I've recently changed an aged Polo for a much newer Ford Fusion. Things we like include a cavernous boot, an elevated driving position and excellent handling. It's also big enough to get everyone seated without too much rear seat elbow jostling and has a low insurance group: ideal for when the eldest of the offspring is allowed to learn to drive, perish the thought.
But here's the rub. The driver's seat is unbelievably hard and uncomfortable. We've tried seat cushions and checked the tyre pressures and this has helped a little but after ten miles or so the pain starts to creep into the lower back and there it remains until the next time the car is used. The cumulative effect of this is decidedly unpleasant.
On the test drive it was deliberately pointed down a particularly bumpy road and it seemed absolutely fine - good, infact. Living with it day to day is a different matter, excellent handling comes at a price it seems. It's all the worse because the other car we have is a Mazda Premacy. This may not handle anywhere near as well but driving it is like sliding your feet into comfortable old slippers.
Does anyone have any advice on how to increase the ride comfort before this car inflicts any more damage on our spines?
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A decision has been made, and it's likely to be an expensive one. Having had the car for about three weeks and completed hardly any mileage, it has to go.
So, any recommendations please? The car should be about Fusion sized and extremely comfortable. All other factors are negotiable!
A C3 has been suggested (by the original dealer). I'm cautious of reliability issues however anything is better than the current situation! Does anyone have any experience of these?
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It's odd, isn't it? My sister and brother-in-law are on their second Fusion, which they find convenient and comfortable.
I have the use of a 2004 C3 1.4 HDI, which I use as a runabout or when it's raining so I don't get the old Prelude dirty. ;-)
The seats are a bit upright but are perfectly comfortable - we both have dodgy backs and as well as day-to-day use we've done 500 miles with just one brief stop and not had any back problems at all. And we can both switch from the low but extremely comfortable Prelude to the upright C3 and back without any trouble, too.
Years ago I switched for half an hour from my Alfa Sportwagon to a Cavalier and was practically crippled for three weeks. I guess it was because I had become used to the Quasimodo driving position of the Alfa...
I think the C3 is an ugly beast but it is very practical and extremely (to me) economical at 60+ mpg. It's actually quite enjoyable to drive although it leans a bit if you try to corner it hard. It doesn't (so far!) seem to have any reliability issues - at 56,000 kilometres - even though it was once mis-fuelled (not by me!).
Hope this helps.
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If you really need the boot space, but in a small car, then the Fabia Estate is a good bet... if you think the Fusion's boot is cavernous then you're in for a pleasent surprise when you look in the Fabia's as its bigger!
Just make sure you get "Comfort" seats, they are better than the ordinary ones...
Edited by b308 on 15/04/2009 at 13:23
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We have had a C3 from new. Awful car. Not as economical as the Clio it replaced even though it was supposed to be much better. The interior plastics are hard. We had the air bag warning come on intermittently, was found to be a faulty ECU and took many months for the factory to even send the part. All that time the air bags were deactivated due to the fault. The air con has now stopped working just in time for the hot weather!
The car is only just over four years old and we can't wait to change it.
Edited by andyfr on 15/04/2009 at 13:39
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Thanks Mike
It's completely ridiculous that a car other people find comfortable (and is even a factor in its preference) seems to have left both of us in need of traction.
Comfort, I suppose, is always going to be subjective. I ran a diesel Cavalier for about five years and never had a problem, that was a few years ago though.
It's useful to know that at least one person finds a C3 acceptable.
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one lesson from this tale: a potential buyer needs at least 24-48 hours testing a car before making a decision. A few years back I went into Ford main dealer, tried to book a decent length test drive in a Focus, was told 20 mins accompanied was all I could have - and if I wanted longer I could hire the car, which cost would be reimbursed if I went ahead and bought. Would never consider a Ford again. You need to "live" with a car to check so many factors that effect enjoyment of the vehicle - seats being uppermost!
