I'm thinking of getting a 2005 Corolla and was test driving a friends
2005 CE and couldn't get a comfortable driving position. The seat feels fine, but if you lean all the way back into it the steering wheel feels too far away. You have to lean forward to reach it comfortably. I mentioned it to my friend and she remarked that she noticed it too and tended to drive leaning forward, but no longer noticed it. Anyone else notice this? Is there an adjustment I'm missing? I moved the back of the seat forward, but it felt wrong that way too. I'm 6'1" with long legs & arms if that is a factor.
I test drove a corolla in '03. I'm 6'2" Could not find a comfortable driving position.
I should note that I own an 87 Corolla and have no problem with it. Nor did I have a problem with the 84 Tercel that I donated to charity in '03.
Anyway, I ended up with a camry for the extra space -- at a lot more $$$. I found the Matrix to be comfortable, btw, but just didn't like the pick-up in the manual model.
You have to scoot the sear forward so your legs are crammed in with just enough room to work the pedals. Then when you adjust the seatback to a less severe angle, the steering wheel won't be as ridiculously far away. If you want to move the seat back until your legs are comfortable, you have to put the seatback into a nearly vertical position in order to reach the steering wheel, but then you will also have to incline your head to the side at a 90 degree angle or cut a hole in the roof.
I really don't see how anyone over 5'8" can find a comfortable driving position in the 2003 or later Corolla, but a lot of people over 6" claim that they can!
This may raise an eyebrow but .... here goes. I bought a Corolla new in
2003. I"m 6' and wear a 42" suite. The Corolla's ergonomics IS a reach. Not only that but if you study the steering colum, you'll notice it comes at you at a slight angle. My previous car ('90 Prizm) had the steering wheel a couple inches closer to me ... all else being equal. I agree with your ergonomics assessment.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Ernie Sty" Newsgroups: alt.autos.toyota Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 5:53 PM Subject: Re: 2005 Corolla driving position comfort
Not all people of a given height have the same requirements for a comfortable driving position. Both of my son's are close to 6 foot. However, one has relatively short legs and a long body. The other has long legs and a shorter body. They adjust the seats in a vehicle very differently. If you see them sitting side by side in the car, you would swear than one was at least two inches taller than the other. However, as soon as they stand side by side they are about the same. I am sure that there are plenty of 6 foot tall people with long bodies (and arms) and shorter legs that probably find that the Corolla fits them just fine. On the other hand a 5'8" person with relatively long legs (and short arms) might find it to be a problem.
One thing I learned the hard way is that your body dimensions are different the first thing in the morning than they are at the end of the day. Years ago I bought a Mazda 626 Five Door Sedan (4 door hatch back). When I test drove the car it seemed to have adequate (but not plentiful) head room (and it had a height adjustable seat). I bought the car. The next morning when I got in the car, my head was literally pinned against the roof even with the seat in the lowest position. As in your description of the Corolla, I could not adjust the seat to a comfortable position. Eventually I had to rework the seat base to drop the rear of the seat by 2 inches. After that I was able to find a comfortable driving position, but I have never forgotten the fact that I am significantly taller in the morning than at the end of the day (you should see me fold up to get in my Thunderbird first thing in the morning - it is not a pretty sight, although I am fine once in the car). Ironically, I once owned an Austin-Healey Sprite (mine was a Mark III). These were relatively small cars, even by today's standards. I never had any problem with head or leg room in this car, and, despite having a fixed seat back, there was no problem finding a comfortable driving position (with the top up or down). In general, I've never had any problem with US, British, or German cars as far as finding a decent driving position. In the past, I had the opinion that Japanese designers didn't understand how to design cars for people of European and African decent. Things have gotten better in the last twenty years as the Japanese manufacturer's target the US market. Still when I was test driving Tundras, I was surprised how little headroom the trucks seem to have. Despite being much larger on the outside, the head room was not as good as my Father's Ranger (the width however was far far better). I never quite figured out why the head room seemed less than the Ranger (but it was adequate).
LOL! Translation sites are hilarious. My comments in (parenthesis):
"Here the result of some rainwater drops on the head offices (must mean "seats.") of my Corolla. For a new vehicle it is inadmissible (unacceptable, I guess) and moreover it is screw hidden (a hidden flaw). This problem is universally known but Toyota does not do anything. In Canada at the time of an intervention in garage (I took it to the repair shop) the siéges (gotta be seats...?) are cleaned to satisfy the customer. In France an artisanal (artisanal? Artist anal? I have no clue on this one) cleaning is carried out with a bomb for fitted carpet (I could not even venture a guess what a bomb for fitted carpet is) at the request of the customer."
WTF are Corolla seats made of in Canadian and French Corollas? Do they do this on American ones as well? (I put seat covers on mine as soon as I got it so I don't know...)
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