Disappointed in the lack of rear leg room in the JSW

CheapBastard · Jun 20, 2019

My legs are not real long but I like my drivers seat back almost to the last click and with it set at that position there is hardly any leg room in the back seat, might as well be a 2 seater because I’d be lucky to fit my fist between the front seat back and the rear seat.

Luckily it’s just my wife and I 95+% if the time, basically the only time someone rides in the back us when we take our son to and from school. We were planning a 4 hour trip to Lake Tahoe but I’m not sure if I want to take this now.

MichaelB · Jun 20, 2019

CheapBastard said:
My legs are not real long but I like my drivers seat back almost to the last click and with it set at that position there is hardly any leg room in the back seat, might as well be a 2 seater because I’d be lucky to fit my fist between the front seat back and the rear seat.

Luckily it’s just my wife and I 95+% if the time, basically the only time someone rides in the back us when we take our son to and from school. We were planning a 4 hour trip to Lake Tahoe but I’m not sure if I want to take this now.

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! didn't you check that out before you purchased it or do you now just want to come to this forum and have something to complain about?

CheapBastard · Jun 20, 2019

Thank you for your interest

MichaelB · Jun 20, 2019

CheapBastard said:
Thank you for your interest

Anytime

andreigbs · Jun 21, 2019

Does your wife also ride with her seat all the way back? If not, your son should fit adequately in the back.

My cousin has two kids and travels with all their gear too, hasn't complained about roominess of his JSW yet.

CheapBastard · Jun 21, 2019

andreigbs said:
Does your wife also ride with her seat all the way back? If not, your son should fit adequately in the back.

.

Yeah, that’s where he sits when we take him to school but the trip we are planning would be with a 4th person

I checked the dimensions before buying, comparing the wagen with the sedan and the sedan actually had more shoulder, head and leg room but very minimally, I guess when it’s that tight every 1/2” makes a difference. As far as shoulder dimensions, I was a bit concerned with it because I’m a pretty big guy and it hasn’t been an issue, I’m coming from a Passat and it’s very roomy everywhere.

oilhammer · Jun 21, 2019

It was a compact car when it was designed, it was classified as such, still is. Roomier than the A-segment Volkswagens previous, that's for sure.

Rental places have larger cars if you would like one for a trip. They even have vans and things.

Nemo312 · Jun 21, 2019

Maybe you should move your seat up.

sootchucker · Jun 21, 2019

except in an S class mercedes or similar, there is no leg room in ANY car with the seat all the way back.

oilhammer · Jun 21, 2019

Cars (sedans) that come to mind that have a lot of rear seat room:

Any Euro sedan with "L" at the end is especially good... Audi A8L, Mercedes-Benz 300SDL, Jaguar XJS-L, for instance. The Volkswagen Phaetons were pretty good, Audi A6 not too bad, The B4 Passat was surprisingly roomy in the back seat. The Lexus LS400 and LS430 (the later cars lost a lot due to the swoopy roof line). My D-body Cadillac (which was itself a stretched B-body, so bigger than big) had LOTS of rear leg room. I felt like a pimp driving it, but it was a nice ride and very roomy, LOL.

JELLOWSUBMARINE · Jun 21, 2019

oilhammer said:
Cars (sedans) that come to mind that have a lot of rear seat room:
Any Euro sedan with "L" at the end is especially good... Audi A8L, Mercedes-Benz 300SDL, Jaguar XJS-L, for instance. The Volkswagen Phaetons were pretty good, Audi A6 not too bad, The B4 Passat was surprisingly roomy in the back seat. The Lexus LS400 and LS430 (the later cars lost a lot due to the swoopy roof line). My D-body Cadillac (which was itself a stretched B-body, so bigger than big) had LOTS of rear leg room. I felt like a pimp driving it, but it was a nice ride and very roomy, LOL.

Loved my B5.5... If only it had a m5 or 6

ewdysar · Jun 21, 2019

yeah, when i bought my car, i understood that it got good mileage. but i like to drive fast, and i have found that the faster i drive, the more my fuel economy goes down. i’m pretty disappointed with that.

ewdysar · Jun 21, 2019

and i like fresh air while driving, so i often open my windows. but when i drive on the freeway with my windows open, my hair gets messed up. i wish that it wouldn’t do that...

andreigbs · Jun 21, 2019

I've always liked the Bimmer 7-series cars, those had longer wheelbase options too for more legroom in the back. I'd love a diesel 7 with X-drive as an option.

MichaelB · Jun 21, 2019

ewdysar said:
yeah, when i bought my car, i understood that it got good mileage. but i like to drive fast, and i have found that the faster i drive, the more my fuel economy goes down. i’m pretty disappointed with that.