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Oh, I forgot to say - the curved windscreen produces a weird distortion each side at the top, just where you look through if you are first in the queue at French traffic lights.
The one I drive doesn't have aircon but all the other electronic gizmos are still working...;-)
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French traffic lights have repeaters on the uprights which are easy to see if you're at the front of the queue.
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Do you think that it may be isolated to your particular car ? Is it worth borrowing another of similar spec to double check that it's not a quality issue ?
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It's a good idea PU. Ours is a Fusion 1 which means that it's a very low spec indeed. As it's a second car, i.e. it's working life is destined to be trips of 5 miles or less this wasn't an issue. I suspect that finding a comparable car could be difficult but it's worth a try before we commit to losing money.
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Would it be more cost effective to swap the seats for a higher spec pair ?
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>French traffic lights have repeaters on the uprights which are easy to see if you're at the front of the queue<
Well, in fact, they aren't always as easy to see from the front of the queue as you might think. And if you have the misfortune to be sitting on the left, ie in a French car, it is often even more difficult - believe it or not. Hence having to look through the distorted far end of the screen on a C3.
The French have never grasped the fact that it would be better to put the traffic lights on the far side of the junction, making them easily visible, then they wouldn't need repeaters at all. It is a major problem at French traffic light-controlled junctions that you have to have your eyes right to watch the lights change - rather than straight ahead - meaning you don't see the pedestrian who has walked into the road from the left.
But as Napoleon didn't mention it in his 'Code Civile' it will never happen.
I read earlier today that the road death toll in the Paris area is up 37.2 per cent, year on year.
Signed: someone who has now completed more than 90,000 miles on French roads, still sitting - at different times - on both sides of the car. :-)
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after ten miles or so the pain starts to creep into the lower back
I have just the same problem in my Merc C Class - something I've never experienced before in many years of driving typical rep-mobiles.
Solution in the Merc is a rolled up towel at the base of my spine. Turns out C Class is noted for this, but colleagues who travel with me are amazed.
One other thing that's made quite a difference to the ride of the car generally is that it cam originally with Bridgestone Turanza ER30 tyres - 16" and reasonable profile, nothing too dramatic. Now Bridgestones are noted for stiff sidewalls and, even with the pressures on minumum, it was like driving on iron rings rather than rubber tyres.
I changed first the rears and then the fronts to Michelin Primacy HP's. Changing the rears was better, but not much. What amazed me was how much better the whole car felt once the fronts had been changed.
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Hmm. We're currently limited to journeys of 1 mile or less and have tried rolled up towels, cushions and commercial products. I've not checked the tyre brand though.
At least we have an option with the car. If it had been a company car I'd have been handing in my resignation...
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So, the outcome is this...
We have exchanged the Fusion for a Meriva. In doing so we've had to sacrifice on age and mileage but the Meriva offers much better lumbar support which means that not only will it be driveable but I might also be able to find relief from the pains currently coursing from my hip to my ankle!
The C3 was considered but there are just too many disgruntled owners. As per Pugly's suggestion (forgive the abbreviation PU) I looked at replacing the seats but it was an expensive venture that may not have resolved the problem.
We shall now roll around corners rather than stick to them but at least our backs will recover.
The whole experience raises some interesting points:
How do so many (elderly!) people manage to drive Fusions?
How long should you insist on test driving a car before you know that you can live with it?
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As per Pugly's suggestion (forgive the abbreviation PU)
Eh? Abbreviating the name by a few letters and then typing words to explain.... am I missing something?
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I thought that as well - !
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Having found a conclusion to the back ache issue I was in a playful mood but then relented, not wishing to cause offence. The assonance within the name appeals to me.
Abbreviation is not always about saving a few letters.
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I don't think any offence was caused to Pugugly. Glad you got it sorted in terms of comfort.
This is why an extended test drive is desirable. The Golf GTi I had and like in 1999 my future wife found uncomfortable (Recaro seats). The replacement Passat was comfortable. Then that's replacement (a Mondeo Ghia) never was comfortable - you felt you sat on the seats not in.
