The seats are a deal killer.

[dan2112]

Yesterday my wife and I took delivery of our Bolt. She does not follow this forum so she is "impartial" - but we both took turns driving. The salesman was not in the car with us. We are coming from a 2014 LEAF SL (which we drove there). When we drove I asked her to pay attention to the following:
- Seat comfort
- Ride Quality (Highway and local roads)
- Road Noise
- Shifter

Here is her test drive report:
- Seats are comfortable - she is small and petite - so would not expect an issue even if they seats were narrow.
- Ride Quality - more tight than LEAF and she said "It goes over bumps better than the LEAF" - I asked her if was squirrelly - she said no - just tighter.
- Road noise - she thought slightly quieter than LEAF.
- Shifter - she didn't even say anything about shifting at all.

Here is my test drive report:
- Seats are tighter than LEAF - I can feel the seat on my butt and I would characterize it as more keeping my butt centered vs pinching it. I am 5'11" @180 - not small, but not huge either.
- Ride Quality - sportier than LEAF - more responsive.
- Road Noise - I though maybe at highway speeds the was more tire noise than LEAF, but otherwise the same or better than the LEAF.
- Shifter - non issue - coming from LEAF all center console shifters are going to be a little different.

Other thoughts.
- Interior - my wife loved it - thought it was much better than the LEAF. I thought it was a substantial step up from the LEAF.
- Performance - definitely faster than the LEAF.
- Creep mode / Parking brake - This took a little finessing - When you first push the accelerator nothing happens so your first instinct is to push harder - don't do it - you will "lurch" - just let the car "think about it" and it will release the brake and you will start to creep / back up - nice and smooth. I guess this was needed since the parking brake is electronic. It is a fine line and I just figured that out pulling it in and out of the garage a few times. Once you get the hang of it it feels natural.

I have not explored all the tech stuff yet - just set my radio stations - paired my phone and played a little bit with CarPlay.

 

[CopperRoad]

After four test drives, two in the Premier and two in the LT, in our opinion, especially my lady's ( who will be the principal driver ) the seats are not just uncomfortable but painful after about twenty minutes.
This is obviously a very subjective opinion but we will be waiting for a redesign or a better EV whichever comes first.

I'd have to agree on the front seats. A most confounding sitting experience. It's beyond me how these seats made it to a production car. I defy anyone to say these seats are comfortable. Livable, passable, maybe... but they're not, IMO, comfortable. The narrow seat base, lack of lateral cushion bolstering, and the encroachment of the manual seat controls into an already narrow seat causes hard plastic touch points at the rear hip area. If the seat were firmer this might have remedied this in keeping one above the plastic bits. And it has nothing to do with weight. I'm 6'3" & 160lbs. I can deal with a soft or firm seat, but what is unforgivable is that hard plastic could/should ever be digging into you at any slight movement, or adjustment.

I will be going on my second test drive (third time sitting in the car). After extending my Leaf lease in order to get the Bolt, I'm still not ready to throw in the towel. I would have never thought that the seats would have been an issue.

 

[leodoggie]

After four test drives, two in the Premier and two in the LT, in our opinion, especially my lady's ( who will be the principal driver ) the seats are not just uncomfortable but painful after about twenty minutes.
This is obviously a very subjective opinion but we will be waiting for a redesign or a better EV whichever comes first.

I'd have to agree on the front seats. A most confounding sitting experience. It's beyond me how these seats made it to a production car. I defy anyone to say these seats are comfortable. Livable, passable, maybe... but they're not, IMO, comfortable. The narrow seat base, lack of lateral cushion bolstering, and the encroachment of the manual seat controls into an already narrow seat causes hard plastic touch points at the rear hip area. If the seat were firmer this might have remedied this in keeping one above the plastic bits. And it has nothing to do with weight. I'm 6'3" & 160lbs. I can deal with a soft or firm seat, but what is unforgivable is that hard plastic could/should ever be digging into you at any slight movement, or adjustment.

I will be going on my second test drive (third time sitting in the car). After extending my Leaf lease in order to get the Bolt, I'm still not ready to throw in the towel. I would have never thought that the seats would have been an issue.

Extremely well articulated points about the pressure points impinging on the hips, that is where the pain comes from.

