How comfortable are seats with higher trim line?

[ryanf]

Hi all,

I'm a new golf owner. I traded my uneconomical '05 petrol avensis ( which I liked a lot) for a much more economical '11 golf 1.6 tdi blue motion with a basic trim line

It's a really good car and after two weeks its returning about 59mpg in mixed driving. My only issue is with the seat comfort. I'm six foot four and I really miss having a good lumbar support. The seat bottom also seems very flat and there is a metal bar running across it towards the back, right where the bottom of my spine rests on the seat. Also I find the seat back a bit narrow but that could be due to the lack of lumbar support.

The funny thing is I never noticed the seats when I was test driving the car before I bought it and its only apparent now that I use it every day.

I'm in the process of trying out different lumbar support cushions but I really don't like all that fiddling about each time I sit into the car. So I was wondering if the seats are much different in the higher trim lines and if it might be worth my while looking out for a set of second hand seats from a golf with a higher trim line.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Ryan.

[Keithuk]

Welcome to the forum Ryan.

Well if mine is anything to go by then no.

When I had mine in the dealers for its second service January 2012 I told them that the seat has become a bit uncomfortable as it appears to be sagging at the back. They said seats aren't covered under warranty. I said the material isn't covered but the seat base is. They checked and said the seat base needs replacing so they ordered one under warranty.

They supposedly fitted a new seat base and it was exactly the same as the old one. They said we can't do anything else as there is no modified seat base due to faults you need to contact VW customer services if your not happy. I emailed customer services with the details.

Contact Us : Volkswagen UK (http://www.volkswagen.co.uk/volkswagen-world/contact)

They said that they have contacted the dealer and they did renew the seat base and they is no updated seat base. If your not happy then you can take it to another dealer for assessment or you can go back to the dealer and try the seat on a new GTD to see the difference. I said there isn't really much point in doing that as all new GTD's come with leather seats as standard now so they are bound to be different.

I took it to another dealer and the technician sat in the seat and he said I can't feel anything wrong with the seat. Well these VW technicians must have weird backsides if they can't feel it. I booked it in for more investigation. They said they would order another seat base just in case the replacement was faulty. They checked it and the only thing they found wrong was the seat pivot bolt was loose which they tightened. I said just sitting on the seat you can't tell straight away you have drive it 1/2 mile down the road then you notice it more. They still say there is nothing wrong with the seat.

So I'm not happy with VW customer service.

Other than that I have no complaints about my GTD.


Your new to the forum so I will ask this once. How about showing your car spec in you signature as you will see alot of regular users do, it will save users asking everytime?

[ryanf]

Thanks Kiethuk.

It sounds like I'll have to put up with my seats. I don't think they are faulty or anything, just not as well supported and comfortable as I expected. I think the absence of an adjustable lumbar support is the main issue.

I might also take a trip to my local dealer and try out some different golf seats for comparison - problem is again, like you correctly stated, you only know how good a seat is after sitting in it for some time, a few mins is not enough!

Regarding my sig, I was looking around for how to set it, but I will do that.

/Ryan.

[Guest 2]

Welcome to VWAF :)

You can edit your sig here - VW AUDI Forum - Edit Signature (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/profile.php?do=editsignature)

[ryanf]

Thanks Chris.

[slowhand]

The GT spec has stiffer side bolsters and an adjustable lumbar support plus height adjustment which might help if you can get them cheap enough to make it worth changing, the material is also different so you would need a full set. Try them first.

[J400uk]

I would disagree with Keithuk and go with slowhand's suggestion.

The Golf S (and Bluemotion) do have very basic seats with cheap upholstery and no lumbar support. The 'Comfort Seats' found in the SE/ Match are much nicer and the sport seats in the GT raise the game further. Try a car with those fitted would be my suggestion. I'd imagine £200 - £300 would be enough to get a full set from eBay or a breakers yard.

[ryanf]

Thanks guys. I'll drop down to the local dealer to see what the higher spec seats are like.

I was looking on eBay and 200-300 pounds does seem to be the going rate. I'd consider that worth it if they were nice clean seats.


2011 VW Golf Mk6 1.6 TDi Bluemotion

[slowhand]

JUST REMEMBER THE AIR BAGS, do not remove the seats with the battery connected, and double check any you buy have not had the bags deployed, as it splits the side seam, some people repair this instead of fitting new covers.

[ryanf]

Yes -good point -replacement seats would be no good without working airbags - safety before comfort!

It seems that mk6 seats are hard to come by - does anyone know if mk5 seats are compatible?


2011 VW Golf Mk6 1.6 TDi Bluemotion

[J400uk]

I suspect they would probably fit but can't say for sure. Mk6 seats do tend to come up on eBay often enough but aren't always listed correctly. These look cheap - MK6 VW GOLF FULL CLOTH INTERIOR SEATS | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221278183248)

[ryanf]

Thanks J400uk.

I had been doing some searching on eBay but wasn't seeing any seats like this - then I realised its because they don't ship to ROI. I'm not having much better luck with breakers in Ireland either so far - but I'll keep checking...


2011 VW Golf Mk6 1.6 TDi Bluemotion