Driver Verdicts Comfort rated
Car comfort is a very subjective thing, and who better to ask about this thorny subject than owners - the people who drive their cars everyday and know exactly how comfortable they are. Or indeed, aren't. In the 2012 Which? Car survey nearly 40,000 people rated their cars for comfort.
You'd probably expect luxury cars to sit at the top of the comfort leaderboard, but large 4x4s actually take three of the top five spots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, small, cheap superminis prop up the bottom of the table.
Top 5 cars for comfort
Plush: Saab 9-5
Driver rating 98.4%
You say: Virtually indestructible. Mine is 13 years old and never misses a beat - one battery, one exhaust and one set of brake pads/discs in 125,000 miles.
We say: It may be long out of production, but Saab's 9-5 still shows the way in terms of long-distance ability. The front seats are superbly well contoured, comfortable and provide particularly good back support.
Volvo XC70 (2007-)Driver rating 98.2%
You say: Recently I drove my son back to university, a 350-mile six-hour journey. On arrival he said he felt as if he had spent the day in a comfortable armchair. My feelings exactly, and I had the pleasure of doing the driving.
We say: We measured the noise level in the cabin of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Drive diesel at just 66dB: that's very quiet and refined, even by luxury car standards.
Land Rover Range Rover (2002-)Driver rating 97.9%
You say: The ride position is second to none. It's like driving your living room around.
We say: A better cabin would be hard to find. The only fault we can find with it - and we're nit-picking.here - is that the glove compartment lid falls on the passenger’s knees when it's opened.
Lexus RX (2003-2009)Driver rating 97.9%
You say: Very comfortable, with plenty of gadgets. The remote opening tailgate is especially useful.
We say: A five-star car for refinement. At speeds up to 30mph, the RX400h hybrid can drive in whisper-quiet electric mode only. Even when the V6 engine kicks in, it remains very refined, right up to high speeds.
Lexus RX (2009-)Driver rating 97.9%
You say: This is our fifth Lexus. It's totally reliable and the back-up is fantastic.
We say: In a beautifully crafted cabin, gadget fans will be in heaven: even base-spec SE models have keyless entry, heated, electric, leather seats and a premium stereo.
Bottom 5 cars for comfort
Outmoded: Citroen Saxo
Driver rating 65.7%
You say: Ridiculously expensive services in order to maintain the warranty. Dealers make a mint from buyers.
We say: Below 70mph the engine is refined, but wind and engine noise become dominant in the cabin around the motorway speed limit.
Nissan Micra (1993-2002)Driver rating 65.6%
You say: For a first car it's brilliant; it's cheap to insure and running costs are low. I will be getting a bigger, more powerful car next time though.
We say: Cabin noise at motorway speeds in both 1.0- and 1.4-litre was a deafening 75dB in our tests.
Vauxhall Corsa (1993-2000)Driver rating 63.8%
You say: Steering too stiff, pedals too close together for me, and very basic. The engine is hard work on long journeys.
We say: A generation of teenagers learnt to drive in this generation Corsa, but times have moved on drastically since then.
Ford Ka (1996-2008)Driver rating 62.8%
You say: It's a fab car, but I've never felt safe when driving on roads with high traffic volumes. It feels too flimsy.
We say: Refinement isn't great. There's a lot of wind noise and if you're carrying four passengers going uphill, you'll need to change gear often, with a clattery reaction from the engine.
Citroën Saxo (1996-2003)Driver rating 59.1%
You say: The pedals are too close together, which can result in pressing more than one simultaneously.
We say: Seriously outdated by modern standards, and its two-star Euro NCAP safety score should raise alarm bells.
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