Cars with the best seats 2024/2025
A car’s seats are crucial to passenger comfort and wellbeing but some models stand out with real high class seating
Car manufacturers spend millions on their development and entire companies exist to design and make them – and ultimately, a bad car seat can make or break a potential car purchase for many people. Car seats are so important that we spend a lot of time assessing them when testing any new model, paying particular attention to comfort, support, range of adjustment and quality of materials.
The best car seats perfectly match the character and intended purpose of the car to which they are fitted. The seats in the best luxury cars cosset and soothe their occupants, while those in most focused sports cars aim to connect the driver as directly as possible to the car’s mechanicals and dynamic abilities. Between these two extremes, there’s a spectrum of seat requirements that manufacturers have become very good at navigating in recent years.
The cars with the best seats
If you’re a picky sitter like the road test team at Auto Express, our list of cars with the best seats is here to help…
Rolls-Royce Phantom
Large, opulent and extremely luxurious, the Rolls-Royce Phantom is quite simply one of the most comfortable cars on sale. Swathes of leather cover just about every part of the incredibly well-insulated cabin, while sophisticated air suspension almost completely isolates occupants from the road.
A large part of the Phantom’s luxury feel comes from its seats, which are among the most comfortable we have ever tested. The front items are widely adjustable and sumptuously padded, while buyers can choose from three rear-seat layouts. Even the bench seat – Rolls calls it a ‘Lounge Seat’ – is exceptional, with wraparound outer extremities and an in-built armrest. The top-end option, dubbed ‘Immersive Seating’, brings reclining individual rear seats and a large centre console.
Further seat-based options include ventilation, wood veneer picnic tables, deployable footrests, massage functions and extra headrest cushions – as well as the essential champagne fridge.
Alpine A110 R
As the stripped back and unapologetically hardcore version of the already very sporty standard car, the Alpine A110 R is about as close as road cars come to racing car specification. That also applies to its bespoke one-piece carbon fibre seats made by specialist Sabelt.
Carbon fibre features throughout the A110 R to minimise weight – even the wheels are made from the expensive material – and create one of the sharpest-driving sports cars on sale. The car’s seats form an integral part of the overall experience, connecting the driver to the performance and dynamics on offer while providing great support through the corners.
McLaren Artura
McLaren makes some of the best sports cars in the world, created with a level of engineering depth that can often put rivals to shame. That attention to detail in the British firm’s development process extends to every facet of the car – including the seats. Low-slung, perfectly supportive and yet still comfortable enough for long distances, the seats in the McLaren Artura are among the best we’ve tried.
The driving position is perfect, which, when combined with the low scuttle and tactile thin-rimmed steering wheel, helps make the Artura a comfortable, confidence-inspiring sports car despite its huge performance.
Porsche 911 S/T
Another rarified sports car, another pair of excellent seats. The Porsche 911 S/T is a limited-run special created to celebrate the firm’s 60th anniversary and combines all the best bits of the 911 GT3 RS, albeit with a less racy exterior and the addition of a manual gearbox.
It also gets the same excellent bucket seats, mounted low and trimmed with retro fabrics to evoke those used in the car’s 1960s predecessor. Porsche has used the past six decades to hone and evolve the 911, making it arguably the best sports car on sale today. Its modern incarnation certainly boasts one of the best driving positions around – and in the rare and expensive 911 S/T, some of our favourite seats too.
BMW 5 Series
Just like the 911 above, the BMW 5 Series has been updated and improved many times over a number of decades. The car entered its eighth generation over 50 years after the original arrived in 1972; known by its G60 model code, the latest iteration is bigger, faster, packed with technology and is far more luxurious than ever before.
The 5 Series boasts some of the best front seats we’ve tried in a car of this type, with wide-ranging full electric adjustment included as part of the optional Comfort Plus pack. Meanwhile, the back seats are so spacious and comfortable it’s hard to recommend spending more on the larger 7 Series.
Volkswagen Golf
The eighth-generation Volkswagen Golf is one of the best family hatchbacks on sale, with a near-perfect balance of practicality, efficiency, comfort and a great driving experience. It’s also a great choice if you want to find a great driving position, with a huge range of adjustment available for both steering wheel and driver’s seat.
Volkswagen tends to fit slightly firmer seats than some other manufacturers but we find this translates to a solid, supportive feel on longer journeys. The sportier Golf GTI models up the game in terms of lateral support in fast corners but the standard car’s seats remain some of the best in a ‘normal’ car.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
While some of Alfa Romeo’s classic models required a long-armed, bent-leg tradeoff for many drivers, the Italian firm turned a page on ergonomics in recent years and now engineers some of the best driving positions in the business. The welcome step forward has also been helped by the fitment of great seats – especially in its sportiest cars.
The Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is a fantastic sports saloon with sharp handling and beautifully characterful engine, both of which are all the more enjoyable thanks to its great standard seats. The options list also includes some seriously impressive Sparco Carbonshell seats, which while expensive are a great addition for keen drivers.
Volvo EX40
The Volvo EX40 is an electric SUV based on its internal-combustion-powered XC40 sibling and as such benefits from a similar focus on comfort and practicality. Unlike so many of its rivals, the Volvo allows for an upright, high-set driving position for those who prefer a more traditional SUV feel.
The car’s front seats offer loads of adjustment and are perfect for longer trips; in the back there’s not quite as much space as you’ll find in rivals like the Lexus RZ, but the seats remain very comfortable for adults. And good news for vegans – the Volvo is trimmed exclusively in a range of leather-free fabrics.
Honda Civic Type R
Low-slung bright red sports seats have been a central feature of the Honda Civic Type R since its original Japan-only EK9 incarnation and are just as iconic as its Championship White paint. Fast forward from 1997 to 2024 and the latest FL5-generation Type R has stuck to the script.
While exceedingly supportive and sportily low, the Civic Type R’s seats are wider and more comfortable day-to-day than those in many of its hot-hatch rivals. They also sit in one of the best interiors in the family hatchback class, with neat design and great build quality – just one of many aspects that made the Civic Type R our Hot Hatch of the Year for 2024.
Lexus LS
A left-field choice in the crowded luxury saloon market, the Lexus LS has been around since the dawn of the 1990s. Now in its fifth generation, the car is more luxurious than ever and is a serious rival for the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series when it comes to outright comfort.
While the LS’s front seats are fantastic, it’s rear-seat occupants who will be having the best time. Top-spec LS models get individual heated and ventilated rear seats boasting user memory, 14-way adjustment (plus four-way adjustment for the butterfly headrests) and extendable footrests. Throw-in rear window shades, smooth-riding air suspension and body-temperature-sensing climate control and the result is one of the best limousines around.
How to choose the best car seat for you
While we’ve laid out some of our favourites above, it’s worth noting that comfort is subjective; the only way to really know if a car’s seat is a good fit for you is to head to your local showroom and sit in it.
Spend some time getting comfortable behind the wheel and explore the available adjustments, including height, distance from the pedals, lumbar support and backrest angle. It’s a good idea to set the seat so that your legs are in a comfortable position before moving on to the adjustable steering column to bring the wheel into reach, then fine-tuning from there; ideally, you should be able to rest your wrists on the top of the wheel. Try a few different makes and models and you’ll soon learn what your preferences are.
If rear-seat comfort is important, don’t be afraid to bring some friends and family with you to test out the car fully loaded. Test out rear-seat legroom and headroom, and familiarise yourself with any available adjustment here too.
It’s also a good idea to consider what sort of seat is best when optional items are on offer. Carbon bucket seats are a great choice if track days are a regular fixture but less so for long motorway journeys, for example.
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