Any body experiencing lower back pain, due to the octavia drivers seat? I have been experiencing lower back pain on long journeys since I got my elegance in May and have come to the conclusion that it is due to the offset driving position , an issue that I never had in the 150k miles that I had my vauxhall vectra.

Yes. I had the same thing. My car will have different seats and firmer suspension than yours though.

Is it a new car? Mine got better after about 3k miles when the seat softened up a bit. That said, seating comfort is not one of the Octavia's strong points.

No problems here, had mine since May and have done 22K in it with no comfort problems.

Not back pain, but left oblique muscle area feels stretched after even a fairly short trip.  Had it for a while before the Octy and went for DSG as the clutch was making it worse on previous Fabia.  

 

It seems to be a VAG thing - brake and clutch either side of a hypothetical centre line. How often do you have your feet on brake and clutch compared to throttle and clutch in real life driving?  Me - maybe 5% of the time so why offset the pedals so much?

 

Sit with your legs out straight in front and your right foot naturally falls to where the brake is.  Left foot sits naturally on the foot rest .... not that there's anywhere else for it to go with the tunnel sticking out so much on the driver's side (RHD).  Throttle pedal is an awkward stretch/twist of the leg.  

 

This is my main niggle on an otherwise very well thought out car.  I've even been lloking up mobility specialists to see if they can reposition the pedals (so far no joy)

I agree the driving position is a bit off centre, also that while quite nice to look at the seats in Elegance spec do leave a little something to be desired where lateral, thigh and lumbar support are concerned.

Im a little unfit at present and also due to a rather unhealthy occupation that sees me stuck behind a computer screen for several hours most days I suffer some posture issues and the seating in the Octavia sure as hell are not helping matters.

I think a vRS would be better in this regard...also for the best possible set up in either an Elegance or vRS spec car seat heating and electric seats (which also come with proper two way pneumatic lumbar rather than the rather inadequate manual affair that is standard fit) need to be fitted.

sadly this adds alot of additional cost to these models. Also annoyingly to have electric seats on the vRS you have to spec full leather and seat heating also.

I think that seat comfort is relative to your actual physical size, I'm over 6 foot tall and some cars I've found very comfortable to drive in for many hours, such as my last car a Mondeo Ghia X with leather sports style seats, which were very comfortable indeed. When that car was wiped out last year I was given as a courtesy car a Saab 93 estate car with leather seats, at first glance it looked very good, the car drove well enough but the seats were torture! The actual seat base was very short compared to the Mondeo seats, which made the inside of the Saab look a bit bigger than it would with bigger seats inside it. Maybe other people could drive that car and find it comfortable but not me, it gave no support to the back of my legs and long journeys in it were painful.

I picked up my Octavia Elegance in October last year and found the seats very comfortable straight away, maybe not quite as good as the Mondeo ones but hugely better than the Saab. Funny thing is apart from the Saab, the only other car that I've driven that had truly terrible seats was a BMW 520SE my father bought new in 2007. For a so called luxury car these seats were a sick joke, rock hard dark cloth which gave no support and made long journeys an ordeal, with the backs of your legs feeling bruised, one of the worst cars I've ever driven to be honest, it wasn't even that reliable either!

I think the only safe thing to do is insist on a really long test drive before buying a new car, at least that way you will know how comfortable it really is for you and not get any nasty surprises after buying it.

I think that seat comfort is relative to your actual physical size, I'm over 6 foot tall and some cars I've found very comfortable to drive in for many hours, such as my last car a Mondeo Ghia X with leather sports style seats, which were very comfortable indeed. 

+1 for Ford seats. The most comfortable seats I have ever sat in, in any car (and I've had many) were the Recaros in a Fiesta RS Turbo.  So good, in fact, I put a set in my 54 Beetle.

 

VRS seats are better for my build than others in the Octy range, to be honest.  I found the Elegance seats way to soft and lacking in lateral support (IMO).  At least  the VRS ones are a bit more firm, but agree that the manual lumbar adjustment isn't really enough to get properly comfortable. 

 

Worst seats..... TVR Tuscan.  Hard as hell, too wide at the hip and chest and pushed your shoulders forward.  'Orrid, they were!

I think Skoda UK are a bit naughty not allowing the electric 4 way lumbar to be spec'd as a standalone option...though guess this is prevalent across the VAG group.

im not remotely assed about electric memory seats on a Skoda Octavia (or v few cars for that matter) but decent and effective lumbar adjustment is v important and not something i'll be ignorant of for my next car.

....not that Im a big fan of Vauxhall Insignias but they all have good seats (particularly SRI spec cars) and a drivers four way electric lumbar as standard.

