There is no excuse for building an uncomfortable car, because the basic requirements are clear. The seat must be soft yet supportive, dressed in upholstery that doesn’t cling to clothing, bolstered enough that you won’t slide around behind the wheel, and equipped with separate height and bottom cushion angle adjusters. The sills and armrests on the door panels should be wide and soft, and a center armrest is always welcome especially if it adjusts for individual preference. The steering wheel should offer infinite tilt and telescopic adjustment to make a perfect driving position easier to find, and it should be soft and substantial to grip. Getting into and out of the car should be easy, the interior should be isolated from the annoyances that occupants don’t wish to hear, and it should be simple to load cargo into the trunk. These are the tenets of comfort, adhered to by some of the least and most expensive automobiles on the market alike. Yet, as made clear in this test, some car companies just don’t get it.

Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged: Fourth Place
Saturn builds a car very similar to the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged. Same engine, same suspension, same everything under the body panels. Inside, the Saturn Ion Red Line gets lovely Recaro sport seats. The Cobalt gets flat-as-Kansas buckets that look like they were ripped out of a mid-70s Camaro, crappy upholstery and all. What the heck? Yeah, they’re comfortable enough when going in a straight line, but the Cobalt SS is so much fun to fling around and the lack of any bolstering whatsoever detracts from the quality of the driving experience. Also, there’s no telescopic steering wheel in the Cobalt, hard plastic bites into your knees when bracing for turns, and there’s no center armrest, either.

The rear seat is comfortable, but is jammed into a space with little leg, foot, or head room. Getting into and out of the car is more of a chore than other cars in this test, thanks to long, heavy doors and seatbelts that block access to the rear bench. Add the teensy little trunk opening, the excessive liftover height, the lack of a trunk lid close assist grip, and what some of our test drivers found to be a loud, rattling interior with lots of suspension racket making itself known, and the Cobalt SS lands in last place for comfort.

“Soft but comfortable front seats, cheap leather, minimal bolstering that gives way under the slightest pressure. Knees rest on hard plastic, no center armrest. Tight rear seat with little leg and foot room. Tiny, useless trunk opening with high liftover.” – Blackett

“Front seats lack support, and there’s no center armrest. Rear seats: Get me out! Really small trunk opening, but a really big trunk – who designed this thing?” – Chee

“Front seats are comfortable but lack bolstering for hard driving. Tight rear seats, as expected in a car like this. Easy to get into the front seats, difficult to wriggle into the rears.” – Perry

“Seats suck in the twisties – zero bolstering. Hard plastic bulge on door panel eats into my left knee when bracing for turns. No telescopic steering wheel = arms-out driving position. Front seat offers good straight-line highway comfort, despite lack of center armrest. Loud inside, with lots of rattles and suspension racket. ‘Refined’ is not the word that comes to mind.” – Wardlaw

Scion tC Supercharged: Third Place
When it comes to automotive design, the price paid for a rakish roofline is usually headroom, especially if the seats are mounted high enough to provide proper support. And so it was with the 2006 Scion tC Supercharged, which proved harder to get into and out of (up front) than the other cars, and which felt a bit confining despite a standard panoramic glass sunroof. The front seats were comfortable though, equipped with a twist knob that delivered added thigh support as necessary. Both front windows featured automatic down and up operation, matched only by the Volkswagen. Scion provides soft spots to rest elbows on the center console and the door panel, and the tC is rather quiet inside, though one driver noticed a rattle from the dashboard.

Climb in back, which is easy to do since both front seats slide forward to create a wide space to pass through, and you’ll find almost luxurious levels of leg space. Trouble is, your head is crammed into the rear glass, so short people are the only ones who will find riding in the tC’s rear quarters to be an acceptable proposition. The tC’s trunk is small and shallow, but beautifully trimmed. The rear 60/40 split folding seats flop down flat to take advantage of the Scion’s hatchback design, but need a shove to get locked back into place. The hatch is light and easy to close with the provided assist grips.

Overall, the Scion tC Supercharged proves comfortable enough, but doesn’t stand out in any particular way like the two other cars in this comparison test.

“Better bolsters than Cobalt. Thin steering wheel with cheap leather. Padded center armrest sits too far back, but at least it has one. Knees rest on hard plastic. Minimal headroom – feels more confining than others. Good rear leg and foot room, but very tight headroom. Easier to get in back than Honda or Chevy. Fully-lined cargo area, and a true hatch with a long, flat load floor.” – Blackett

“Front seats are sturdy, with good legroom but lacking in thigh support. Rear seats: ugh! No shoulder room, no headroom, no elbow room. Getting in back is easiest of the lot, with a big opening to crawl through. Rattles from the dash are very un-Toyota-like. Hatch is light, seats are easy to fold, but trunk is too shallow and liftover is too high.” – Chee

“Easy to find a good driving position, and there’s nice front thigh support. Lots of knee and foot room in back, but headroom is tight. Minimal wind and tire noise. Lots of cargo space with easy-release flat-fold rear seats.” – Perry

“The Scion provides a good driving position on seats covered in sticky cloth that holds you still. Bolstering is minimal, but the car has trouble exceeding the seats’ ability to hold you in, so no big whoop. Rear seat offers good leg space, but headroom is really tight and the backrest is uncomfortably reclined. Low slung nature, with wide doors and sills, makes entry and exit harder up front, but climbing into the back is pretty easy for a car like this. The trunk isn’t big and I hate the stupid cargo cover that clips into the rear headrest posts, but it is beautifully finished for a car in this price class.” – Wardlaw

