Claustrophobic Feel - Front Seats - Octavia III vs Combi

[umbral]

In the recent showroom i went, they only had Octavia III facelift (not combi).

 

The front seats are claustrophobic in the sense that the ceiling is literally collapsing on your head, and it seems the central console on the ceiling is interfering with your vision.

 

On the backseats in the normal Octavia 3, for tall people they can hit their head in the ceiling.

 

Now at a previous showroom i remember getting in an Octavia 3 Combi but only in the backseats. The problem is resolved there for tall people, but i didn't test the Combi in the front seats.

 

What is the height difference between the two versions of Octavia 3 ?

More specifically is the shape of the ceiling for the front seats also different in a sense that you see more ?

Or just 0.4 cm more makes no difference ?

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Edited 22 April, 2017 by umbral

[Auric Goldfinger]

MIght be a daft question but did you alter the height of the seat ?. The seat can be lowered/raised by the leaver on the right hand side of the seat.

 

( left side for LHD ) 

Edited 22 April, 2017 by Auric Goldfinger

[stanian]

When I test drove mine I felt it was a little claustrophobic too. I still bought the car, I think what gives the claustrophobic feeling is that the headlining is black, in nearly every other car I have owned it has been a sort of off white colour. I have not noticed any problems with vision due to the console on the ceiling so maybe the seat heights were too high when you tried.

[ahenners]

Auric's shout is possibly a good one. With the seats at the lowest they will go, I'd be surprised if this is an issue unless you're 7ft tall!

[umbral]

56 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

MIght be a daft question but did you alter the height of the seat ?. The seat can be lowered/raised by the leaver on the right hand side of the seat.

 

( left side for LHD ) 

 

Only the driver seat could be moved in height on that model.

Other cars have higher ceiling.

 

Example : 1,550 mm vs 1,461 mm ( 1,465 mm ) on Octavia 3 / combi = 8.9 cm or 8.5 cm more on other cars which is significant.

I am fine with 1,550 mm but find it claustrophobic on the Octavia 3.

 

33 minutes ago, stanian said:

When I test drove mine I felt it was a little claustrophobic too. I still bought the car, I think what gives the claustrophobic feeling is that the headlining is black, in nearly every other car I have owned it has been a sort of off white colour. I have not noticed any problems with vision due to the console on the ceiling so maybe the seat heights were too high when you tried.

 

Black ceiling can definitely make you think the space is smaller, but if you test a car that has 1,550 mm ceiling and come back to Octavia you have a clear answer that the Octavia ceiling is too low and makes you feel you are in a very tight space.

 

Only the driver seat could be moved, the other passenger felt claustrophobic, despite the car being big in length. (and the passenger had no medical conditions)

The longer a car is, the higher the ceiling must be, otherwise you feel you are in a tight tunnel.

 

Same principles apply to house building. (longer room = higher ceiling)

[umbral]

6 minutes ago, ahenners said:

Auric's shout is possibly a good one. With the seats at the lowest they will go, I'd be surprised if this is an issue unless you're 7ft tall!

 

I am 179 cm and my father is 188 cm.

 

In the front passenger seat i felt claustrophobic. The ceiling is simply too low. Maybe a 5+ cm taller ceiling could have fixed the problem of giving the impression of roominess. Now it makes me think i am being locked in a tight cage on a premium car.

Edited 22 April, 2017 by umbral

[stanian]

I am 191cm, and I do suffer with a fear of confined spaces, it is only the black roof lining that made me feel like this, since buying the car I have got used to it and do not feel now feel confined in any shape or form. Everyone has there own perseption of what is confined though.

[umbral]

52 minutes ago, stanian said:

I am 191cm, and I do suffer with a fear of confined spaces, it is only the black roof lining that made me feel like this, since buying the car I have got used to it and do not feel now feel confined in any shape or form. Everyone has there own perseption of what is confined though.

 

I want to add one more thing.

 

At the lowest level of the seat, my father said that instead of viewing the road through the window, his visual field was occupied with the ceiling, more than on other cars we tested.

 

This has nothing to do with fear but with the fact that other cars offer either a higher ceiling or better window positioning/view.

[pist0nbr0ke]

So:

 

Option 1:

 

 

Option 2:

 

 

Option 3:

 

Don't buy an Octavia.

 

HTH 

[bigman1976]

I'm 6'7" and don't find the headroom restrictive. Admittedly, I do have the seat set at its lowest setting, but there's a couple of inches of headroom spare. 

[Gerrycan]

You obviously suffer from the inherited SLLB syndrome. The Short-Leg, Long-Body syndrome is considered less serious than the SLLBLA (Short-Leg, Long-Body, Long-Arm) syndrome which can cause even more discomfort in some vehicles.

