all I want is an automatic with parking assist a comfy seat and no dead cows

[Oliversmumsarmy]

I don't normally buy brand new cars but dp says he wants one and at the moment anything dp wants I will move heaven and earth to get him.

I went to the first dealership with excitement and sat in the first car, then the second then the third and with my excitement evaporating I sat in the fourth and fifth.

I have sat on piles of bricks that have been more comfortable. I made the mistake of sitting in an Audi for a few minutes and when I struggled out, my back which had been twinge free for a month was starting to scream at me. I have been to Vauxhall, Audi, Ford, Mazda, BMW, VW Citroen (nice seats in the small 2 door cars but not the same ones in the 4 or 5 door) and Renault where we sat in the Dacia Duster, lovely comfy seats but no park assist and no automatic. The kadajah was great if they would get away from the leather which surrounded the perfectly comfortable cloth seats in what felt like bricks that stuck in my back.. We found the most comfortable seats here, but if you wanted an automatic and parking assist then the steering wheel got covered in dead cow.

I got back in our wonderful cloth seated ancient Scenic and relaxed into the upholstery. Note to manufacturers upholstery is supposed to be soft not resemble the feel of brickwork.

can anyone recommend a car I am losing hope.

I've just had a less than 12 months old Mercedes CLA shooting break. The A class is lovely too but the new ones have (fake) leather seats. Used ones you can get cloth.

It's really comfortable to drive. I test drive the a class too & loved it but the boot space was too small.

Not all Audis are uncomfortable but my husband has an almost brand new, top of the range A5 and I hate it. The driving position is terrible and every time I drive it I get a bad back. We had an A4 which I loved so it depends entirely on the model I suppose. I've always thought that most cars are built around men and it can be quite tricky to find one that is comfortable for a woman.

I have a skoda yeti and bloody love it. I do have dead cows but I quite like them, not all of the, do. You can get parking assist and all the other gadgets. Worth a look if you like the seating position of the duster.

And I think all new upholstered car seats will be hard. They soften with age, like sofas.

Unfortunately I can't afford to be with a bad back whilst the seats wear in. Just bought a new sofa and certainly didn't wear it in, it is one of the most comfortable sofas I have sat on. Wouldn't have bought it if it was hard to sit on.

The problem seems to stem from if you don't want leather then you are obviously cheap and therefore you won't want an automatic and parking assist.

Spoke to a friend who works as a car sales man and he says the number of people who come in like me all excited to buy a new car and walk out because the seats are rock hard is not small.

Would love to know why car manufacturers think a hard leather seat is so great.

I can spend more time in my car during the day than I do in bed so the idea of sitting on a pile of bricks for 8/9 hours per day is a definite no no.

I've got a Nissan Pulsar, very comfortable drive and has a rear camera. I don't have parking sensors but you could get them as an extra. It's zero tax and nippy although I've got a manual.

It's fabric upholstery but still a good spec!

How big does it need to be? I've driven a Honda Jazz automatic for years and am probably going to replace it with the same again - that has fabric seats etc and good space in the back...

Funnily enough I was going to say Honda Jazz - don't know about parking assist and I doubt even the swankiest model will be v swanky but comfy seats and not at a level that's hard to get out of.

A B class Mercedes may be your answer, I think all the 'leather, is faux.

Our seat altea has cloth seats, rear parking sensors and you can get it in automatic.

I find it very comfortable, but my sister doesn't. She clearly has an odd shaped back

We went to look at a Fiat 500L with a view to buying but it was so uncomfortable for the 5 minute test drive I couldn't wait to get out of it. We test drove a new Fiat 500X and the seats were wonderful and we now have one. Done a few 7 hour trips up to Scotland in it and no shoulder spasms like I was getting.

My mother is looking at a Kia Sportagae, higher than her Audi which she struggles to get out of, and parking picture screen so you can see what's behind you and automatuc

I need it for 4 people, I am the shortest at 5ft 4 and am the driver, ds and dd are both over 5ft 8 and still growing.

I also need it to have a decent size boot.

We currently have a Seat Leon estate which is automatic and doesn't have leather seats. It's a lovely drive, very spacious, and economic.

Like pp, we just bought a skoda Octavia and love it. If you're ordering brand new you could get the more basic version which comes with cloth seats, and up spec it with stuff like park assist. Our seats are part leather and part something or other and not hard. Not sure what the steering wheel's covered in though!

My DM just bought a new Honda Jazz. Cloth seats and panoramic roof. She had parking sensors put on it.

going to go and look at more cars tomorrow when dd is with us. That in itself with throw up another set of problems etc What we found is that if you go for the cloth seat version and the plastic steering wheel then you cannot have park assist.

Go to skoda, we have the sport edition octavia and the sport seats are fabric and moulded in a really comfy way, much comfier than others we've had.

Have you tried park assist OP? Just asking because I have it and so far, don't love it. It parallel parked me 3ft from the kerb the other day, and when it bay parks, straddles two spaces! I absolutely love the parking sensors and didn't pay much more for the assist feature so don't mind, but wonder if I'm doing something wrong!

It's probably easier to just learn to park 😂

I'm yet to find a comfy Audi - great drive, great engine but not good for bad backs, also after driving a Skoda the other week, I cannot understand why you'd buy an Audi as they are the same car (we tried an A6 estate and a Superb Estate) you just pay thousands for the Audi badge and the crappy Audi customer service (we've been to every dealership in our region and owned an Audi for 8years and come to the conclusion they are all shite)
I have been upset that every car we have looked at comes with leather seats now & privacy glass, I'm not a fan but at least the ones in the Landrover are comfy.

Ha thanks palomb! I can park, thankfully, as I live in a city where v few people have driveways so loads of parallel parking needed. My DH on the other hand has not acquired the parking gene, hence park 'assist'!

Surely you can pick a low spec model and pay for extras? Find a comfortable ride and choose the extras? That's supposed to be the luxury of buying new!

Giddy my thoughts entirely but apparently you can only get the extras if you have dead cow lining your interior.

Was told by Renault most cars they sell have leather in them because that is what the customer wants, but he failed to realise it might be because the customer wanted an automatic or parking assist or other such stuff and they only came if they bought leather.