A simple law of physics, that is true with anything that moves as it takes more energy to move faster.

MichaelB · Jun 21, 2019

ewdysar said:
and i like fresh air while driving, so i often open my windows. but when i drive on the freeway with my windows open, my hair gets messed up. i wish that it wouldn’t do that...

Then wear a cap, a very simple solution.

ewdysar · Jun 21, 2019

whaaaat? laws of physics apply? like if i move the driver’s seat back, then there is less legroom for the back seat? woah. now you’re just talking crazy....

MichaelB · Jun 21, 2019

ewdysar said:
whaaaat? laws of physics apply? like if i move the driver’s seat back, then there is less legroom for the back seat? woah. now you’re just talking crazy....

What thread are you reading.............have you lost your mind? Need I proceed? Try reading your postings and real followup. Your phone must be broke eh?

crashtested · Jun 21, 2019

Admittedly you are a "CheapBastard", suck it up.

10 Best Cars with Big Back Seats

ewdysar · Jun 21, 2019

i am reading this thread. the original poster was disappointed that since he keeps his driver’s way back, there is not much leg room behind him. i guess we need a “sarcasm” emoji.

MichaelB · Jun 21, 2019

ewdysar said:
i am reading this thread. the original poster was disappointed that since he keeps his driver’s way back, there is not much leg room behind him. i guess we need a “sarcasm” emoji.

What does that have to do with your posts about fuel economy at high speed and your messed up hair when the window is down?

andreigbs · Jun 21, 2019

Sarcasm. You either get it or you don’t.

I guess you don’t.

ewdysar · Jun 21, 2019

each post was supposed to be a metaphor. if i choose to drive fast, my mileage will go down. if i choose to drive with my window down, my hair will get messed up. if i choose to move my seat back, there will be less leg room in back. none of it is the car’s fault, all three are examples of the consequences of my own actions.

MichaelB · Jun 21, 2019

Thanks all for the education about sarcasm, no I did not get it. It just sounded like fools with a need to post something. The only advice to the OP is that if the backseat legroom is lacking he should buy a different car, Not come here and complain about it. Nuff said. BTW I got the one with the dog!

CheapBastard · Jun 22, 2019

Sorry to have offended so many of the purists here so I will explain myself and the thread, the #1 reason for the purchase of the JSW was fuel economy, I didn’t care if the TDI came in the form of a golf, jetta or JSW as long as the miles were low. I didn’t check the rear seat for roominess because it was really of little concern to me and my purchasing decision.

99.9% of the time it’s my wife and I and could probably get away with a 2 seater but I didn’t buy a 2 seater, the car supposedly can hold 5 and now that we want to take a little 250 road trip I checked it out for the concern of my guests to find it not really feasible, thus the disappointment.

03GolfTDI · Jun 22, 2019

On the other hand be glad they give you such a large range of adjustment (the German makes are really good about accommodating tall drivers). Even my '12 MB E350 sedan you could make the seat behind the driver largely unusable if you had the drivers seat powered all the way back.

I am not tall by any means (5'10" w ~32" inseam) - test drove a '03 or '04 Corolla years back and even my shorter stature I was 1-2 clicks away from the rearward stop, even at the stop I could still reach the pedals. My past Mercedes and all my VW's the pedals are out of reach if I slide all the way back.

If you think the A5 is bad you should see the A4 platform cars, those back seats had ~2" less rear legroom than the A5 platform cars.

Zygote Bros · Jun 26, 2019

CheapBastard said:
Sorry to have offended so many of the purists here so I will explain myself and the thread, the #1 reason for the purchase of the JSW was fuel economy, I didn’t care if the TDI came in the form of a golf, jetta or JSW as long as the miles were low. I didn’t check the rear seat for roominess because it was really of little concern to me and my purchasing decision.

99.9% of the time it’s my wife and I and could probably get away with a 2 seater but I didn’t buy a 2 seater, the car supposedly can hold 5 and now that we want to take a little 250 road trip I checked it out for the concern of my guests to find it not really feasible, thus the disappointment.

You didn't consider buying a Passat???

crazyrunner33 · Jul 1, 2019

The Passat is the better choice for rear leg room, I've compared all the TDI vehicles for leg room since I'm 6'8".

With that said, you can maximize the leg room in the rear without compromising too much leg room up front by using the lever to lift the front seat up. Doing that and moving my seat up an inch or 2 made it easy to fit a 6'3" person behind me.

Disappointed in the lack of rear leg room in the JSW

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