 

[roundpeg]

So how can I have driven this car over 400 miles and have never felt these problems?

 

[Nagorak]

Here is my test drive report:
- Seats are tighter than LEAF - I can feel the seat on my butt and I would characterize it as more keeping my butt centered vs pinching it. I am 5'11" @180 - not small, but not huge either.
- Ride Quality - sportier than LEAF - more responsive.
- Road Noise - I though maybe at highway speeds the was more tire noise than LEAF, but otherwise the same or better than the LEAF.
- Shifter - non issue - coming from LEAF all center console shifters are going to be a little different.

Other thoughts.
- Interior - my wife loved it - thought it was much better than the LEAF. I thought it was a substantial step up from the LEAF.
- Performance - definitely faster than the LEAF.
- Creep mode / Parking brake - This took a little finessing - When you first push the accelerator nothing happens so your first instinct is to push harder - don't do it - you will "lurch" - just let the car "think about it" and it will release the brake and you will start to creep / back up - nice and smooth. I guess this was needed since the parking brake is electronic. It is a fine line and I just figured that out pulling it in and out of the garage a few times. Once you get the hang of it it feels natural.

I have not explored all the tech stuff yet - just set my radio stations - paired my phone and played a little bit with CarPlay.

The Bolt definitely has more performance than the Leaf (so does the Volt). The Leaf is pretty good in comparison to most gas cars (its zero to 60 time is fairly unimpressive, but it feels more responsive), but in the Xolts you have some pretty serious acceleration.

 

[iletric]

We're all different and have different tolerances for annoyances. Actually I'm okay with the leather seats, they provide sufficient cushion against those metal sides that stick out on each side edge, delineating width of the seats.

The flip phone is out, she got herself a small i-phone. I'm still with my beloved Nokia candy bar C3-01. I don't subscribe to smart phone economy. I know it's lovely to be sending snapchats to all friends at all times, pay Apple for their tunes, and most importantly, never miss anything in one's social media life, so on and so forth.

Well, here is the truth: Medium is the message, folks. ‎Marshall McLuhan. And if you're too young to know who and what, google it. On your smart phone, of course. Inside Starbucks. And please...don't spill your latte on your 600-dollar i-phone when you find out you've been had. I'm talking about being rewired for total dependency on an extension of your upper limb, a bona fide appendage. And thinking nothing of it. The small shots of dopamine with every beep received, all day long, even all night.

Crazy, eh? Now try ONE DAY without. Tune in, turn OFF, drop out.

Trust me, there was life 20 years ago. We survived. We really did.

 

[oilerlord]

So how can I have driven this car over 400 miles and have never felt these problems?

Perhaps you aren't a six-foot woman.

 

[leodoggie]

So how can I have driven this car over 400 miles and have never felt these problems?

Perhaps you aren't a six-foot woman.

Or a 6' 3" 160 lb man.

 

[user 124]

Given the large variation in people's satisfaction with the seats, is it possible that the seats themselves are variable? Could there be a quality control issue? Have 2 people who do and do not like the seats traded cars to see if the seats are the same?

 

[leodoggie]

Given the large variation in people's satisfaction with the seats, is it possible that the seats themselves are variable? Could there be a quality control issue? Have 2 people who do and do not like the seats traded cars to see if the seats are the same?

Excellent point, that is entirely possible.

 

[iletric]

Excellent point, that is entirely possible.

But not plausible.

I'm 6ft 186lb and the leather seats are fine. The LTs were not, for sure.

Actually, my problem is hitting the center dash area that juts down with my right knee. I had to push the seat back quite a ways and telescope out the steering to keep my knee free moving.

Buy the way, I meant the word "rigged" in reference to all the Bolt accolades in jest.

 

[roundpeg]

Or a 6' 3" 160 lb man.

Nearly my precise dimensions. And your point is?

 

[roundpeg]

Given the large variation in people's satisfaction with the seats, is it possible that the seats themselves are variable? Could there be a quality control issue? Have 2 people who do and do not like the seats traded cars to see if the seats are the same?

I am wondering if the difference might not be between the leather and cloth seats. Perhaps they differ in some way other than the covering material. I spent a bit of time today probing the (leather) seats looking for hard spots some are reporting, but other than the rather stiff edges, which I don't feel when sitting on them, I could not find any.

