Ex- girlfriend had one; I'd concur with comments on the Sun's thread, didn't find it uncomfortable but spectacularly badly made, cheap, tinny and downright flimsy.
Pity because it was quite a nice looking little car, well specced and had a decent bit of go.
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Could explain the way your typical Saxo is driven if the owner is desperate to get out to relieve his aching back and numb posterior.
}:---)
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The best car of all was the Mercedes S-Class which scored 98.
says it all you need to know about the participants in the study...
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Based on the Pug 106 I believe and so comes orf quite poorly in a punch up with another car (crash)
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Cheap and cheerful yes, uncomfortable most definately no, except maybe for the siffly sprung sporty VTR/S or the Pug 106GTi.
In standard form one of the softest most compliant suspensions i've ever experienced in a small car, yet able to grip like a limpet and be thrown around without the slightest slip or slide.
Suspension was the smaller brother to the 306/ZX which were equally compliant.
When fitted with the superb little 1.4 or 1.5 NA Diesel just about the cheapest motoring ever, and didn't rust.
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We had a 106 (closely related) in 1.4 XSi trim. SWMBO have nothing but fond memories of it. Reliable, surprisingly quick, fantastic in the lanes, and cost buttons to run and maintain.
It was no S-class, but neither would I say it was the most uncomfortable car I've ever driven. Better than the Daewoo Nubira and the mk1 Focus with the LX seats by a country mile. Noisy on the motorway due to short gearing, but otherwise fine. The cramped pedal box was the biggest complaint.
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>> When fitted with the superb little 1.4 or 1.5 NA Diesel just about the cheapest
>> motoring ever, and didn't rust.
>>
I'll agree with that, Mrs RR's 1.5D is now 12 years old from new. No rust at all despite rarely getting any sort of clean, and only then when I do it in dispair at the mud covered lump sitting on the driveway.
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The Saxo is a re-skinned Peugeot 106.
The Which? findings were based on driving position and ride quality, and were taken from the Which? car survey 2011. Some of the results as below:
Superminis - Best: Citroen C3 (2010 on) 75%; VW Polo (2009 on) 74%; Ford Fiesta (2008 on) 71%. Worst: Peugeot 107 (2005 on) 45%; Vauxhall Corsa (1993-2000) 41%; Citroen Saxo (1996-2003) 39%.
Medium cars - Best: Volvo C30 (2007 on) 82%; Honda Civic Hybrid (2006 on) 78%; VW Golf (2009 on) 77%. Worst: Vauxhall Astra (1998-2005) 54%; Hyundai Accent (2000-2005) 52%; Nissan Almera (2000-2007) 50%.
Large cars - Best:Lexus IS (2005 on) 87%; Lexus IS (1999-2005) 85%; Skoda Superb (2002-2008) 85%.
Other categories were Luxury cars, Estates, MPV's, 4x4/SUV's and Sports/Convertibles.
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Only ever driven a Saxo to move it out of the way but have experience of its predecessor, the AX which had similar seat frames and seat position. Everyone who drove one of our 3 AXs was comfortable in it. You needed to be; with 1.0 petrol or 1.4 diesel it took a while to get around. My 6'3" son latterly criticised his Fiesta for not being as comfortable as the AX.
The diesel would do 60mpg even in Mrs H's delicate hands but the petrol ones were more chuckable somehow; probably a much lighter engine.
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Son has a 106 and it is quite comfortable for a small car. Soft ride, quit and good seats.
Sound to me Which respondees were geriatric old windbags used to driving large cars..
Worst car I ever drove was an Audi A2: harsh suspension, noisy throbby diesel and A pillar blocking views at roundabouts.
Reversing vision? Drive in forwards..
Awful car...
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Mrs Beest is a Which? subscriber, so I'll see if I can get the original report. It seems reasonable to award ratings on a single absolute scale because you'd expect a £60,000 barge to be more comfortable than a £6,000 biscuit tin; the question is how much more comfort you get for the extra cash.
This way seems better to me than the Euro-NCAP system we've got used to, where comparisons are valid only within a category, not across them. So we have no way of knowing how much more crash protection we get from moving up a size.
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Report is in the March 2012 edition. Information is taken from the 2011 Which? Car Survey, and shows the best and worst cars in each segment. They state within the report that you have to limit your expectations to the type of car you are buying. They also state that it is perhaps no surprise that premium brands fare so well.
Vauxhall has eight cars at the wrong end of the comfort charts, with various incarnations of the Astra and Vectra being rated especially poorly.
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Vauxhall has eight cars at the wrong end of the comfort charts, with various incarnations of the Astra and Vectra being rated especially poorly.?
Which partially explains GM Europe's losses.
Never felt I HAD to buy a Vauxhall.. The Mark2 SRI Cavalier was nice but...that was perhaps the pinnacle..
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>> Vauxhall has eight cars at the wrong end of the comfort charts, with various incarnations
>> of the Astra and Vectra being rated especially poorly.
>>
Which just goes to show how subjective "comfort" is.
My brother-in-law agrees with Which?, as he regards Vauxhall seats as the work of Satan and drives a Ford.
I've always found GM seats to be rather comfy and am firmly of the opinion that the Spanish Inquisition offered their customers better seating than Ford ever have.
Each to his own.
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Anyone who thinks a Saxo is Britain's most uncomfortable car has clearly never driven the latest Corsa. I just gave back a rental Corsa (I'd ordered a Fiat Panda) and it was the most horrible thing I can remember driving for a very long time. I spent the entire 2 days fiddling with the driver's seat trying to get comfortable. The suspension offered the usual Opel combination of choppy ride and serious understeer - I don't know how they so consistently manage this. The engine (1.4 petrol) was noisy and almost laughably gutless. I felt like a moving roadblock, modern diesels rev more freely than this engine.
This is a real step backwards compared to the nibble Citroen Saxo my (probably rose tinted) memory reminded me I drove about 13 years ago. I also remember with affection the AX - a great small car if a bit tinny
The only positive thing I can think of to mention about the Corsa was the heated steering wheel - never had one of those before.
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In my first job we had a AX as a pool car - was only shared between about 3 or 4 of us.
It was a special edition 1.5D spree! In a very bright shade of electric blue. No power steering with a big lump of iron over the front wheels, but, although not quick, was quite fluid to drive, and would sit around a ton all day.
Think we put about 60K on it in 18 months, and it only saw one or two services in that time.
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Not terribly surprised. Most of the Saxos around here have a driver who sits apparently on the floor while leaning into the centre of the car and keeping just the one hand crooked over the top of the steering wheel while simultaneously playing absurdly loud "music" (presumably to drown out the sound of the big bore exhaust) All this while keeping their mouths permanently open and a vacant expression on their face.
Can't be comfortable that can it?
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Citroen Saxo - Saxo is voted Britain's most uncomfortable car - Harleyman
