[davewg]

I recently did a short test drive of a Mazda 3 GT, and while it was admittedly brief my initial impressions were positive except for the length (front-to-back) of the seat cushion.

I'm average height (5'9") and weight (~140 lbs) and the cushion felt short to me and lacking in under thigh support.

Anyone else notice this? How is the seat comfort on long trips?

I'm very early in the car shopping trail, and liked the car otherwise.

TIA

 

[Mr. 3]

I own a 14 3 SGT. I am 5'10 and 180lbs... I find the seats very comfortable with plenty and comfortable in long trips. Was the one your drove cloth?

 

[davewg]

I should have specified - they were the leather seats. I didn't spend a ton of time getting the adjustment 100% perfect, but was otherwise comfortable.

 

[Mr. 3]

yeah, I have put 2700 miles on mine so far in 3 months and these seats are by far the most comfortable seats I have sat in. Mine are leather as well. Love the heated seat feature on 25 degree mornings for the commute to work. I also have it adjusted to my specifications. I would give that a try and see where you stand.

 

[mlin32]

Yes, the seat cushion is on the short side and annoyingly, there is no adjustment to adjust the pitch/angle of the bottom cushion- only the height up/down. I am 172cm and 63kg which is around +/- 140lb I think.

That said, I would rate the seats as acceptably comfortable for longer drives which I do on a frequent basis.

 

[only1harry]

I feel the same way too, and I also find the seat cushion a bit thin. I am 6'1 and 195lbs but not taken any long trips yet. I am skeptical about them, but the 20-25mi. trips I have taken have been fine. The seat takes a while to heat up after cold starts, and they have to be set to the max. level to get going. They usually don't warm up until a couple of miles down the road. They don't heat up well sitting at idle. I let the car idle for at least 15min. and I could barely feel any heat. They need higher engine speeds/RPM's to work.

Harry

 

[mlin32]

They usually don't warm up until a couple of miles down the road. They don't heat up well sitting at idle. I let the car idle for at least 15min. and I could barely feel any heat. They need higher engine speeds/RPM's to work.

Harry

Driving a car is the best way to warm it up. I would start driving off gently within about 30-60s of starting the car. The drivetrain doesn't warm up just sitting there- you're really just burning petrol and putting a strain on the catalytic converter.

 

[PuMoDi]

I'm 5'11" and about 160 lbs; more importantly I'm long-legged for my height so I typically prefer longer cushions and the ability to tilt the front seat base upward. The 3 cushions are a little short but I was able to find a setting that's quite comfortable on the journeys I've taken so far. Granted I've not had any drives that exceed an hour and a half yet so that might not be a sample you want to work with. I'd suggest really trying to get a lengthy test drive going with the seat adjusted as best you can.

For reference I have the sGT which has the leather and a power driver's seat. Frustratingly, Mazda cheaped out on the seating controls and instead of granting buyers a base that adjusts for front and back height independently (which would allow one to tilt the front up and back down angle-wise for more thigh support) -- as is typical when a power seat is offered -- it's an electric adjustment that tries to incorporate height and angle into one movement. Luckily I can get the thigh support I need by moving the seat down fairly far and that lets the front stay a tad higher. So it's decent for the commuting/trips I do. A several hour stint will test that though. I just don't see the point of going with a power seat with such limited control. I'd have saved the weight/complexity and made it all manual.

My 2002 Protege (which the 3 replaced) had an 8-way MANUAL driver's seat. You could adjust the front and rear height completely separately with two rotary knobs (plus adjust the usual fore-aft and recline angle). Those seats were very comfortable in all sutuations and done very simply. All the complexity of a power adjuster added for 2015 without as many adjustments. Sometimes 'advancements' really aren't.

Regardless of my whining in the middle there, as I said in the beginning I am able to make it work well for me. The seats are decent. And I'm glad because I didn't really want any other car. But I made darn sure they were going to work before signing on the dotted line with test drives, playing with the controls, etc. Good luck!

 

[swanniebird]

I'm 5'10 and 175lbs, and rather leggy and I have a sGT with leather seats. I do find the seat bottom to be on the short side. I've done a handful of 5-8+hr trips in this car and will be doing another 2 in the coming weeks. It hasn't been uncomfortable on those drives. My problem is more with the upper back area of the seats. I find the curvature of the seat back to cause knots in my shoulders/upper back on long drives. I'm constantly stretching my shoulders back for relief on those long drives.

Back to the seat bottom though, my leg doesn't fatigue or anything on these trips from the missing support, but I do find myself wishing the cushion would tilt up so I could have the support when I take my foot off the gas with cruise control on. My thigh also gets cold when I do that and I have the heated seat on, but that's truly a 1st world problem.

 

[JerryO81]

I'm 6'1" and ~220lbs and I have an SGT w/ leather and I too, find that lack of front seat angle adjustment kind of annoying. It bothered me at first, but once I got the seat adjustment dialed in on a second test drive, I thought the seat was pretty comfortable. I tend to do a lot of driving for work and I've done a few road trips in the car and I have to say that these seats are the most comfortable seats I've ever had.

 

[lala04]

I have the sGT with leather seats as well. Two friends and I recently took a road trip from San Francisco to Vegas and back. The drive time is between 8-9 hours ea way and none of us felt seat fatigue. While all women, we are all also over 5'8, of varying weights. I expected the front seats to be comfortable, but was really surprised that the backseat wasn't too shabby either. As a side note, gas mileage was awesome; averaging between 31-34mph per segment (frequently traveling 75-85mph, up into low 90s).

 

[davewg]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. I think there is enough positive here that I need to go back for at least another test drive, and spend some more time adjusting the seats.

I am mostly concerned with longer trips - my son (an HS junior) is looking at colleges between 4-5 hours (without traffic/weather, etc) from home. Granted, I won't be making that trip on a regular basis, but we do often have drives in the 1-3 hour range.