Any tips to improve ride quality?

lcc86

Thanks all. I ordered a cushion from amazon so we'll see what it does when it arrives. In the meantime I took a sofa cushion and put it there today, it definitely helped my position and overall comfort but the downside is my knees now hit the steering wheel and I can't adjust it to go any higher as its already at its highest point! The curse of being tall in a small car!

I need to have a real think as from my very unscientific test a cushion may not solve the issue if it means I can't drive properly    sadly my back issue is permanent so looks like I'll have to be sensible and look at alternatives long-term. Lots and lots of research to be done in the meantime! I got into lots of debt over a bad car purchase many many years ago and threw good money after bad so it always makes me hesitant.

Edit - first step is to borrow the pool car at work with the higher seating position for my next long journey, after all if that makes no difference then there's no point spending a fortune on a different car!

Lorian

If the seat will move further back then try it far enough back that you only have the slightest of bend in your clutch leg when the clutch is fully depressed and then put your seat back more fully upright so that you can properly reach the wheel. This should lower your knees. There are some good videos on YouTube on how to adjust seats to try to get comfortable.

If it has lumbar cushion try extending it.

Not sure what issues you are having with your back but there are all sorts of things like pressure from the sides of the seats onto the outsides of your thighs that can cause issues in the pelvis and lower spine. Again moving seat further back can help.

Goudy

facade said:

The problem with changing the car is finding one with a decent ride, the days when you simply bought any Citroen have long gone. Small Citroens are just as harsh as everything else nowadays, comfort starts with the C4, which is odd, as the "roads" are far worse than they were in the 1970s, much closer to the ploughed field that you could drive a 2CV across.....

You really need air suspension, which means a ferociously expensive car with acknowledged poor reliablilty.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/most-comfortable-cars-uk/

A couple of years ago I booked a winter break in the Canaries and I used a well known local hire company for the car rental. No Cicar for guessing which!

I've done it many times, both before and after and never, ever get anything like the make/model booked.
They just seem to hand you an envelope with some car keys in it with a carpark bay number scribbled on it.  

This particular time I got handed the keys to a Citroen Cactus and I must admit my heart sank a bit as I stood at the end of the bay looking at something that looked like a sea slug.

Turned out it was one of the most comfortable cars I've driven in years.
The front seats are amazing, supportive, particularly under the thighs, which is always a bit a of bug bear if the squab is too short but very comfortable. You feel suspended in the seats rather than sat on them.

It was very easy to adjust the seat and steering wheel to get a really nice driving position.

I didn't take much notice at first as you're in a strange car on the wrong side, driving on the wrong side, but the penny soon dropped, for a lowish budget car this is where they've spent the money and it felt like we floated around the island all week.

They are obviously not for hustling around corners at speed, but driving around for a few hours at a time at steady speeds was it's forte.

I've had cars with the same diesel engine in them before, the PSA 1.6 HDi and they are fairly smooth and frugal.
At motorway speeds on the flat they pull well at low rpm with little diesel clatter, so much so it's hard to tell it's diesel when driven like this.

Since then I have never got another, no matter what is reserved they now seem to hand me the keys to a Opel Mokka and they are terrible, awful in fact.

Hard flat seat bases and no side support, which is badly missed as they seem to lurch and roll around like a sailing ship with no keel.
I can feel there is a distinct mismatch between the front and rear suspension set ups.
The rear beam really ties the two back wheels together fairly stiffly, like someone tied your shoe laces together and the front set up feels too soft to deal with the weight transferring while cornering.

If I was in the market for a comfy car on a budget I would check out a Cactus or a later C3 Aircross. 
The only thing that would concern me would be the petrol version with the 1.2 Puretech engines as they have a wet belt.

lcc86

Lorian said:

If the seat will move further back then try it far enough back that you only have the slightest of bend in your clutch leg when the clutch is fully depressed and then put your seat back more fully upright so that you can properly reach the wheel. This should lower your knees. There are some good videos on YouTube on how to adjust seats to try to get comfortable.

If it has lumbar cushion try extending it.

Not sure what issues you are having with your back but there are all sorts of things like pressure from the sides of the seats onto the outsides of your thighs that can cause issues in the pelvis and lower spine. Again moving seat further back can help.

Thanks, I'll check this out as regardless of what I do I'll still be driving this car for the short to medium term at a minimum and I need to figure something out. Luckily no long journeys needed for a few weeks!

lcc86

Goudy said:

facade said:

The problem with changing the car is finding one with a decent ride, the days when you simply bought any Citroen have long gone. Small Citroens are just as harsh as everything else nowadays, comfort starts with the C4, which is odd, as the "roads" are far worse than they were in the 1970s, much closer to the ploughed field that you could drive a 2CV across.....

You really need air suspension, which means a ferociously expensive car with acknowledged poor reliablilty.

https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/guides/most-comfortable-cars-uk/

A couple of years ago I booked a winter break in the Canaries and I used a well known local hire company for the car rental. No Cicar for guessing which!

I've done it many times, both before and after and never, ever get anything like the make/model booked.
They just seem to hand you an envelope with some car keys in it with a carpark bay number scribbled on it.  

This particular time I got handed the keys to a Citroen Cactus and I must admit my heart sank a bit as I stood at the end of the bay looking at something that looked like a sea slug.

Turned out it was one of the most comfortable cars I've driven in years.
The front seats are amazing, supportive, particularly under the thighs, which is always a bit a of bug bear if the squab is too short but very comfortable. You feel suspended in the seats rather than sat on them.

It was very easy to adjust the seat and steering wheel to get a really nice driving position.

I didn't take much notice at first as you're in a strange car on the wrong side, driving on the wrong side, but the penny soon dropped, for a lowish budget car this is where they've spent the money and it felt like we floated around the island all week.

They are obviously not for hustling around corners at speed, but driving around for a few hours at a time at steady speeds was it's forte.

I've had cars with the same diesel engine in them before, the PSA 1.6 HDi and they are fairly smooth and frugal.
At motorway speeds on the flat they pull well at low rpm with little diesel clatter, so much so it's hard to tell it's diesel when driven like this.

Since then I have never got another, no matter what is reserved they now seem to hand me the keys to a Opel Mokka and they are terrible, awful in fact.

Hard flat seat bases and no side support, which is badly missed as they seem to lurch and roll around like a sailing ship with no keel.
I can feel there is a distinct mismatch between the front and rear suspension set ups.
The rear beam really ties the two back wheels together fairly stiffly, like someone tied your shoe laces together and the front set up feels too soft to deal with the weight transferring while cornering.

If I was in the market for a comfy car on a budget I would check out a Cactus or a later C3 Aircross. 
The only thing that would concern me would be the petrol version with the 1.2 Puretech engines as they have a wet belt.

Thanks, I was thinking of looking into trying some hire cars to see if anything takes my fancy, yes it's a bit pricey but probably the best way to do an extended test drive. 

prettyandfluffy

lcc86 said:

Thanks all. I ordered a cushion from amazon so we'll see what it does when it arrives. In the meantime I took a sofa cushion and put it there today, it definitely helped my position and overall comfort but the downside is my knees now hit the steering wheel and I can't adjust it to go any higher as its already at its highest point! The curse of being tall in a small car!

A sofa cushion is the same depth all over whereas a wedge cushion will provide height at the back of the seat and not the front, so it might work 🤞.