L&K Superb is an Awesome Car, but the Driver's Seat is Awful

[DB72]

18 hours ago, IJWS15 said:

My advice would be to get the lower back problem properly sorted - See a physio, not a chiropractor.  Chiropractors business depends on repeat visits and the one I saw hadn't a clue despite being shown the MRI diagnosis of a cervical spine issue.

 

I don't want to hijack the original post but for balance, I want to say that chiropractors and physios obviously vary (just like any other profession) because when I have had problems with my back in the past I have visited my GP, 2 x Physiotherapist and 2 x Chiropractor.  By far the least help was the GP and by far the biggest help was one of the Chiropractors.  After a single visit to the Chiropractor I walked out of there like a totally different person compared to when I shuffled in.  That was about 15 years ago and it's still the best £50 I have ever spent.  In my experience a physio will assess you and give minimal hands on treatment followed by a course of exercises, whereas a Chiropractor will assess you and give significant hands on treatment followed by a course of exercises.

[Woodside99]

3 hours ago, DB72 said:

 

I don't want to hijack the original post but for balance, I want to say that chiropractors and physios obviously vary (just like any other profession) because when I have had problems with my back in the past I have visited my GP, 2 x Physiotherapist and 2 x Chiropractor.  By far the least help was the GP and by far the biggest help was one of the Chiropractors.  After a single visit to the Chiropractor I walked out of there like a totally different person compared to when I shuffled in.  That was about 15 years ago and it's still the best £50 I have ever spent.  In my experience a physio will assess you and give minimal hands on treatment followed by a course of exercises, whereas a Chiropractor will assess you and give significant hands on treatment followed by a course of exercises.

 

 

Totally agree - good and bad physios and chiropractors  -  physios are NHS trained and registered and generally help you to manage/recover conditions with physical movement, whereas Chiropractors are not NHS trained, and tend to manipulate joints as first line of treatment.  Pays your money etc !!

[RoyF]

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

[Woodside99]

Excellent - glad you found comfort - for me its my older 2005 saab 9-5.

 

how was the S90 ?  i dont like the New Volvo  digital display screen thingymyjig  for everything.

 

Never been a  BMW fan due to RWD probs many years ago.

 

 

 

[RoyF]

14 hours ago, Woodside99 said:

Excellent - glad you found comfort - for me its my older 2005 saab 9-5.

 

how was the S90 ?  i dont like the New Volvo  digital display screen thingymyjig  for everything.

 

Never been a  BMW fan due to RWD probs many years ago.

 

 

 

 

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.

[Woodside99]

Test drive a new 250bhp  S60 T5 - just doesnt have the ummphh  and alot of turbo lag - very disappointed - also the touch screen to control everything is just not my cup of tea - especially when its sunny and you cant see a thing !!

[DB72]

On 11/12/2020 at 19:56, RoyF said:

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

 

Roy.... After a few months of driving the BMW, can I ask, are you still finding it as comfortable ?  I'm now considering trying out a 5 series when this lockdown ends.

[cheezemonkhai]

On 26/11/2020 at 12:44, RoyF said:

 

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.

On the Jag front which of the 4 seat versions are you talking about?

 

The manual, the cheaper 10 or 14 way or the pricy 18way adjustable?

 

I find Skoda seats more generally have no give, but for me the superb seat side bolsters gave me a painful/dead leg after about 10-20 miles . Couldn’t work out what it was exactly but I would get is was the seat structure under the padding.

[RoyF]

On 09/03/2021 at 09:37, DB72 said:

 

Roy.... After a few months of driving the BMW, can I ask, are you still finding it as comfortable ?  I'm now considering trying out a 5 series when this lockdown ends.

 

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.

 

[RoyF]

1 hour ago, cheezemonkhai said:

On the Jag front which of the 4 seat versions are you talking about?

 

The manual, the cheaper 10 or 14 way or the pricy 18way adjustable?

 

I find Skoda seats more generally have no give, but for me the superb seat side bolsters gave me a painful/dead leg after about 10-20 miles . Couldn’t work out what it was exactly but I would get is was the seat structure under the padding.

