]

Considering the Yeti without the electric seat has less seat movement than a lot of other cars I am surprised by this.

Especially considering you needed to add lumbar support to a typical SE spec as it wasn't included.

 

Better cars out there as standard IMO for seat comfort.

[eribaMotters]

I have arthritis in the lower back. Most days I have discomfort. A few times a week this does not clear and I need to take non prescription Paracetamol/Codine. When bad I cannot drive, walk or even sit up. 2000mg paracetamol, 240mg codeine, 20mg diclofenac and ??mg amitriptyline is taken. I do not really know what day of the week it is. So to get to the point, I recently drove to France, leaving home at 3:00am, arriving about 5:30pm, 600+ miles of towing, with stops every couple of hours. My Yeti  and "sports seats" proved very comfortable, firm and supportive. I can highly recommend them.

 

Colin

[StephenL]

I have mild (compared to many)  arthritis in back and knees. My previous car, up to 6 weeks ago, was a Kia Sportage. Although a high-sitting vehicle, and comfortable once in, I had to twist and bend to enter. This did not become apparent till I'd bought the car. However, the Yeti is far easier to enter and leave, and gives good support on journeys.

 

(PS how do I change my profile to reflect new car?)

Edited 31 July, 2014 by StephenL

[Llanigraham]

Stephen,

Welcome.

Clic on your name at the top right hand side of the page, that will take you to your Profile

[StephenL]

Stephen,

Welcome.

Clic on your name at the top right hand side of the page, that will take you to your Profile

Thanks. That's what I thought, but I can only change my password from there. No other options are showing. Do I perhaps need a certain number of posts?

[137699]

Considering the Yeti without the electric seat has less seat movement than a lot of other cars I am surprised by this.

Especially considering you needed to add lumbar support to a typical SE spec as it wasn't included.

 

Better cars out there as standard IMO for seat comfort.

 

When you have back pain, "seat comfort" isn't really the be-all and end-all. It's all about the angle & posture of getting in & out of the car, the placement of pillar & door sill to negotiate whilst twisting & to weight bear, the height at which you sit, the firmness & shape of the supporting materials, how well the seat holds you in place, the placement of the armrests, dashboard, grab handles and other "bracing" surfaces - and the ability of the car's suspension to absorb jolts.

 

My missus doesn't use the lumbar on our Elegance as with her back condition it just pushes into all the wrong places and causes more discomfort.

 

She also points out the more adjustment a seat has, the more likelihood it is that you will just set it up wrong and unwittingly make things worse even though initially it may "feel" better.

[P6bJOHN]

The seat height was the reason I swapped my Roomster for a Yeti, I found the Roomster seat just a tad too low for getting out of, my knees were too high in relation to my butt. The Yeti is a great improvement for entry and exit, but I only need 2wd and I'm not convinced other than seat height that it is a better vehicle over all than my beloved Roomy.

[DonjSZ5]

It depends if the person is driver or passenger. Having the electric seat provides more positional options...for the driver, if he/she then becomes the passenger, it's back to basic settings.

[lfc958]

Taken from the site -  

Top tips to avoid back pain in the car

- Buy a bigger, high riding car.      
- Adjust seat and steering wheel position to your frame.
- Avoid large wheels over 17 inches.
- Avoid firm suspension.
- Choose a car with seats with good side support and lumbar support.          -  
- If you don’t have a lumbar support stick a rolled up towel or jumper in the small of your back. 
- Avoid potholes (hard on British roads)  
- On a long journey, take a break every hour, walk about and stretch.   

 

Some sensible suggestions

[spottydog]

I've got the "S" model so nothing fancy. I'm 5'10", inside leg 30" and 12 stone. I can just slide straight onto the seat and that is with it lifted up.

However, it is the only car I've ever had (and I've had a lot, including several Skoda's) where I can't find a truly comfortable seating position and I don't have any back problems. It's not a problem as most of my journeys are less than 10 miles but if I was travelling any distance over 50 miles regularly I'd would have to get a different car.

[kenfowler3966]

Its the fixed seat squab angle on the manual adjusted seat in my opinion. You have to compromise other adjustments because of this. It was very difficult to get the seat right in my first Yeti because of this. Effectively the seat had to go in a certain position, both fore& aft and height wise to be at all comfortable, and I tended to be lower than I wanted to be to relieve the pressure on the back of my thighs behind my knees from the front edge of the seat.

 

With the electric seat in my new car I got the seat squab angle right straight away and all the other adjustments seem much less critical, and I can move them quite a long way and still be comfortable, henceI can  get the height right for getting in and out easier and find a better position in relation to the pedals

[spottydog]

Its the fixed seat squab angle on the manual adjusted seat in my opinion. You have to compromise other adjustments because of this. It was very difficult to get the seat right in my first Yeti because of this. Effectively the seat had to go in a certain position, both fore& aft and height wise to be at all comfortable, and I tended to be lower than I wanted to be to relieve the pressure on the back of my thighs behind my knees from the front edge of the seat.

