New Golf GTI (230ps) seats are killing me.

[Splashalot]

I get lower back pain ........I've found that lowering the seat height, making the back rest more vertical and making sure my bum is right back in the seat has cured it, especially as that then allowed me to use the lumber support. 

This is a very good tip.  Too many people recline the backrest and slouch in the seat, putting strain on the lower back and negating the effect of the seat's lumbar support.  Get your bum as far back in the seat as possible people.

[Sootchucker]

Be interested to see where you have your seat set Andrew. I'm constantly moving mine too find a comfortable position after the dealer ignored my request to not move my seat position under any circumstances due to my back issue.

To be honest bud, I find I'm also tweaking it. The wife uses it occasionally and I'm 6'1" and she's 5'1", so she has to move pretty much everything. Just wish the MK7 came with the electric memory seats as an option without having to spec leather.


In any case, my steering wheel is right in (towards the dash) and just down a touch. My seat (fore and and aft) is positioned so that my legs are bent at a round 20-30° angle on the pedals with my lower back right against the seat back, and the back rest adjusted to about 20-25° off vertical, so that with my back against the seat backrest, I can outstretch an arm and rest my wrist on the top of steering wheel at the 12 O'clock position whilst still keeping my back against the seat. Seat height is set about 8 pulls off the lowest setting. Finally my headrest is adjusted so that the top of the headrest is about level with the top of my head.


Not sure if that is the correct positioning or not, but feels very comfortable.

[mcmaddy]

I'm about 8 pulls up too but have the steering wheel nearly fully out 

[fredgroves]

Biggest issue for me, I just wish the seats would adjust a little bit lower.

Are you long in the body then or just like that racing car feeling of sitting on the floor?

I actually detest being low down, I like to sit up high where I can see all around. In fact that sitting on the floor thing was the final straw with the 1 series for me!

[gtiaps]

Iv had my 2016Gti 2yrs now from new and tbh never had a problem I drive mine and the wife's Scirocco at the same position 7/8 clicks in adjust back rest pump down the seat and I'm 6ft 4" and 16.5st iv had no issues at all

[itavaltalainen]

Quite an interesting read.
I just had a Merc E class for a week and found the seats in that utterly dreadful, no lumbar support whatsoever. And it wasn't just me who struggled to adjust, my partner, my brother all tried and wanted to shoot the design engineer.

Did a 1,000 mile in it and my back was in a right state after it and that is a car with a 20k price hike over the Golf. Did the same journey a good few times in my 2013 mk7 GT estate and my 2016 GTD (different trim but basically the same seat) with hardly any backpain at all. I have not had a lot of cars that were as comfortable with regards to seats as the mk7 Golf - and I've done nearly 170k miles combined in <4.5 years.

[Carbon VW]

I’m 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and the GTi has one of the most comfortable seats on a car I’ve ever driven. Golfs have always been good for tall people. I am on the lowest seat height setting because otherwise my hair would be rubbing the roof lining! 

[Guzzle]

Biggest issue for me, I just wish the seats would adjust a little bit lower.

Are you long in the body then or just like that racing car feeling of sitting on the floor?

I actually detest being low down, I like to sit up high where I can see all around. In fact that sitting on the floor thing was the final straw with the 1 series for me!

I'm 6ft 1, so not overly tall, and not long in the body either. I like to sit fairly upright, but I just don't like the flat seat base. I don't need them to go much lower, only maybe half an inch or so, so I have the sense of being behind the steering wheel, rather than over it. I might be mis-remembering, but I'm convinced that the seats in my Mk5 went lower than they do in the Mk7.

[Splashalot]

...... I might be mis-remembering, but I'm convinced that the seats in my Mk5 went lower than they do in the Mk7.

That is my impression too and I'm not that long out of my mk5 GTI.  At a guess I'd estimate the mk7's lowest setting is equivalent to 3 or more pumps up on the mk 5's.

[Arnold_Lane]

I also find the seat base quite uncomfortable over long distances and tend to move around quite a bit as a consequence.

Conversely to what others have said, I have found raising the seat to more of a mid height position and reclining the seat back more than I would do normally has helped. I'm 5' 11" & 12 st.

Seats are no where near as comfortable as the sports seats in our A6, but the off centre A6 driving position brings its own issues! This is one thing that does annoy me a bit as I'm quite sure that over the years manufacturers seeking to improve their NCAP ratings have moved seats more towards the centre of the car to reduce side impact injuries, but the steering columns remain where they were. Hence the driving position results in a degree of body twisting that can bring its own problems.