 

[boltage]

After seeing this thread, I felt around the seats and found the hard parts of the bolsters that appear to be the cause of complaints here. I have no problem with them, but I can see how some larger people may find the bolsters to be uncomfortable.

 

[LeftieBiker]

After seeing this thread, I felt around the seats and found the hard parts of the bolsters that appear to be the cause of complaints here. I have no problem with them, but I can see how some larger people may find the bolsters to be uncomfortable.

Care to post your waist size? ;-)

 

[emv]

I really wanted a Bolt, until I took a test drive. My wife and I both found the seats to be the worst we'd ever had in a car. I wasn't expecting the level of comfort you'd get from an old French car (laugh but my old Renaults had superb seats), but I expected something that didn't cut into me. My Spark EV has nice seats and it's a whole lot cheaper and smaller. Perhaps Chevy will address this issue and I'll be able to get my long range EV next year. A 40K car should be reasonably comfortable.

Of course if the seats are comfortable for your particular anatomy, lucky you.

 

[oilerlord]

Nearly my precise dimensions. And your point is?

Perhaps the point is that no two behinds are exactly the same. GM decided to move forward on a somewhat unorthodox, and minimalist seat design. Car & Driver has noted:

"Exceptionally slender front seats—made by suspending plastic sheets from metal frames and covering them with a fraction of the usual padding—leave ample room in the rear seats for adults."

With that said, it's reasonable to assume that while many find the seats acceptable / comfortable, others may not.

 

[roundpeg]

Perhaps the point is that no two behinds are exactly the same. GM decided to move forward on a somewhat unorthodox, and minimalist seat design. Car & Driver has noted:

"Exceptionally slender front seats—made by suspending plastic sheets from metal frames and covering them with a fraction of the usual padding—leave ample room in the rear seats for adults."

With that said, it's reasonable to assume that while many find the seats acceptable / comfortable, others may not.

Since this has been my point all along, I can hardly disagree. Where I don't agree is taking one person's experience and turning it into the sweeping statement that the "vast majority" will find the seats to be uncomfortable. I would not try to make the inverse statement, either.

Also, in the interests of science, I'd like to know if the cloth seating is being found less comfortable than the leather. I can only comment on my own experience with the leather seats so perhaps someone who has experience with the other type or is still test driving could contribute that data to the discussion.

 

[KentS]

Given the large variation in people's satisfaction with the seats, is it possible that the seats themselves are variable? Could there be a quality control issue? Have 2 people who do and do not like the seats traded cars to see if the seats are the same?

It's not a quality control issue, rather, it is a seat design issue. Specifically, the plastic seat frame was poorly designed.

I'm 6'2", 210 lbs. I also found the front seat to be problematic. Decent comfort when butt in middle of seat cushion, legs straight forward. But when sitting off center, the poorly placed hard plastic seat frame at the side of the cushion can become a intrusive to the point of being a bothersome distraction. The experience is reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen's princess who can't sleep because there is a pea under the mattress. Soft comfort interrupted by hard reality.

GM, the Bolt is a great car. Too great to allow this annoyance to be ignored. Fix it!

 

[JupiterMoon]

Perhaps the point is that no two behinds are exactly the same. GM decided to move forward on a somewhat unorthodox, and minimalist seat design. Car & Driver has noted:

"Exceptionally slender front seats—made by suspending plastic sheets from metal frames and covering them with a fraction of the usual padding—leave ample room in the rear seats for adults."

With that said, it's reasonable to assume that while many find the seats acceptable / comfortable, others may not.

Since this has been my point all along, I can hardly disagree. Where I don't agree is taking one person's experience and turning it into the sweeping statement that the "vast majority" will find the seats to be uncomfortable. I would not try to make the inverse statement, either.

Also, in the interests of science, I'd like to know if the cloth seating is being found less comfortable than the leather. I can only comment on my own experience with the leather seats so perhaps someone who has experience with the other type or is still test driving could contribute that data to the discussion.

Unfortunately mass produced products are designed around the "vast majority." The entire vehicle...from the fact that it's a cross-over to the general layout of the interior is designed for the majority. There are well defined guidelines and specs for ergonomic layouts designers follow.