Team-BHP - How many cars actually seat 5 in comfort?

Of the current set of cars I find the Logan to be very competent at seating five. We end up riding in the Logan (Meru etc...) whenever a trip to Airport comes up. The Logan has impressed us with its five passenger seating capabilites almost everytime , since all of our family members are wide framed.

I think car makers these days concentrate on seating four more comfortably than making the car comfortable for five, since the number of times we carry five people in the car is very less compared to upto four passengers. People like the comfort that a bucket seat offers as compared to.... say a bench kind of rear seat which would be viewed as utilitarian and low on 'luxury'. Plus if you are regularly going to carry five or more , you have the UVs to look at.

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Originally Posted by Santoshbhat (Post 2561905)

I think car makers these days concentrate on seating four more comfortably than making the car comfortable for five, since the number of times we carry five people in the car is very less compared to upto four passengers. People like the comfort that a bucket seat offers as compared to.... say a bench kind of rear seat which would be viewed as utilitarian and low on 'luxury'. Plus if you are regularly going to carry five or more , you have the UVs to look at.

+1 to that. Even D segment cars luxury sedans really cater for 4 passengers’ comfort. If comfortable travel for 5 passengers is a regular need, then people movers (MPVs) like Innova/Aria would be an ideal option.

In the current sedans under 20L, I found the rear space in the new Jetta quite good for three.

The Dolphin Shaped Honda City can seat 5 people very comfortably, with a 6 footer driving the car. Also, the massive amounts of low end torque from the i-DSI engine ensures easy driveability regardless of load.

The Honda Civic also comfortably seats 5, although older models may face issues with the underbody scraping over speedbreakers.

Amongst cars from a lower segment, I would say the most spacious have to be the Tata Siblings, Manza and Vista, both of which seat 5 people very comfortably (especially the Manza, more room than the Honda City).

In the higher spectrum of cars, a real limousine would be the Skoda Superb. We once managed to comfortably seat 4 people in the back :D (ok, it wasn't that comfortable, but not as bad as we'd imagined 4 people in the back of a sedan would be).

If you're in the 20-30 lakh segment, and you need space for 5 (or 6 if you can squeeze a bit), don't consider Mercedes, BMW or Audi. Those car's are smaller on the inside than my Honda City. The Skoda Superb is the way to go (if you can afford to pay it's maintenance costs).

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Originally Posted by kadanaJ (Post 2562136)

Amongst cars from a lower segment, I would say the most spacious have to be the Tata Siblings, Manza and Vista, both of which seat 5 people very comfortably (especially the Manza, more room than the Honda City).

In my one trip in Manza, I didn't find it great for 5 people, none of them fat by any standards! I am 6"2, the longest of all and I didn't have any space problem, but 3 of us at the rear were kind of tight fit & the transmission tunnel made sure that I pushed someone else into the middle position on the return trip. From the face of the person who sat in the middle on the way back, I could guarantee 100% that even he was NOT comfortable!

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Originally Posted by swiftnfurious (Post 2562148)

I can't comment since I've never sat in a Manza with 5 people for a long trip, just about 1 hour max, but I was quite comfortable overall (I'm 6 feet 1 inch tall). I assume since the person in the middle didn't complain, it couldn't have been that bad.

However, in that price range, it's probably still the most comfortable. (unless someone with who owns an Etios would like to share their experiences. I've never sat in the back of an Etios, so I have no idea how comfortable it is)

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Originally Posted by S_U_N (Post 2236060)

Very nice thread.
I can only think of Tata Indica family satisfying the criteria sub-8 lac rupees.

Without the intention of hijacking this thread, which car's rear bench allows for two adults + 1 child sitting in a child car seat?

That is the same as 3 adults, with the healthy one already in there (the child seat) and trying to fit 2 more people in the rear :)

A child seat takes up more space compared to a healthy adult. While 3 adults can sit comfortably in the Fortuner middle seat, with the child seat it is uncomfortable for 2 adults to sit. Main reason: the odd shape of the child seat that makes it difficult to lean against it.

Makes sense to have a 2+2+1 seating in a SUV/MUV when there is a child seat. And remove one rear seat to make space for luggage.

Etios and Manza can definetly seat 5 average size adults in comfort. I own an Etios and have never faced any problems with 5 people on board even if couple of them are 6ft. Never tried with all 5 people as 6 footers.

In my i20 3 reg-sized adults comfortably fit in :). Even we have been on long distance trips. No one has ever complained so far. I've never sat in the rear myself so the experience stated is not mine.
I think the the thigh support could have been better in the car. But it is far better than many other hatchbacks IMO.

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Originally Posted by kadanaJ (Post 2562163)

I can't comment since I've never sat in a Manza with 5 people for a long trip.
However, in that price range, it's probably still the most comfortable. (unless someone with who owns an Etios would like to share their experiences. I've never sat in the back of an Etios, so I have no idea how comfortable it is)

Though I don't own an Etios, I had been in the rear for 12 hours. It was pretty comfortable on long journey too.

Our Old Palio was good enough for 3 people at the back, actually it did impress me with the rear seat space that it offers. My Accent would do just fine (just!!) with 3 people at the back and its a strict no-no in the Polo.

The Optra Magnum TCDi can easily accommodate 3 full sized adults in the rear bench. I have done some long distances which includes blore- pune, blore- kanyakumari etc. with 3 adults at the back and they were very comfortable throughout the journey. The rear bench is kinda sofa like and leg room is good.

Can anyone compare the comfort, ride quality & space of a Logan / Verito against the Manza? Inputs from people who have traveled long distances in both the cars are highly appreciated. If they managed to travel the same route under same conditions, all the better! :)