There are many variations including the LLSB (Long-Leg, Short-Body) and LLSBSA (Long-Leg, Short-Body, Short Arm).

It is well known that SLLBSA (Short-Leg, Long-Body, Short-Arm) variants have extreme difficulty in buying a round of drinks.

[Leftyboy]

I haVe a VRS and it has the panaramic sunroof which transforms the interior feel but admittedly at a substantial cost.

[toni8b]

22 hours ago, bigman1976 said:

I'm 6'7" and don't find the headroom restrictive. Admittedly, I do have the seat set at its lowest setting, but there's a couple of inches of headroom spare. 

The same here.

[gregoir]

Umbral seems to be having strange surreal dreams about Skodas. With ceilings collapsing on his head and needles emerging from the floor.

Too too weird for me. Send in Big Billy Goat Gruff.

Edited 23 April, 2017 by gregoir

[WayTooTall]

I'm 6'8" and the only time I find the roof of the car is collapsing on my head is when someone else has driven the car and raised the seat, and I forget to put it down again before getting back in.

[rothair]

29 minutes ago, WayTooTall said:

I'm 6'8" and the only time I find the roof of the car is collapsing on my head is when someone else has driven the car and raised the seat, and I forget to put it down again before getting back in.

Ditto... 6'6"...

 

Came to Combi from C4 Picasso will slide roof thingy. Hate small spaces.  But no issues. Don't even drive with seat in lowest position...

[EwenS]

12 hours ago, Leftyboy said:

I haVe a VRS and it has the panaramic sunroof which transforms the interior feel but admittedly at a substantial cost.

Agreed.  The greatest effect is in the rear seats.  Maybe the showroom combi had the panoramic sunroof.

 

On top of that it's "cool" or so says my daughter's friend.  First time anyone has described anything I've bought as cool!!

[umbral]

19 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

You obviously suffer from the inherited SLLB syndrome. The Short-Leg, Long-Body syndrome is considered less serious than the SLLBLA (Short-Leg, Long-Body, Long-Arm) syndrome which can cause even more discomfort in some vehicles.

There are many variations including the LLSB (Long-Leg, Short-Body) and LLSBSA (Long-Leg, Short-Body, Short Arm).

It is well known that SLLBSA (Short-Leg, Long-Body, Short-Arm) variants have extreme difficulty in buying a round of drinks.

 

I am perfectly balanced. My father the same. Nothing exaggerated about body proportions.

 

1 hour ago, gregoir said:

Umbral seems to be having strange surreal dreams about Skodas. With ceilings collapsing on his head and needles emerging from the floor.

Too too weird for me. Send in Big Billy Goat Gruff.

 

It is true, i can't make a photo with the needles but you can check on your own Octavia.

 

1 hour ago, WayTooTall said:

I'm 6'8" and the only time I find the roof of the car is collapsing on my head is when someone else has driven the car and raised the seat, and I forget to put it down again before getting back in.

 

The driver seat can be lowered but the passenger seat no.

So a passenger my size may very well feel claustrophobic at the fixed default height.

 

You all have to agree that cars have different heights with ceilings.

Some give you more room, others less.

[WayTooTall]

8 minutes ago, umbral said:

 

The driver seat can be lowered but the passenger seat no.

So a passenger my size may very well feel claustrophobic at the fixed default height.

 

 

 

On my VRS the passenger seat height can be adjusted as well.

[umbral]

8 minutes ago, WayTooTall said:

 

On my VRS the passenger seat height can be adjusted as well.

 

True. Not on normal models.

 

Does anyone know how much higher the ceiling is on Octavia 3 Combi for the front seats compared to standard version ?

Edited 23 April, 2017 by umbral

[pist0nbr0ke]

13 minutes ago, umbral said:

Does anyone know how much higher the ceiling is on Octavia 3 Combi for the front seats compared to standard version ?

 

Zero

 

Zilch 

 

Nothing

 

Nada 

 

They're the same.

[Ootohere]

Skoda were far sighted and they built Mk2 Fabia for those that would not be able to wear a top hat in Mk3 Octavia Face Lifts.

Available for not much money these days & you can then buy a open top sports car as well.

[pist0nbr0ke]

Remove the headlining and tape some bubblewrap to your head, you'll be fine.

[trundlenut]

2 hours ago, gregoir said:

Umbral seems to be having strange surreal dreams about Skodas. With ceilings collapsing on his head and needles emerging from the floor.

Too too weird for me. Send in Big Billy Goat Gruff.

Hang on a minute! Could it be Umbral has confused a Skoda and a crocodile. 

[Rodge]

23 hours ago, umbral said:

True. Not on normal models.

In the UK all models except the S get height adjustable passenger seats.