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Consumer Reports Talking Cars
- Thread starter rainforest
- Start date
Dan Detweiler
Active Member
Not an owner...yet, but I have sat in the back of a Model 3. At 6'2" I was a bit disappointed with the rear seat position and comfort. While there is tons of head room your knees are very high and there is very little foot room which gave me a sense of confinement. With that said, the front seat is, hands down, the most comfortable I have experienced.
Like all things auto related, seat comfort for rear passengers is a compromise. They chose superior headroom at the cost of compromised knee and thigh position. 6 of one...half a dozen of the other.
Just my opinion of course.
Dan
Msjulie
Active Member
I've had one family member, a taller one, make that complaint about rear seats. Other passengers (shorter folk) have had no issue. It will be a personal thing I''m thinking, each rider with their own requirements
Foxhound199
Member
I sat in the showroom backseat for a while and found it quite comfortable. I'm 6'1", and headroom in the back is my biggest concern. There are several inches of clearance in the 3. My head rests against the headliner any time I've been unfortunate enough to ride in the back of my mazda3, so I'll take raised knees any day. It didn't bother me. I don't even know what "thigh support" is, but I found the seats very comfortable. It's harder to slide your feet under the seat in front of you than in most cars I've sat in. I would rank the back seat slightly more comfortable than the A4 I rented a few weeks ago, with a big advantage being the jaw-dropping openness of the glass roof. If I had one major quibble, it's that the showroom model appeared to be developing pretty deep creases in the material, and this was after less than two weeks on the showroom floor.
T34ME
Active Member
I am a bit less than 6 feet tall. I found the lack of thigh support in the rear seat to be noticeable under some conditions. What I did notice is that with the front seat halfway back, there is a lot of leg room in the rear seat and no need to put my size 12's under the seat in front. So, with the front seat all the way back and your knees in the air, there is some lack of thigh support. With the front seat halfway back and your knees in a relaxed, extended position, there is thigh support.
Is rear seat height a deal breaker? NO! 99% of the time on the road, no one sits in the backseat of my car. My 5'-2" SIL will find the backseat VERY comfortable and my other 4'-10" SIL will find the backseat too high.
Is rear seat height a deal breaker? NO! 99% of the time on the road, no one sits in the backseat of my car. My 5'-2" SIL will find the backseat VERY comfortable and my other 4'-10" SIL will find the backseat too high.
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cellogig
Model X..Model 3
Here is a picture for the Barbie Jeep comment that Mr. Fisher made during the video.
2004...I knew at some point in the near future I was going to be street legal with an electric car.
Not an owner (yet). But I have spent a fair amount of time testing my neighbor's car ... the rear seat is going to be a challenge.
I'm 6'1 and this is how I was sitting ... picture an "N"
There is considerable road noise as well (much more than my BMW 530).
cellogig
Model X..Model 3
In our model x, 6 seat configuration. We have captain chairs and fold down rear seats. I am 5’ 10” and as you can see my knees come up in the very back row.
Possibly just a thought, it’s not like riding in a Maybach or a Lexus LS in the back seat. Or even in the middle seat of a Highlander SUV.
Also they wanted enough cargo space when the seats are flipped down. Kids may ride in the back seat more often then your car pool friends that are of 6 feet tall.
Helpful to see all the feedback on the backseat.
Sounds like a tradeoff Tesla made between headroom, and seat height/leg positioning, some will like and some wont- would be nice if CR clarified this is a tradeoff and not the big miss they presented it as in the video.
Something in the design of one of the other EVs on the way got me thinking Tesla could well turn this tradeoff into a win-win... the battery pack is about 4-5 inches thick, and the cells themselves about 2.75 inches tall. What if the pack were redesigned not to have battery cells in the area where the rear passengers feet will rest, and instead double stack cells in either the frunk or trunk areas. This would seem to pick up at least 2.75 inches (though I would not think the full 4-5 inches, as wiring and the pack casing would still seem to be needed in this battery cell free area). Not a near term solution, but, might be a nice improvement not too far down the line.
Sounds like a tradeoff Tesla made between headroom, and seat height/leg positioning, some will like and some wont- would be nice if CR clarified this is a tradeoff and not the big miss they presented it as in the video.
Something in the design of one of the other EVs on the way got me thinking Tesla could well turn this tradeoff into a win-win... the battery pack is about 4-5 inches thick, and the cells themselves about 2.75 inches tall. What if the pack were redesigned not to have battery cells in the area where the rear passengers feet will rest, and instead double stack cells in either the frunk or trunk areas. This would seem to pick up at least 2.75 inches (though I would not think the full 4-5 inches, as wiring and the pack casing would still seem to be needed in this battery cell free area). Not a near term solution, but, might be a nice improvement not too far down the line.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
What I want to know is, what do you have against shoes?
Or are you this guy (secretly)?
What I want to know is, what do you have against shoes?
Or are you this guy (secretly)?
Hey, the guy spent all his money on the X and doesn't have anything left for shoes!
cellogig
Model X..Model 3
What I want to know is, what do you have against shoes?
Or are you this guy (secretly)?
I showed your reply’s to my wife before she left to see Paula Poundstone. She laughed out loud...no giggles. I then told her, “you laughed more just now then you will at her show”
RobStark
Well-Known Member
cellogig
Model X..Model 3
The floor mounted battery takes up space where a footwell would normally be. That's the compromise of having a floor-mounted battery. Tesla partially mitigated it with a glass roof, which is slimmer than having a steel roof and headliner by an inch or so.
The Model S with a steel roof had the least second-row headroom (35.3") of any five-passenger car at the time because of the battery and coupe-like roofline.
The Model S with a steel roof had the least second-row headroom (35.3") of any five-passenger car at the time because of the battery and coupe-like roofline.
voip-ninja
Give me some sugar baby
RyanS
Ka-chow
Tesla is not big on passenger comfort. My mother in law was bitterly complaining about MS’ back seat during our 7 hour trip from LA to SF. “You paid how much for this $%#@ car?”
