Who's a Five Footer Here?

[Julie1012]

I'm 5'2" and this is why I wanted the powered driver's seat. (And why I didn't get the coupe.) I originally had the seat low, because I normally like to sit low, but discovered, while I could see over the dash, I couldn't see well all around. Now I'm high enough to see comfortably in all directions and the seat isn't even all the way up. The only visibility problem I have is when turning left, because the left mirror blocks my view, but I think that's a design flaw. And, yes, the arm rest is a little low.

If she's going to be driving the car often I'd suggest a wedge cushion made for this purpose over a pillow. The support will be worth it and it won't break down as easily as a pillow. They make some with memory foam, those should be pretty comfy.

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[mims80]

Mine is an LX and it's manually height adjustable.

It could be psychological for my wife as well. She's used to our minivan and our old 03 Civic which was a lot smaller. I've suggested playing with pillows and cushions from the house and she hasn't jumped at the idea. She just may not be comfortable with the sight lines in this car. I've completely lowered the seat AND cranked it all the way up to compare. Feels like two different cars! I'm 6' flat, for the record.

must be that other lever that i see on my seat. i'll have to play with it. thanks!

 

[bcthai]

Mine is an LX and it's manually height adjustable.

It could be psychological for my wife as well. She's used to our minivan and our old 03 Civic which was a lot smaller. I've suggested playing with pillows and cushions from the house and she hasn't jumped at the idea. She just may not be comfortable with the sight lines in this car. I've completely lowered the seat AND cranked it all the way up to compare. Feels like two different cars! I'm 6' flat, for the record.

I have to say that the sight lines are confusing to me, at least compared to my previous cars. The front wheel 'bulges' on top of the hood make it look like the side edges, but the car is wider on the sides from fender flares. My previous compact was straight down the sides all the way down. After a month, I still have issues parking it exactly straight or close to something on the sides. And the very narrow car park garage turns at work are a pain as I overcompensate not knowing quite where the side is. I need to jack the seat up high to see better in the car park. And I'm 6'0'' tall. Need to add a front camera...

 

[mims80]

played with that extra lever...it did adjust my seat higher but i like to sit low so i had to adjust it back down...took forever but i did it.

 

[GAVZDAD]

Get one of those booster seats like they have in restaurants.

That's funny. A five foot tall wife? That'd be kinda cute.

 

[Yeti]

My wife is 5'3 and I'm 6'6. She loves driving my CivicX, but so do I! still shocked I fit lol.

 

[YankeesJTJ]

I'm 5'2" and love the fact that i can adjust the seat height in my coupe. Perfect Height every time. It's much better than when i was 16 driving an 85 Chevy spectrum hatchback and i was about 4'8" or so and had to sit on a cushion!

 

[Civics4Ever]

Y'all know the steering wheel adjusts up and down and in and out.

 

[GAVZDAD]

Y'all know the steering wheel adjusts up and down and in and out.

I wish the telescoping allowed about 3-4" more. I like to lean my seat back some.

 

[Civics4Ever]

I wish the telescoping allowed about 3-4" more. I like to lean my seat back some.

I also like leaning mine back. But in this new Civic, it has so much room, I can't put the seat all the way to the rear as I had to in my older ones. I am 5' 11".

 

[ckp]

My wife is 5’ flat, maybe a touch shorter. She didn’t bother coming with me for the test drive, and now we have the issue that she can’t see, because the car is so much bigger. When the seat is at its highest, she’s at eye level!

Are there any comfortable pads which could raise the seat height? There are a lot on the market, but I prefer word-of-mouth since I don’t have a lot of time for window shopping.


Thanks!

I too am short...but I bought two wedge pads from amazon...with the seat all the way up I am fine, but anyone in the passenger seat is sitting in a bowl...

 

[LoveToDrive]

Mine is an LX and it's manually height adjustable.

It could be psychological for my wife as well. She's used to our minivan and our old 03 Civic which was a lot smaller. I've suggested playing with pillows and cushions from the house and she hasn't jumped at the idea. She just may not be comfortable with the sight lines in this car. I've completely lowered the seat AND cranked it all the way up to compare. Feels like two different cars! I'm 6' flat, for the record.

This. Certainly vans have a lot better views out the windows, and going from that to this Civic must be a big change. Your post was a while ago; has she figured out a solution? I am 5'. I just had to get used to not having a complete view like a tall person. For a long time, I had a folded-up towel just to give a tiny little boost without making the seat too high, as I would not be able to utilize the clutch properly then.

Funny, I always felt that my legs were an inch too short. There is never a perfect set-up for me. Either I'm just a tad too close to the steering wheel or a tad far from the clutch so I have to slouch a little. Take my pick from day to day. I also have to adjust the back position depending on the season - jacket or no jacket.

The left mirror definitely feels misplaced and gets in the way of my view, but still not as in-your-face bad as the Ford Focus hatch I rented a while ago. Compared to the '99 car I owned, the doors are a lot higher, too, which makes the less-view feeling stronger. I do have to move my body forward when looking to the left.

 

[Knoxgirl]

I responded earlier but wanted to say that after driving the car 5,000 miles that I can empathize more with your wife. The flow of the hood and the general lowness of the car have been hard to adjust to, especially coming off of driving a small SUV. Even though my seat height and driving position are good, it still doesn't feel to me like I have the visibility of my old Forester, which is compounded by the fact that there are so many SUVs and trucks on the road blocking my view!

 

[drauma]

Sorry! Been offline for a while..

No pads yet! I spoke to her, and she agrees she just needs to suck it up and drive. She misses driving stick, so we're waiting for the weather and our schedules to level out, and then she says she'll just try.

It really is a bigger car!!!

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