Honda Civic Si: Second Place
Tall people need to take a close look at how the 2006 Honda Civic Si’s emergency brake affects comfort levels. Our two taller drivers complained long and loud about how it constantly poked them in the knee, calling the issue a deal breaker that would keep them from buying the car no matter how good it was or inexpensive it was. That’s too bad, because otherwise, at least for people seated up front, the Civic Si is quite comfortable, with supportive and well-bolstered sport seats, a small tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel is that is good to grip, and generous leg room. Climbing aboard, however, you’ll want to take care that you don’t bump your head on the rakish A-pillar, or bump the car next to you with the long door.

Getting into the back seat isn’t easy, especially when entering on the driver’s side. The space is tight, both when climbing in and once you’re situated in the seat. Inexplicably, Honda finishes the front seatbacks in hard plastic, which is very unfriendly to knees already confined in a small space. Foot room, however, is quite good, and the rear floor is flat. The Civic’s trunk opening is large, the cargo space is usefully shaped, and the rear seat folds in a 60/40 split. However, the rear seat doesn’t fold flat, and the trunk lid is unfinished and offers no close assist grip.

Despite these nits, and the problem with the emergency brake, the 2006 Honda Civic Si takes second place in the comfort category.

“Good seats in front, with bolsters that hold the body tight. Padded upper door sills are too high to make them comfortable places to rest an elbow. Watch your head on the raked-back A-pillar when getting in. Tight rear seat with minimal head and leg room. Lots of tire and road noise, and engine is loud when pushing into higher rpms, but it’s a sound enthusiasts will enjoy.” – Blackett

“Comfortable, well-bolstered front seats and good legroom, but the emergency brake hurts my knee at all times. The rear seat is cramped but could be worse. The trunk is deep and easy to access.” – Chee

“Best seats of the group, with a perfect driving position and great bolstering. Narrow access to rear seat, but foot and knee space is good. Rear headroom is tight. Plus, I couldn’t find a release lever to slide the front seat forward and let myself out.” – Perry

“Great bolstering, small steering wheel is good to grip. Driving position is good, but the soft, contoured upper door panel is a bit too high for comfort. The emergency brake constantly jabs into my right knee, a deal-breaker that would keep me from buying a Civic. Inhospitable rear seat, with hard front seatbacks making the lack of leg room even worse. Quietest and most refined car in terms of interior noise. Trunk has a large opening and is usefully shaped, but the lid is unfinished and offers no close assist grip.”—Wardlaw

Volkswagen GTI: First Place
Slip into the 2007 Volkswagen GTI’s soft, plaid-upholstered sport seats, and you’ll sink into the comfort that only chairs as supportive and well-bolstered as these can provide. You won’t be able to squirm much in these seats, which hold you in tight, but neither will you go wanting. The meaty tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel is a joy to hold, and though the upper door sills are hard they’re also rounded on the edges for comfort. Check out the center armrest; it slides forward as necessary, and it also collapses so that it won’t get in the way when you’re rowing through the gears.

The VW GTI’s comfort extends to the rear seat, where there’s plenty of head and leg room, as well as vents for heating and air conditioning. The GTI’s tall roofline and front seats that slide forward with ease make it simple to step into and out of the rear passenger area. And because the GTI is a traditional two-box hatchback design, it swallows cargo unlike any car in the test. Flop the rear seats down to create a cube-shaped container capable of toting up to 46 cubic feet of cargo.

Because the 2007 VW GTI is the most comfortable front and rear, because it’s easy to get into and out of, because it blends these traits with utility unmatched by any car in the test, and because it’s muted and refined when underway, it wins the comfort category.

“More comfortable than Civic, with softer cushions and better bolsters. Rear comfort is a huge improvement over the Civic, with lots of room and vents for heat and air conditioning. Plus, since both front seats tilt and slide forward, and the GTI has a tall roofline, getting in and out of the back is easiest of this group. Huge hatch opening and easy-fold seats make this the most cargo-friendly car in the test.” – Blackett

“Seats are firm but comfortable, with good bolstering and knee support. There’s plenty of room in back, but the rear headrests are difficult to adjust. Lowest liftover height of the lot, and the cargo space is easy to access and offers plenty of room.” – Chee

“I have a hard time finding a good seating position in this car. The seats are fine with decent bolsters, but I like to sit low and that doesn’t work well in the GTI. Rear seats offer lots of headroom and decent foot room, and the cabin is well insulated from noise. The rear seats don’t fold flat, and I thought the rear hatch release was frustrating.” – Perry

“Exceptional front seats, wonderful tilt/telescopic steering wheel with a flat bottom and fat grips, slick adjustable center armrest, hard but wide upper door sills. Rear seat cushion is a bit low, but there’s tons of foot and head room. Knee space is a bit snug. The front seats feature memory return – nice. I detected several interior rattles, and thought wind, road, and tire noise was excessive. Sunroof reverberation is awful at just about any speed. The rear seats need coaxing to flop down, don’t fold completely flat, and are hard to raise.” – Wardlaw