Elegance 1.8 TSI 4x4 5dr Estate

Car: good. Driver comfort: terrible.

I wanted a large, AWD estate to replace a LR Discovery 3 HSE auto. I also looked at the Subaru Outback, but went for an ex-demonstrator, manual, petrol-engined Elegance, as it was much nicer to drive than the diesels but still relatively more economical than the LR ever would be.

Despite a thorough test drive, it become apparent after a number of longer trips that I just couldn't get comfortable in this car, despite being average height and build. Neither could my passengers.

I found the driving environment very hard to settle into. The cabin is deceptively narrow and the hard, leather (Audi) seats, which have a narrow and short seat squab, unyielding bolsters, intrusive seat base, combined with a relatively cramped footwell and long stretch to the pedals meant it was leaving me in pain after only an hour at the wheel. Going back to a manual and lower set seating position after the Discovery probably didn't help.

This was exacerbated by a very tiring drive on the standard 18" wheels, which I even swapped to the unflattering but much more comfortable 16" wheels, but this didn't solve the driving comfort issue.

Despite giving time for the seats to break-in, there was no improvement. I raised it with a number of dealers, who claimed not to have had any similar complaints - apart from one who confided he had exactly the same problem and have chosen something else to drive as his car.

I realised I really needed to go back to an auto and something more comfortable and so the Superb was sold - and the huge depreciation on trade-in was the final straw, which actually came as quite a shock as I thought it was an otherwise dynamically good car that should hold its value much better than that.

I'm just at a loss that others haven't had the same experience, and that it got through design review and testing as it did, as it was bad enough for me to sell on after just a few months. But, it might just be me that doesn't fit it...

Either way, an expensive mistake and real disappointment.

22/6: Have now added a review of the Outback I am now driving.

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