Do you find the leather seats comfortable?

Obviously a good power seat is the best option for getting comfortable, but I like what I saw on the FJ Cruiser seat - 3 mechanical controls on the left side -

1 for seatback adjust
1 lever height adjust much like the 2010 Prius

and 1 round knob for tiliting / lowering front of seat bottom.

These 3 with lumbar adjust would be pretty good for a mechanical seat.

Obviously in the Prius, they are building things to cost and weight. One thing's for sure in the 2nd gen Prius - need shorter legs or lots of tolerance. headroom - good, horizontal - BAD. I grade it D where the 2010 is a solid grade B on all trims, but that's just me.

 

I agree with most of the positive comments here. After almost a year and a half and 34,000 miles, I'd rate the seats a solid B+. My other car is an Audi with wonderful leather seats that have aged well over its 8 years. The Prius is a different class of car so my expecations are a bit lower. I found the seats overly stiff at first but I've either gotten used to them or they've aged a bit. I like the lumbar support allot.

 

Seems like good info on setting seat position in link. First guy's speaking in foreign language (German), but can hit pause to read translation.

Seating position - Trackpedia

Summary -

"1. The positiong in the seat: Push the buttocks, rump and back tight into the seat. Your hips should be spread and relaxed and with full contact to the seat, but without pressure behind the knees. Mostly, the knees can rest lightly against the doorskin and central consol, giving additional support.

• 2. The seat height: Adjust to a distance of about a handwidth (five fingers) from the top of the head and the ceiling.
• 3. Seat distance: Built up brake pressure (engine on and apply the brakes several times before the action). Now, depress the brakes and clutch (or dead-pedal) fully. You knees need to be slightly bent (130 degrees). A straight knee or one pressed against the underdash and dangerous and uncomfortable.
• 4. Seat reclining: Press the back against the backrest and put the wrist ontop of the wheel. You should be able to do this without leaning your back away from the seat.
• 5. Steering wheel height: Adjust so that the palms gripping the wheel at 9 and 3 are about 5cm lower than the shoulders.
• 6. Steering distance: Adjust so that: 1) You can perform step 5 without locking your elbow and without bringing your backrest to an angle of 90 degrees. 2) So that the hands on the wheel at 9 and 3 are bent at about 120 degrees.
• 7. Head and neck support: To support your head during driving and in a crash, without limiting your ability to tilt the head slightly aside. With a stock head restraint, you should bring it to the height of your eye-brows and the smallest distance possible from the back of the head. With a racing seat, you need a roll-cage or roll-bar and fully support to the neck and head.
• 8. Lower back support: When adjustable, set so that the lower back is supported, but without forming a pressure point.
• 9. Side support: Adjust for as much contact with the seat without limiting the ability of the feet to pivot between the pedals.
• 10. Set the interior mirror to show all of the rear windscreen and than set the side mirrors so that they overlap as slightly as possible to the field of vision directly behind (an object in the rightmost corner of the interior mirror, 10 feet behind, would appear in the innermost portion of the right-hand side mirror)...."

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About adding spacers, I didn't do that, some others here did. IIR, they stacked washers under front feet and used longer bolts to angle front of seat up.

 

One thing about the Prius for me, is it makes me sit very upright with the seatback. Not uncomfortably so, but quite upright. That's why I say it could use a skosh (fraction of inch) more telescope to driver to recline just that one extra notch.

Was at SF auto show last weekend sitting in bunch or cars, even a BMW M5 (I think that's what it was). The Prius with leather (and even cloth) feels pretty good to me.

I don't notice that the seat bottom becomes too flat. That usually comes with getting the right slide position along with height adjustment.

I find that if I put my 4 knuckles vertical from head to roofliner, that is about the right height in car. It can be little less, but that's a decent guideline.

 

Question. I have a 2010 III with leather option. Are the front seats an upgrade or just the leather surfaces?

 

On a III, the front seats are the same, but the leather surfaces is an aftermarket or dealer add-on. Leather seats, heated on the front with driver lumbar control are standard on the IV and V.

 

I've only had my 2010 for two weeks. I wish my 2010 Prius V seats had better thigh support. I find myself sliding side to side at times.

 

The seat bottom is too flat for me in stock form. I'm going to try some washers up front to give more thigh support.

The Prius leather seats are what I would consider average. Better than some, not as good as more expensive vehicles. For example, the new Hyundai Sonata leather seats are very hard and they look almost like plastic. But the leather power seats in my Accord are more plush than the Prius, and of course have a lot more adjustability that comes in handy on long trips.

 

Oh I do. I find them very comfortable...

I'm 5 foot 9 and 140 pounds... They fit me just right...

On a side note, I had to make sure to get leather seats, no doubt about it... The cloth that Toyota uses is SOOOOOOOO cheap feeling, it feels like... packaging material or something. But the leather is great!

 

For many years I drove Cadillac's with leather seats, lumbar support, heat in the seats to. I got my Prius in October 2010 and immediately took a trip from PA to Florida, round trip 2800 miles. I must say that I was more comfortable in the Prius seats then in the Caddy. I have a II with heated leather. Seats are all the same just the seat covers that are put on for the customer. Happy motoring!!!

 

With my prius being driven by my wife, I took my Jeep Liberty out for a spin and ended up at a mega complex of high end cars. For fun I focused in on a few to see how I liked the seats. BMW 328i -- infiniti g25--- mercedes c300 -- and the lexus 250. For me, the leather seats in my prius were far superior. Getting in and out was easier as well. Seats are at the top of the list when choosing a new car.