You might check with the car rental companies. More and more of them have hybrids available and a couple of days of rental could answer the question.

Bob Wilson

 

Bob's advice is good. However, even before you spend money on the rental, try pushing your seat in your present ride all the way back. That will at least get you started towards a solution. Mine doesn't cost you anything.

As I've stated in earlier postings on this matter I found getting my seat all the way back worked. In fact, it's a good thing the car has cruise control as I can just about reach the gas pedal (though easily hit the brake). Six hours driving that way and I was still able to get out of the Prius and go for a walk.

 

I purchased a 2008 with package # 6 on April 24th the next day at work I touched base with the other 6 Prius owners and the all said the same thing that their backs hurt after a 2 to 3 hour drive. On the 25th I started my vacation to Myrtle Beach from Maryland and after the 6 hour drive my wife and I were just about crippled . We are both 64 years old. I traded a 2007 Camry Se v6 which you can ride in all day long with no problems.Average mileage 22mpg overall.. But I still love my Prius and the 48 to 53 MPG it gave us on the round trip. Now we stop at the states visitors centers and walk around to get the kinks out. Can't wait for the 09's there may be a second one in our future. Sgt Tip

 

Exactly my experience when I drove from my home into the Mid-West last summer. I couldn't walk after 5 hrs. Even walking around every couple of hours didn't help much. This year with my seat all the way back, I was covering 400+ miles (easily 6 hours). I was able to get out of the Prius and go for a walk.

Oh, if you can, use your arms to help you get up.

Yep. I've even contemplated surgery.

 

I test drove the Prius prior to buying my Camry Hybrid. The seats were a major factor in the decision.

 

It's been 3 years now since I've owned my 2005 Prius. Bought it new as a replacement for a Passat (complete lemon of a car). Completely satisfied that I've made the right choice in buying the car (excellent MPG at around 50 mpg and totally cool technology)...but it has 2 major design flaws: (1) blind spot on the right rear and (2) terrible driver's seats. I can live with (1) because I'm a careful driver (ALWAYS look back at right rear side before switching lanes)...but (2) is becoming unbearable, esp. after 1 hour driving on CA's bumpy, bad roads.

I put in 500 miles per week commuting between the Central Valley (Sacramento) and San Francisco, and my back is really suffering from the drive...after 1 hour, my back is really uncomfortable. I knew when I bought this car that the seats did not get favorable reviews, but now I'm totally "feeling the pain." It's tolerable, nagging pain but completely annoying & uncomfortable after a long drive. Spoke with Toyota shop and they were not able to offer any real solutions. I drove a 2008 Prius lately as a rental and the driver seats are no better.

Questions: (a) Has anyone been successful in alleviating their back problems when sitting on a Prius? (I've seen a physical therapist so I don't live with back pain...except when after I've driven the Prius long-distance.) (b) Any ideas if future Prius will have a "luxury" edition? (c) Is there anything that can be done with the shock-absorbers or suspension system that can alleviate this problem?

Many thanks.

Pat

 

If you haven't tried pushing your seat all the way back (or far enough back to stretch out your legs), give that a try. Somewhere in this thread someone did suggest a seat builder in your area.

 

I have spoken with several Prius drivers who state that they thought the back pain was just them not sitting correctly, but after hearing that there are several complaints about the zero lumbar support, zero cushioning, limited height customization...we need to get together and formally file a law suit against Prius for literally causing drivers mild to severe back pain. In one instance, a close friend of mine had bouts of sciatica....she has owned Priuses since 2006 and trades in for newer versions. The pain was so excruciating that it brought her to tears when she arrived at a restaurant we were to meet at. Another friend who was meeting us as well, had to carefully maneuver her while in the drivers seat, so that he could pick her up and carry her out of the Prius. If you look at the design of the seat carefully, you will notice that the seat is Concave. This causes the small of the back to bulge outward rather than retain its normal curve, this affects the sacrum where all of the lower leg nerves, etc. gather so it is a critical point on the body where the Prius seats, the way they are designed places all the pressure on that area. Prius either needs to offer replacements that are ergonomically correct (supporting the posture) or pay us our money back for the cars so we can purchase other cars and they should trash 2004 to 2018 cars and start from scratch. They must have designed the seats so that during a crash, the body goes concave, inward upon impact from the front...their seat being concave supports the body "while it is in impact mode"...they do this to get higher safety ratings to sell more cars....higher safety ratings=more sales. But, the driver is mostly sitting in the seat, not getting into high impact accidents. So they need to redesign the seats so they are supportive of the natural curvature of the spine. In addition, the curvature places weight not only on the sacrum area but the kidney area as well...so some drivers may find themselves having to urinate more often than usual....it's because of the design of the seat. Okay, lets get together and sign a petition to have our seats either recalled and replaced or $25,000 to $40,000 each so we can get cars that will not destroy our postures, our backs, our kidneys, our necks, our legs.