 

With the electric seat in my new car I got the seat squab angle right straight away and all the other adjustments seem much less critical, and I can move them quite a long way and still be comfortable, henceI can  get the height right for getting in and out easier and find a better position in relation to the pedals

 

Totally agree. It's the way the seat actually lifts by tipping rather than lifting. Poor design.

[900000]

They suggest avoiding the "18" wheels" in that article... erm, yes like you can ever fit those to a Yeti. So seems they really don't know what they are talking about, cut and pasting this and that.

 

But be that is it may, the (electric seat) in my Yeti is by far the best long distance seat I've ever had in a car. BUT remember there's more to this than just the seat. The Yeti being short and tall, means you have a more upright "average" driving position than in other low cars like a 3-series or something.

 

 

So in my view the angle of your head relative to your back is not as "angled" as in other cars, which might also help here. Furthermore, the seat is higher from the floor so your legs hang down more straight - as if you are driving a truck. Which might also help.

 

 

The other thing is having the steering wheel dead straight ahead of the seat as well as the position of the pedals - to also be dead ahead and not offset. Some cars like the previous A and B-class Mercedes have a severe offset of the steering wheel towards the centre of the car, which puts your spine at an angle 100% of the time when you are driving the car. Not ideal. Difficult to see it in photos but you sort of get the picture in this:

 

 

 

The Yeti is spot on ergonomically on so many subtle levels over and above just the seat design. From the basic "average" driving position to the position of the gear lever and the steering wheel.  ALL of this makes the car the most comfortable car I've ever spend long journeys in.

See more geekery here:

http://www.car-seat-data.co.uk/ananlysis.htm

[fatgit]

I fractured my back 30 years ago in a horse riding accident and get quite bad back pain.

Our previous car was a Peugeot 207 and I found out excruciating on long journeys - after 6 hours from Devon to home I was bent double for days.

I drove our new Yeti for 5 hours solid a couple of weeks ago and had nothing more than minor discomfort and stiffness.

I think the combination of the seat quality and driving position make a huge difference.

We didn't opt for the lumbar support as I tested a Yeti with one in and found it hard and uncomfortable.

[kerms34]

The seat in the yeti is amongst the worst I have ever had ,,,,, manual I might add.

[Gizmo]

After having a tumour removed from my spine several years ago (and I still have a torn disc) I would never buy another car without electrically adjustable seats as the adjustment available is FAR superior. 

[The Plumber]

Used to get some intermittent lower back and right thigh pain with both our Yeti's. However I've just got rid of our Octy III after only six months, as that developed into the most uncomfortable car I've owned, which again gave me pain in the right thigh but also the hip and knee joint.

 

With the Octy I came to the conclusion that to some extent the seat side bolsters where to firm but the main issue was the offset to the right positioning of the foot pedals, which seemed to be the cause particularly of the joint pain. Just wonder if pedal offset was behind the minor issues with comfort in the Yeti :wonder:

 

Now in a Rapid Spaceback after trying out Volvos, BMW's, VW's, Toyota's, Kia's and Citroen's, as alternatives. The Rapid strangly has some very good seats if you go for the Sport option; well they work for me anyway and the foot pedals line up perfectly with the seat and steering wheel; even space to rest both feet in cruise.

 

 

TP

[kenfowler3966]

In my previous Yeti with the manual seat adjustment, there was only one position where it was reasonably comfortable. This was due to the angle of the seat squab which was fixed, putting pressure behind my knees.

 

In my new Yeti I added the electric seat and find that once you can alter the seat squab angle there are no real limits to where the rest of the seat has to be for comfort. The old car was OK when I found that one position, yet the new car is much more forgiving and I can play around with the other settings more for increased comfort.

[The Plumber]

In my previous Yeti with the manual seat adjustment, there was only one position where it was reasonably comfortable. This was due to the angle of the seat squab which was fixed, putting pressure behind my knees.

 

In my new Yeti I added the electric seat and find that once you can alter the seat squab angle there are no real limits to where the rest of the seat has to be for comfort. The old car was OK when I found that one position, yet the new car is much more forgiving and I can play around with the other settings more for increased comfort.

 

Just a shame that you have to go for the top trim levels to get the elec seat option, could push the price out of reach for some.

 

 

TP

[900000]

In my previous Yeti with the manual seat adjustment, there was only one position where it was reasonably comfortable. This was due to the angle of the seat squab which was fixed, putting pressure behind my knees.

 

In my new Yeti I added the electric seat and find that once you can alter the seat squab angle there are no real limits to where the rest of the seat has to be for comfort. The old car was OK when I found that one position, yet the new car is much more forgiving and I can play around with the other settings more for increased comfort.

 

And the best bit is after you fiddled and changed it, OR when the dealer invariably changed it when they had the car, you just press your preferred number again and voila your perfect position is back! I love it.

[rriggs]

when the dealer invariably changed it when they had the car

So true!!  Mine went in for a cambelt last week and the guy they sent to collect it was the world's tallest man - As a result (a week later) and I'm still fiddling with it to try and get it back where it was.  I had found a beautiful sweet spot but can I find it again...???

 

Cheers

 

Rog