Edited 26 December, 201411 yr by pipsyp

Haven't driven tbe Insignia SRI but did drive an Astra SRI car last year and it had fairly grippy seats on it, comfortable enough but actually felt kind of over warm with the velour type fabric, still not as good as those leather Ghia X seats though!

I can honestly say that I find the Elegance seats very comfortable, though a wee bit sportier style seat would be nice, recently someone outwith the UK had pictures of an Elegance spec car he'd bought with optional sports seats which aren't available over here, which is a pity. Skoda seem to have an incredible variation in standard specs/ options for what is essentially the same car even inside Europe!

I'm not a fan of the vrs seats and have been suffering back pain for the first time in my life, for the last 6 months.  I'm not sure the car is the cause, but it isn't helping.

I find the Vrs seats very comfy and supportive. Driving position fine for me, but dsg box so only use 1 foot. My L&k mk 2 used to get uncomfy at times though, manual box.

I find the seats in my vRS comfortable and supporting had know back pain.Driving position is okay for me

I found the vrs seats to be more comfortable and softer than both the elegance and l&k iv tried,iv no issues with back pain from the seats after even a 5 hour drive with nearly 2hours stuck on the m6 due to holdups,the car itself can be a pain in the rs though,

Edited 27 December, 201411 yr by cortina63

I suffer with sporadic back pain, but have to say I had no problem in my old Mk2 Classic 1.6  manual (2005) & the 2013 1.6 SE DSG I'm driving now

I find them too short, I would really like the option to buy sport seats like in Insignia where you can change the length of the seat: http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200903/2009-opel-insignia-s-16_600x0w.jpg

I find them too short, I would really like the option to buy sport seats like in Insignia where you can change the length of the seat: http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200903/2009-opel-insignia-s-16_600x0w.jpg

Used to have those on an Astra...really comfortable even on long drives; you were able to get just the right thigh support.

thanks for the feedback, I have had the car since new in May, it has now done just over 9k ,but I have only just started to really notice the discomfort after a 5 hour drive to South wales. Might even have to look at changing if the discomfort doesn't get any better.

It would be rather expensive to change your car at this stage, I wonder if it is possible to change the front two seats to VRS type seats, if that is viable? Can't remember offhand whether there are airbags in seat sides though, that might complicate things but it has to be cheaper than trading your car in, unless they give you a really good deal!

It used to be a fairly common modification in the 1980's to change standard seats for Sports seats but cars were not as advanced then as they are now, seats often have rather more to them now but the actual physical removal and swapping around of a seat is not in itself that complex except for airbags/ heated seats and powered seats!

PS meant to say these Insignia sports seats look fantastic! The Astra SRI that I drive last year most definitely did not have seats like that in it, just velour close fitting type seats.

Wish I had something like those seats in my car!

I ordered my Elegance with (cloth) vRS seats. I find them very comfortable, and have done several 1000km trips without any problems at all. In fact, I would rate the seats as among the best I have ever had. 

 

FWIW, I am 5'11" and 165lbs. 

Get a Yeti, I have 2 prolapsed discs and find it super comfy

Get a Yeti, I have 2 prolapsed discs and find it super comfy

I had one as a loan and found it horrible. Each to their own though.

I had one as a loan and found it horrible. Each to their own though.

ah, there's nothing like a detailed and informative post.... And that was nothing like a detailed and informative post

I always find seat comfort a very personal choice, what I prefer and find comfortable others will not like. I had two Passats with sports seats which I found extremely comfortable, then another Passat but the sports seats had been withdrawn. I found the seats so uncomfortable I changed to a Passat CC with the sports seats and all was fine again. After the CC I had both an Octavia and Superb on loan for a week each before deciding on the Superb which has fully electric leather memory seats. My wife has a 2014 Octavia SE and I find the seats ok, but not as comfortable as the ones in my Superb, but that's just me.

A good long test drive is essential before deciding what to get next for me as I often cover two to three hundred miles a day, covering A roads, B roads, dual carriageways and motorways. One size does not fit all.

I always thought the full adjustable electric seat would be fantastic but when I sat in a Lauren and clement at the dealers I found I could not get comfortable, seemed the adjustable lumber support just seemed to make the backrest harder rather than giving the seat proper shape. The most comfortable seats I have ever had were in a mercedes c class, no adjustable lumber but the seat just seemed to have proper support just where I needed it.

Unfortunately we all different and no one seat will suit everyone's back, I have heard Volvo seats are very good. How many of us take a car for a 5 hour test drive to make sure it's ok before buying.