Re: 2005 Corolla driving position comfort


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ernie Sty" <fake_email@xxxxxxxxx>
Newsgroups: alt.autos.toyota
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: 2005 Corolla driving position comfort


>
> "BDB" <noemail@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:slrndc0ei9.o54.noemail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> I'm thinking of getting a 2005 Corolla and was test driving a friends
>> 2005 CE and couldn't get a comfortable driving position. The seat
>> feels fine, but if you lean all the way back into it the steering
>> wheel feels too far away. You have to lean forward to reach it
>> comfortably. I mentioned it to my friend and she remarked that
>> she noticed it too and tended to drive leaning forward, but no longer
>> noticed it. Anyone else notice this? Is there an adjustment I'm
>> missing? I moved the back of the seat forward, but it felt wrong that
>> way too. I'm 6'1" with long legs & arms if that is a factor.
>
> You have to scoot the sear forward so your legs are crammed in with just
> enough room to work the pedals. Then when you adjust the seatback to a
> less severe angle, the steering wheel won't be as ridiculously far away.
> If you want to move the seat back until your legs are comfortable, you
> have to put the seatback into a nearly vertical position in order to reach
> the steering wheel, but then you will also have to incline your head to
> the side at a 90 degree angle or cut a hole in the roof.
>
> I really don't see how anyone over 5'8" can find a comfortable driving
> position in the 2003 or later Corolla, but a lot of people over 6" claim
> that they can!


Not all people of a given height have the same requirements for a
comfortable driving position. Both of my son's are close to 6 foot. However,
one has relatively short legs and a long body. The other has long legs and a
shorter body. They adjust the seats in a vehicle very differently. If you
see them sitting side by side in the car, you would swear than one was at
least two inches taller than the other. However, as soon as they stand side
by side they are about the same. I am sure that there are plenty of 6 foot
tall people with long bodies (and arms) and shorter legs that probably find
that the Corolla fits them just fine. On the other hand a 5'8" person with
relatively long legs (and short arms) might find it to be a problem.

One thing I learned the hard way is that your body dimensions are different
the first thing in the morning than they are at the end of the day. Years
ago I bought a Mazda 626 Five Door Sedan (4 door hatch back). When I test
drove the car it seemed to have adequate (but not plentiful) head room (and
it had a height adjustable seat). I bought the car. The next morning when I
got in the car, my head was literally pinned against the roof even with the
seat in the lowest position. As in your description of the Corolla, I could
not adjust the seat to a comfortable position. Eventually I had to rework
the seat base to drop the rear of the seat by 2 inches. After that I was
able to find a comfortable driving position, but I have never forgotten the
fact that I am significantly taller in the morning than at the end of the
day (you should see me fold up to get in my Thunderbird first thing in the
morning - it is not a pretty sight, although I am fine once in the car).
Ironically, I once owned an Austin-Healey Sprite (mine was a Mark III).
These were relatively small cars, even by today's standards. I never had any
problem with head or leg room in this car, and, despite having a fixed seat
back, there was no problem finding a comfortable driving position (with the
top up or down). In general, I've never had any problem with US, British, or
German cars as far as finding a decent driving position. In the past, I had
the opinion that Japanese designers didn't understand how to design cars for
people of European and African decent. Things have gotten better in the last
twenty years as the Japanese manufacturer's target the US market. Still when
I was test driving Tundras, I was surprised how little headroom the trucks
seem to have. Despite being much larger on the outside, the head room was
not as good as my Father's Ranger (the width however was far far better). I
never quite figured out why the head room seemed less than the Ranger (but
it was adequate).

Ed


.

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