 

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. 

 

 

 

 

[CosmoJ]

Interesting stuff particularly as I am about to view Superb's having set my heart on one. I was interested to read references to old cars and flat, comfortable seats. At 68 I have not experienced back ache driving long distances, e.g. Gibraltar to Bordeaux until recently. It started with a Ford Focus. Obscene back ache after less than a hour. My own car, a 1982 123 series Mercedes 230CE has a proper old time almost horizontal seat squab and it's so comfortable causing no pain however far you drive. Recently we were given a big, expensive flash BMW to do the Gib. Bordeaux run and it was also excruciating. What happened to seat design? To get to the point, is it nt possible to raise the rear of the Superb's seat using a spacer tube and longer bolt or is the arrangement to complicated (contemporary) to remove the bolts, slacken the front ones and raise the back end? Alternatively, surely there is an alternative seat subject to the all singing all dancing electrical controls? At 68 I can still change the interior mirror to darker by reaching forward (when I want to), operate the windscreen wipers (when I want them), apply the brakes (I'm thinking of all today's Mercs that I have driven), turn on the lights ................. you get my drift.

[Nick_H]

On 11/03/2021 at 10:40, RoyF said:

 

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.

 

 

'Reitterated how harsh and ergonomically poor the Superb seats are.' To you maybe ...

[numskull]

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 September, 2021 by numskull

[SkudMissile21]

11 hours ago, Nick_H said:

 

'Reitterated how harsh and ergonomically poor the Superb seats are.' To you maybe ...

Yeah I find them very comfortable even after a 5 hour drive 😉

[RoyF]

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

[CosmoJ]

Bentley seats are great to but I can't afford a Bentley while I wouldn't want a BMW be it a series 5 or otherwise.

 

Bought a Superb today.

[RoyF]

46 minutes ago, CosmoJ said:

Bentley seats are great to but I can't afford a Bentley while I wouldn't want a BMW be it a series 5 or otherwise.

 

Bought a Superb today.

 

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

[freelunch]

After four years, I was starting to get uncomfortable in my seat. I readjusted the lumbar support and I'm back to liking the seat again. Also, as I'm the only driver, I keep slight modifications set on each of the three buttons so I can make changes mid-trip. Works for me...

[numskull]

5 hours ago, RoyF said:

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.

Yeah, I have been happy with all the cars I’ve owned. The SII Superb seats were fine until I had my lower back injury and the discomfort of the seat got worse and worse, especially since it was a manual. And you won’t necessarily find the seating comfortable, even when you’ve driven for 1/2 day in my experience. It can take weeks to find the best driving position and that may not last. If you have an injury during ownership, as in my case, that can also change. But it’s amazing how many people “enjoy” the worst possible seating position! 

[CosmoJ]

Roy F, Amen. Here's hoping.

[Nick_H]

11 hours ago, numskull said:

 But it’s amazing how many people “enjoy” the worst possible seating position! 

 

Can you clarify ?

[CosmoJ]

Not sure that I get, "Can you clarify,"  but I found the seat highly adjustable. If I've f'd up it's £6,000 down the swanny. 

[numskull]

Nick H/CosmoJ,

 

Ok…

 

Have you ever noticed how many people drive with the steering wheel 20cm from their chest, their arms splayed-out like a spatchcock chicken or with their forearms actually resting flat on the wheel and their legs at a 90 degree angle beside their elbows? 

Or the ones who are so far back, their arms and legs are straight-out and rigid, holding the wheel like they’re on a white knuckle ride.
And then there are those who have their feet off the floor when using the pedals because their seat is too high or those with the seat so low, they look through the wheel to the road ahead? 
When you ask them why they drive in these contortionist positions they say, well it’s the the way I’ve always done it, it’s the most comfortable for me, or I was taught to sit / hold the wheel / lift my legs like that (WTF…Seriously???). And then you ask them if they get tired quickly, or get pains in their arms, legs or bottom and yep, they all do.