A good daily driver

[jsean]

I’d second the recommendation for a used Volvo. 2013+ S60, V60 and some years XC70s and S80s could be had with the 3.2. Their seats are phenomenal for back and posterior comfort.

 

[jstert]

Wow, I appreciate the feedback and help from everyone.

I'm going to share some more info to help narrow this down a bit. I want to stick with used as I have to park in a city occasionally with bad roads and some crime issues and drive on roads with deer, coyotes, and bad drivers. I'm a bit shy so I don't want to discuss where I live or my budget other than to say it's reasonably flexible for used fwd sedans of 5 years or older.

I'm wanting to try to avoid GM as we have never had good luck with our GMs. While I know the large GM sedans with the 3800 are recommended and have known people who have had excellent service, our results have have varied from the normal experiences (one relative used to have an 02 Grand Prix and it was constantly needing repairs to the 3800 and left him stranded several times due to the engine with only 104k miles and none of these were related to the intake gasket issues the series 2 was known for and numerous mechanics couldn't fix it completely and our results with the 60 degree engines weren't much better and their current engines have burned many of my family and friends). On top of this, I drove both a Lacrosse (I think it was an 07 but I know it had the 3800 series III) and a Ford Five Hundred back to back while having service performed on my daily driver. The cloth seats on the Lacrosse were not comfortable, it kept stalling, and felt like it was not aging well at around 100k miles vs the Five Hundred had the leather seats (just as one of my relative's 09 Taurus cloth seats had been) and found them comfortable and it seemed in better condition at 220k miles and never stalled.

The Camry I drove was an 18 LE as a rental before the wreck and more recently a 21 (I don't remember the trim but it was cloth interior). It was okay but I was hoping for something with thicker padding. Are the previous generation of the Camry, Avalon's, or ES less sporty and more generous on the seat padding (if so what years would be the best at the comfort)?

With the suggestion of the Accord what generation would be the best for softer vs sport and which powertrain would be the most reliable (I'm concerned about any version featuring cylinder deactivation and concerned about CVTs)

Concerning VW, I tried one but it didn't work. Too narrow seats with too much bolstering.

I already am looking for the highest tire sidewall and smallest wheel diameter and the lowest speed rating on the tires ( though I thank you for the suggestion). One thing I thought of as well is the struts? When a relative had their 09 Taurus switched from the soft struts to firm struts which transformed the ride into a Sporter ride when another relative installed new struts in their 11-20 Grand Caravan it made it much floatier than it was from the factory. Are there brands available which provide softer ride?

differences are distinctly noticeable in the model and specific trim in any car. as for your vw experience, you may have tried some vw other than a passat s, base model, with wide cloth seats. se and above trims are leather, fitted and bolstered, especially any smaller model other than a passat. that said having a vw, and any euro make, requires strict attention to maintenance to be a successful used car. as for a used volvo, save yourself grief. i had a 245 from 1993 to 2005. it didn’t age well. if you really don’t like a buick best stick to a used toyota camry or avalon…

 

[Enthusiast]

Okay I had a chance to drive a few ('11 ES 350, '13 ES 350 Ultra Luxury, '11 Camry V6 cloth seats ( I think LE ), a '16 Avalon Touring, a '15 Camry LE I4) based on local availability. The best riding was the 11 ES 350 and also had the best seats, The problem was too many miles and it was in rough condition.
The 13 ES 350 was a bit firmer than I prefer but the primary problem was the seats got to firm and extended too far. I think those seats were offered on the upper level ES 350 like the Ultra luxury but there was maybe a different seat on the lower trim levels (Am I correct on this?).
The 11 Camry was a definite no as the seats were just weird.
The 16 Avalon seats were okay but the touring suspension was too firm, I'm assuming one of the other trims would be smoother. Correct?
The 15 Camry was a step down from the Avalon no doubt and wouldn't work.

I guess another question that I have is I know there are aftermarket seats for performance purposes, are there aftermarket seats that can be installed in modern vehicles with all the safety equipment stuff and electronics being considered that are more focused on softer seat padding and more of a focus on comfort? What about modifications to add softer struts or dampers regardless of brand or model type?

