Model s for short people

[Daniel.me___]

Hello everybody, I’m in the market for a cpo Model s and I am reasonably short (5’ 5”). How has everybody’s experience been for short drivers.

-Daniel

 

[jelloslug]

My wife is 5' 0" and has no issues driving my Model S.

 

[Austindude]

I'm 5'5" (or at least I used to be in my youth, may have shrunk since then) and I love the fit and feel of this car. Hope that helps.

 

[Az_Rael]

5'2" here. The seatbelt height doesn't adjust on the S. I had to buy a pad for mine to keep it from irritating my neck.

Otherwise it was hard to get the steering wheel far enough away to reach the pedals comfortably and keep a safe airbag clearance distance. This will depend on how much of your height is in your torso vs legs.

 

[jelloslug]

My wife raises the seat up and forward and then moves the wheel all the way in. With that method, she can get the wheel far enough away and still have the seat belt not cut into her neck.

 

[Chaserr]

My wife is much shorter than 5' 5" and has no trouble in the S. I used to after she'd been driving, but easy entry has fixed that.

 

[Petra]

My wife is 5'1" and she considers our S, thanks to how adjustable the driving position is, to be the best fit she's ever driven. That said, seats are a large factor here and Tesla has changed them several times... as an example, my wife can't stand the next gen seats (the ones that were made by Recaro and discontinued) because they push her shoulders forward, but she's fine with the Gen. 1.5 seats, finds the Gen. 1 seats tolerable, and the current seats are okay too.

 

[LED_FT]

I am 5’2” and have no problems in my S (March 2017). The seat adjusts up and forward so that I am able to have a good view and control even with the large size of the car.

 

[eyedrop]

I’m 5’2” male and I’m completely comfortable in the car. The touch screen is slightly far away but the seat has plenty of adjustment, and I personally don’t get irritated by the seatbelt. It might be slightly on the high side but not really bothersome for me...

 

[Daniel.me___]

I have to say that I tried a model 3 and it’s the best car for short drivers. With out the binocular in front of you visibility is great. The sloping hood also helps.

 

[Cxmqq]

I am 5’4” or 163,5 cm.
I have big problem on my upper back/neck/shoulder/upper arm area.
My feet are long enough for pedals. No problem.
But the seat too low. Then I raise the seat all the way up. Then I have to raise the driving wheel up also because otherwise I am not able to see the speedometer! Now problem is that I have to raise my arms at almost my shoulder level to hold at 3,9 o’clock positions on the wheel. By time ( more than 30 min) my shoulder / arm area gets a lot of tension and pain. The wheel is too high. I am hanging on it. Cannt lower it because that will block the speedometer.
I had a solution: put a pillow on the seat to raise me up for 2/3cm. Now everything looks different especially the view to the road. Everything is better but I cannt use the expensive original seat without a pillow on it. Tesla seat sux.

 

[Chaserr]

Try rotating t he seat forward so the back is higher and the front is low? Or vice versa? Rather than just raising the whole thing up. Might help, because you're just looking for the same level that that pillow is raising you up to and you know it will work, just have to find the setting.

 

[Cxmqq]

Try rotating t he seat forward so the back is higher and the front is low? Or vice versa? Rather than just raising the whole thing up. Might help, because you're just looking for the same level that that pillow is raising you up to and you know it will work, just have to find the setting.

Thank you for the tip, but the wheel is also a problem together with the seat. I made a graph for this. One is with a pillow under the seat to raise me up for 2/3 cm. I have to raise my arms extra higher to reach the wheel at 3,9 o’clock. This gives tension and pain. If I don’t raise it up, I am not able to see speedometer.
I adjusted the seats like this:
1. Push the wheel all the way to the dashboard to get me as close to the break and gas pedal as possible(shorter leg)
2. Raise up the whole seat to highest position.
3. Tilt the seat so that my foot can be at correct position. Seat angle shall make me as comfortable as possible. (Tried all angles)
4. Slightly adjust the lumbar to fit the lower back area.
5. Adjust wheel level and angle, taking care of the distance to the wheel because of airbag on wheel.

This seems suits me the best but still could not solve the problem. But with a pillow, everything is all right. So Does Tesla suggest me to buy a pillow for all the years I own it?

I am 163.5cm to be pricise. I believe a lot of women are shorter than me because I am “big” in Asia and “small to middle” in Europe., small in north Europe, not extra small.

 

[IchDochNicht]

I am 5'4" and have tried all kinds of seating positions. But the shoulder belt still cuts into my neck. It's maddening, particularly given the price class of the Model S!

I tried a variety of remedies: Seat belt lock extenders and clips. I settled for some cheap, tacky plastic clips that clip the shoulder belt to the lap belt and make it go upwards at a steeper angle. However, I'm constantly worried what this would do in case of an accident - essentially, I have introduced slack to the belt that the tensioner needs to overcome in an impact.

If I could change one thing about my car, this would be it. Did I say it's maddening???

Model X doesn't have this issue; on the Model 3, the range of adjustment is not enough.

 

[Tic-tac-toe]

I am 4’11” and the driver’s seat accommodates me perfectly on the MSP100D. Very Comfortable and zero complaints.

 

[SMAlset]

Kind of a tricky question because while height is on measure for seating it doesn’t take into account leg length or short or long waisted people. Probably why you are seeing some differing answers among people of similar heights. Other factors like how high up you position your seat will affect comfort as well.

I’m in the 5’5” range and love driving our Model S and find the seats of our 2017 MS just fine. Supportive. And while different also find our Model 3 seats comfortable.

 

[Vic_F]

I am 4’11” and the driver’s seat accommodates me perfectly on the MSP100D. Very Comfortable and zero complaints.

My wife is very bothered by the seat belt on the p[passenger side. How do you adjust the seat to be comfortable and is it also okay in the passenger seat?