Seats too relaxed/reclined?!

Hey all:

Very new 2011 Prius 2 owner here. Anyone else wish they had a little more forward tilt in the driver seat? Anyone else think the rear seats, while having incredibly spacious leg room, are bizarrely reclined?

Background: I am 5'11'' and in very good shape. I run 35 to 45 miles a week. I drive at least 65 miles a day commuting, and often drive more than this for work (public defender in a large judicial circuit). My wife and I used to have a 1996 VW GTI and 2001 Beetle and traded in the GTI for this Prius.

This week is my first week commuting in the car. The gas mileage is beyond my wildest dreams. The radio reception (I only listen to NPR to and from work) is incredibly underwhelming for the amount of money we spent.

The BIG problem: I have driven many cars for many miles and have NEVER had any back problems. My back is absolutely tweaked. So much that I am driving the Beetle to work today.

I am almost positive that the problem is the recline of the seats. During the test drive (we had the car all day on Saturday), I was so focused on everything else in the car that I thought it was really comfortable. I realized, however, that I like to sit more bolt upright than the Prius allows. I know this sounds bizarre, but it's the truth. I can almost get the seat tilted like I want using the "height adjustment" (which really just moves the rear of the seat upward....canting the seat more forward). But by the time the angle is right, my head is hitting the ceiling and/or visor.

Anyone else experience anything like this? My wife and I are not going to make any decision for at least a month. But I am almost certain that this car is not compatible with my body type. Maybe I drive like a grandma or something, but I just can't get comfortable.

Thanks for any advice. And I am not trolling, I am really interested in anything that will help me believe I didn't just waste $24,000 (our first large purchase of any kind besides graduate school).

Ryan

 

Thanks for all of the responses so far! Of course, I am going to try everything I can to get comfortable in the car. Almost everything else about it is amazing!

The ride in my Beetle this morning sure was nice. Nice straight back. Seat back pretty much perpendicular to the ground beneath the car (which seems impossible in the Prius). I think of the position as "more aggressive," but it is what feels good to me after years of driving cars with knobs to tilt the seat. Little did I know most of the world likes a little more "ghetto recline" (as I've heard it called, probably inappropriately) than me and the grannies. Most of ya'll are like my wife, though: She thinks the seating position I am after is absolutely crazy and that no human wants to sit THAT canted forward.

Thanks again and wish me luck! I will either find a solution in the next month or (unfortunately) sell the car (and remember this as one of the most expensive mistakes I have ever made).

Ryan

 

I am tempted to see if this can be modified. Somewhere in that "smooth moving, no click" zone before the first click is where I want to be. I adjusted the seat to a position where I wished it would click/lock, and it felt exactly right.

I have always disliked the knob adjustments on my VWs because the seat will slowly recline a little after getting in and out of the car a couple times. I specifically told my wife that the Prius was cool because the backrest actually locks into place. Little did I know that there are very few humans (and maybe no Japanese folk) that want a driving position like I think feels good.

Ryan

 

Who wants to pilot a car from a Lazy Boy, though!? Give me a commanding perch any day! Or maybe I should really try and drive a car like everyone else does! Man, how weird for me: I drive for 13 years and one day realize I was doing it wrong all along!

Ryan

 

And what about the backseats being so reclined?!

For a guy like me, I would have a LOT more headroom in the backseat if the backrest was just a little more vertical.

I have never been in a car before with such an odd set-up. I assume the recline is somehow related to headroom vs. aerodynamics/wind profile/etc.

Like I said before, my wife and I were elated to find an economy "wagon" with room for our carseat (and front seat passenger at the same time). Now I kind of wondering if my children are going to grow up funky from leaning back so far. The gas mileage and space of the car really perverted my sense of what was normal/comfortable on our extended test drive, so there is no one to blame but myself.

Obviously more than a touch of OCD- Ryan

 

Think of the ground as flat. Now think of a 90 degree angle. I drive with my seat (of my other cars) almost perfectly upright, 90 degrees from the ground (not the floor of the car).

So my back can be like this in the car (don't pay attention to the feet.....it doesn't really matter if my feet are in front of me like in a sports car or underneath me like in an SUV):
http://www.humanics-es.com/upright.png

Not like this (which is the best I can do with the Prius....and according to many, the proper way to drive):
How to Adjust the Driver's Seat for Proper Seat Back Angle

Ryan