EWL5

When did this become the "What's going on with BMW" thread?

I recently came back from 2-hr commute for business in my X3. Did I wish I was driving my wife's GLS instead? Absolutely! If this was a family road trip, no question I'm driving the GLS!
X3 seat comfort is not the best and has its own thread in Bimmerpost. Let's move on!

SW20S

To me, Mercedes still has the best balance between comfort and sport overall. The new 7 Series is ridiculously comfortable and luxurious inside, but take an X7, I hate those seats where the bolster pops forward and leaves that gap, thats what kept me out of a 7 Series in 2020. It makes my legs go numb, the seats in the GLS are much better IMO. The one thing I do like about BMW seats is how the backrest actually does tilt and psyically angle vs Mercedes who just has air bladders in the top which pump up. S class seats can be adjusted to be very tightly bolstered and also very wide and accommodating.

Overall I think the X7 has a nicer quality interior than the GLS, but design and comfort overall is not as good as in the GLS IMO. Space is nowhere near as good.

superswiss

The interesting thing is that I find heavily bolstered seats genuinely more comfortable because I don't have to use my muscles to stay in the seat even for normal driving. I find most so-called comfort seats uncomfortable, because around corners I roll over my **** or slide out of the seat and have to use my muscles to prop me back into it and brace up against something. I've even heard from people with back/spinal injuries finding bolstered seats much more comfortable for the same reason. The seat keeps them in place w/o using their muscles and injured backs. They also support much better posture. I did check and that 330 definitely had sport seats. They are standard according to bmwusa. What part did you find hard? There was nothing hard. I had the leg support extended, which I always do for comfort. I find seats that lack the extension often too short for comfort.

superswiss

If you find statistics insulting, then I would suggest you do something about them. Culture is a poor excuse for unhealthy lifestyles and a healthcare system that has worse outcomes for much more money than many other western countries.

EWL5

Due to the current Wegovy shortage, it does appear Americans recognize the issue and want better outcomes for themselves.

On a related note, I remember the X7 seat side bolsters being adjustable so that it can better "hug" you while driving. I really wish I had this in the GLS and I could have used it in the X3 as I find myself sliding around on the seat, especially on tight turns!

superswiss

Yes, the AMG seats have that, too. I can inflate both the lower and upper side bolsters. So for normal driving I have them deflated for maximum comfort, yet still plenty of support, and when I go hit up a fun road I inflate them fully.

SW20S

Thanks for the virtue signaling. So glad to hear you have no challenges in your life lol

I find the accusation that people don't like sport seats because they are fat insulting, not statistics. I just don't like what you like, and you don't like what I like. Doesn't mean one of us has a problem.

superswiss

Didn't say you had a problem and that's not what I said. It's not just fat, but out of shape as well .

SW20S

Or they just don't like the kind of seats you like. Thats why they have options.

superswiss

Absolutely, and there are folks with injuries and/or disabilities. They exist at about equal ratios in each market, though. If you can't see the significance of a large demographics unique to the USA that swings the balance of simple likes/dislikes then I don't know what to tell you. But sorry if I insulted you. I wasn't even specifically talking to you.

SW20S

I think you need to look up the definition of the term "stereotyping", people just have different preferences, best to leave it at that.

superswiss

I don't think about you at all, if you get the Mad Men reference. I appreciate your viewpoints, though.

SW20S

I get the Mad Men reference, but it makes no sense in response to what I said...enjoy your bike ride and your uncomfortable seats lol

superswiss

I always do. Are you trying to insult me about staying fit and healthy, ROFL.

SW20S

Not even a little bit, but I do get a chuckle out of self righteous cyclists. Just don't get in the way of my car and we'll have no issue.

superswiss

So do I, as well as self righteous car drivers. Both have a screw loose.