 

[Gasbuggy]

V6 Accord. Excellent daily. Any 3.5v6 Toyota. Especially the older Rav4

 

[supton]

I don't recall airbags in the seats of our '11 Camry... just that they were kinda worn after 200k. I would think you could bolt and unbolt seats, but then again, ours were manual seats, power controls might complicate things.

Struts sure do affect ride, but so can tires. I had a set of cheapo Mastercrafts on my '99 Camry when I got it, with Sensen struts. Ride seemed a bit off. I replaced the struts, thinking, they were due. Helped a bit. But going to RT43's gave it the ride that I felt it should have. Cheap tires, cheap ride IMO.

Watch out for sidewall height. Many upscale trim levels add alloy rims and taller rims, with attendant short sidewalls. Avoid those.

 

[Enthusiast]

I don't recall airbags in the seats of our '11 Camry... just that they were kinda worn after 200k. I would think you could bolt and unbolt seats, but then again, ours were manual seats, power controls might complicate things.

Struts sure do affect ride, but so can tires. I had a set of cheapo Mastercrafts on my '99 Camry when I got it, with Sensen struts. Ride seemed a bit off. I replaced the struts, thinking, they were due. Helped a bit. But going to RT43's gave it the ride that I felt it should have. Cheap tires, cheap ride IMO.

Watch out for sidewall height. Many upscale trim levels add alloy rims and taller rims, with attendant short sidewalls. Avoid those.

Yeah I'm familiar with the different tires can make. I always choose the smallest rim diameter that will give me the largest sidewall possible. I also choose to go with the lowest speed rating permissible for the class of vehicle and I try to avoid firmer style tires. An example I went from a Dunlop w rated tires to the same general Altimax RT43 t-rated. One of my relatives swap the struts on their 13 Dodge minivan and the ride is completely different now to where it's borderline floaty for driving on extremely rough roads very long distances. I'd like to get as close to that as possible while staying in a sedan.

 

[SatinSilver]

XLE trim Camry should do it for you. Anything from 2012 - present.

 

[Warlord]

Prius

 

[Don_B]

Absolutely last resort.

 

[skyactiv]

Honda Gold Wing

 

[Graham Piccinini]

I recommend this. Volvo has the best seats. Period. Sold mine at over 270k miles. Got 31MPG on vacation trips. 3.2L inline-six and AWD.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/wagon-superiority-thread.330650/post-6125235

 

[Graham Piccinini]

And more pics of the same car. It also had Aisin 6sp auto. At 270k miles, no oil loss/leak/consumption. The seats were honestly more comfy than the seats in 2010 Avalon that replaced this Volvo.

 

[ecotourist]

My '86 Volvo 740 Turbo had the most comfortable seats of any vehicle I've ever ridden in or driven. You could drive 1,000 km/day and be no worse for wear. Very good in bad weather and on bad roads. Volvos do very well in crashes. Mine was rear wheel drive of course. It got good mileage and though reliable cost a lot to maintain.

But the 740/760 series are getting old and their styling is dated. The 940/960 series is newer and has more modern styling. You could do a lot worse than an old Volvo 240.

 

[SeanE]

Just bought a 2000 Yukon XL. Wide, thick padded seats. Even the third row is plush. Only down side is 15 mpg but it’s an 8 passenger vehicle that has tons of storage with seats folded down.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Just bought a 2000 Yukon XL. Wide, thick padded seats. Even the third row is plush. Only down side is 15 mpg but it’s an 8 passenger vehicle that has tons of storage with seats folded down.

15MPG is not bad. My 1995 Tahoe could never do more than 12MPG. So enjoy your more spacious gas saver

 

[Tahoe4Life]

There is only one- the one and only dinosaur - The Crown Vic".

As much as I loved my [super reliable] Town Cars-Crown Vic-CVPI-Grand Marquis till over 300K miles my back started to bother me on those long 24-38 hour highway runs.

My 5.3 V8 2016 Tahoe is much more comfortable for those long runs now. No bad on fuel either. Get 24-25MPG if it is all highway. Mixed driving is around 17MPG. Only use 87 octane fuel.