Current car is a Mazda6 Sport and the seats are comfortable to both of us. But before committing I got a 48 hour test drive and did a few hundred miles on a test drive. Could sounds pointless but did motorway, A road, B road, night, no street lights at all (Xenon lights good) etc.
If only more were able to test drive properly... having said that I had a Mondeo Ghia TDCi on 48 hour test drive and didn't realise it was not so comfortable.
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So subjective this isn't it ? Conversely, I find Mondeos in particular, but Fords in general among the most comfortable cars I've had. I had a serious back injury many years ago. (Got off my horse without its permission while it was jumping a farm gate at a gallop) Many cars which others find comfortable have me in kinks while my Mondeo remains comfortable even on trans-european journeys.
It must be very difficult for car manufacturers to decide what will suit the majority as we must all be slightly different I suppose.
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True, Humph.
The Mondeo I had a few years ago was a similar case. I bought it at 80K miles and the driver's seat was nicely bedded in! Conversely the passenger seat had seen hardly any wear and nobody found it comfortable.
I seem to recall that under your care your Mondeo has completed a vast mileage; the driver's seat must by now be perfectly formed to your, erm, shape. You must, by now, have achieved a pretty perfect fusion with your vehicle.
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"Man and machine in perfect harmony" springs to mind......
;-)
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I've just had to track down this phrase. I thought that it was originally Peugeot's tagline but (according to this site) it was used to advertise Sierras. It could never have been used to describe my relationship with my Mondeo!
Hmm. Thread creep.
I suspect the opportunity for long term test driving a car exists solely at the top end of the market. Network Q's approach (and others!) of a 30 day exchange pledge seems to be sensible but I have no experience of how it works in practice.
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I ran a company Focus mk1 and the only thing I truly disliked about it were its seats. I always felt perched on them rather than sitting in them, and the way the seat squab tilted you forward when you raised its height was particularly irritating. By contrast, the year older Mondeo mk2 we had was supremely comfortable.
I have heard a lot of people criticise Ford seats. It's a shame because they seem to go to a lot of effort to get their driving position and ergonomics right.
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Must be to do with the shape and size of one's....um....seat, I guess.....
I truly must be "Mondeo Man" !
Which is a shame really, I had hoped to be more interesting than that. Would have been far more exciting to be "Pagani Zonda Man".... Dearer though. Ho hum....
;-)
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Humph - you need to invent something more sophisticated than a rolled-up towel to keep Bill Payer comfortable, and call it the Backbridge.... :)
Interesting thread this - it just shows how subjective comfort is. Sometimes a seat can be good for your posture but you don't find it comfortable; sometimes it's the other way round. I'm lucky being only 5' 7" and can get comfortable in most cars - but I wouldn't buy a car (at least not one to do long journeys in) that didn't have adjustable lumbar support. It's in the small of the back where the seat needs to be just right.
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Well I had a Fusion 2 as my company car and I have to say I found it quite ok for ride comfrort, it is strange how the meat/poison effect can creep into car seats.
Was a butt ugly car but it certainly was practical, I remember taking it to the top of Tunstall Hill on bonfire night and it coped with the lack of road very well.
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I've heard criticism of Focus seats before - but I suspect it may be to do with the actual model of Focus. Could it be that the problems arise with the more basic models? I find my wife's MkI facelift 'Chic' to be fine on a long run - but the seats are the tarted-up leather ones. I believe the Chic is based on the Zetec, and so the suspension is on the 'firm' side.
I've suffered with the dreaded bad-back at various stages throughout my life but, I have to say, the old Mk2 Mondeo (Ghia) hasn't been too bad. I concur with the view that a 20 minute test drive can in no way allow you to assess comfort. What's needed is more like 4hours/200 miles - at a time when your back is going through one of its 'dodgy' phases.
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