SW20S

If a driver drove around on the street dressed like he was in a rally race I would chuckle at them too

superswiss

Well, time to end this and invoke the laws of holes. You walked right into that one with your comment, and ridiculing people who ride bicycles for sport just makes you a douchebag. Kinda rich coming from a guy who I can only guess doesn't exactly have a gym membership. Look I also go to the track where I wear a helmet, gloves and even a hans device, but I obviously don't drive like that to the grocery store. There's a difference between doing something for sport and just doing it to get somewhere. You should perhaps take your own advise and look up the definition of stereotyping.

SW20S

“why are you offended?” “I wasn’t talking about you”

Being stereotyped isn’t much fun is it? Why don’t we both agree to stop doing it?

superswiss

To be offended or insulated, one has to be quite insecure, so I don't get offended. You can stereotype me all you want. In case you want to educate yourself on why long distance cyclists wear the full gear, especially the proper shorts then you can go riding for 50 miles in regular clothing and your chafed, squashed ***** and painful **** will tell you why. Just saying, but the gear serves a purpose. Anyway, yeah let's stop it.

nc211

Well that all went sideways..think my eyeballs got chafed.. ha!

i think a 50 year man that wears a 36 size pant says the seat is just too pinched up for his likes, is pretty fair game for criticism of a car seat. Had this MB GLC for a day, and it too just feels cramped to me. Feels econo to me, and I like it better than the X3. They’re all getting too damn hard and narrow in general from the german brands though if you ask me. I personally think Nissan makes some of the best seats in the industry, but that’s a different tooic altogether…

There was a day not too long ago that perhaps I would’ve thought differently, but when the world stopped spinning in early 2020, my priorities shifted away from “me” to basically everyone and everything else. Leading up to that point was my last hurrah of personal vanity, Re-strained a lower back injury from when I ate a chevy in 1996, rolled into my 50’s, and decided to relax a bit more, which means I want a soft and relatively spacious car seat for my cars. The GLS is great. My 2014 E350 is flawless after I took it apart years ago and tweaked it (have driven that car 18+ hours nonstop from DC to Naples several times). None of which cost nearly as much as those uncomfortable cramped EQ seats I sat in two weeks ago at the MB dealership…

grabbed a beer earlier this week with an old neighbor who is a life long VW Audi Porsche owner. He’s about 60 now and in good shape. Bought his wife a new SQ5 two years ago and now says the same thing about those seats too. Says he can go about two hours in them before getting sore. She can go about 4 hours, and she is very much the tennis fanatic. Yet can drive his 2006 911 convertible for days on end without so much as a cramp…

SW20S

Exactly, lots of people just don’t like those kinds of seats, doesn’t mean they are fat or in poor shape. I wear a 36 waist too, I’m a normal sized person, they’re just not for me.

superswiss

I guess I'm just kinda surprised given that cars have only gotten bigger and bigger over the last decades. Today's 3-series is the size of what the 5-series used to be.

nc211

I suspect it’s all in the name of safety. It’s pretty obvious to me that they want the passenger to be as close to the center of the car as possible to give as much room as they can to absorb a side impact hit. Which I can understand. They clearly don’t want the passengers to be using the door as an element of comfort. They want you to be snugged up to the center console and so the seat bottom gets narrow and contoured to achieve that, is my guess anyway…

superswiss

Well, there's definitely more shoulder room that has come with cars getting bigger, but I can't say I ever felt I was sitting closer to the center than in past cars. Especially MBs have quite a wide center console. The BMW one didn't seem particularly more narrow. Personally I find seats have gotten wider actually. I'm saying this because FWIW I was a 34 waist in my early 30s when I owned my first BMW with sport seats. They were nice and snug. Then I ate my way to a 38 waist into my mid to late 40s, so I was a 38 waist when I got my current car in 2019 with the aforementioned bucket seats. For various reasons I decided to improve my diet and get more exercise and especially during the pandemic I rode up to a 100 miles per week and I'm now a 34 waist again. Funny thing is I wish I could inflate the side bolsters more when I go out into the canyons, because the seats are a bit too wide now. I had a more snuggly fit with my 38 waist. Same with the BMW seats, so I'm still kinda wondering which part of the seat you found to be hard.