You'll have to judge whether or not this is something you'd want to do to a brand new car....but when I had my 4-year-old Eclipse (1994) the seats were so level with the floor that it actually caused me leg pain. I bought some longer seat bolts and about 10 washers and propped up the front of the seat so it had some incline to it. SO much more comfortable, and never had an issue with it. But then it may be uncomfortable for your wife, so....not sure if this is a fix you'd want to try.

 

Yeah I was thinking about that or maybe shaving some of the foam off in the back. I'll probably just do it for the passenger seat.

 

The power seats are adjustable, do you not have power?

 

I do, but they are 6-way adjustable...8 way would have the independent bottom tilt.

 

Maybe you're not adjusting them correctly. if you look at the switch for the power seat when you pull up on the front of the switch the front of the seat tilts up, push down it goes down, same for the back of the switch and the back of the seat. And finally, move the switch forward and the seat goes forward, move it back and it goes back.

1 front tilt up
2 front tilt down
3 rear tilt up
4 rear tilt down
5 seat forward
6 seat backward

when you have an 8 way seat you also get power recline
7 recline forward or up
8 recline backward or down

I just went out and checked mine and it does not tilt like a normal 6 way does like my fusion, its more of a raise or lower setup for the bottom cushion than a tilt configuration.

I don't drive the car so I wasn't sure how it worked but it does have an adjustment.

 

The problem for me is that the tilt also moves the seat up and down.
Due to my height I need to keep the seat all the way down, while only adjusting the tilt.

 

Me and the car have gotten used to each other, but I'm only 5'10" so for you I imagine it could be tough.

 

I'm 6'2", took me 500 miles of drastic changes to the seat position and another 500 miles of fine tuning to get it right. Just went on a 4 hour round trip, and its the first time I remember not having 'fanny fatigue' after a long stint behind the wheel. I think the key for me was getting the right steering wheel setup.

 

I agree. My old focus was a perfect fit for me but my new one isn't ergonomically suited to me i guess. After a year with the car i cant seem to find that perfect position. Oh well

 

hm,.. i just sit in mine, i dont think ive moved it from when i picked it up on the lot...

i think its comfy as is.......

 

replace seat:

DONE

 

^^^ I like that guy. He has all the answers.

 

The seating position and steering wheel is 100% of what is #1 to check when I buy a car.
Since it is what i am most connected to when driving.
((#1 reason i would NEVER own a VW is the seats. They totally suck IMO.))
Anyway, I have the sport seats, and love them. the combo of steering wheel and seat is perfect. Ony the shift lever is a little off.
Then at first i hated the headrest. i am now more willing to accept it being forward up against the back of my head.
(though i would move it back a half inch anytime IF I could)

 

My wife will be driving it 95% of the time (less if I can figure out the seat!) and she is fine with the position so this wasn't a deal breaker. It's a good car, but honestly the ergos of the switch gear, bucket like "in the cockpit" feeling and levels of adjustement of my GTI are much more to my liking as I like an engaged driving position.

However we got our SEL (303a + winter package) for 21.8k+TTL and for that price it's a no brainer to me over the Golf 2.5, Mazda3, etc.

They make a good combo
Pictures of the evil brother 50 rock chips and 2 rear endings ago:

I'll take some pics of them together...the Focus appears much bigger overall.

 

I feel your pain OP. It took me 3000 miles to get the seat into an acceptable position, then I let my wife drive the car and now I have to start all over again.

Eight-way adjust would be perfect. All I need is some thigh support damn it! [smackbum]

I'm not sure who this car was designed for, but they were a lot shorter than most of us. When I put the seat in a comfortable position for my legs, I can't use the arm rest on the door, I'm looking out of the back window to check for traffic when turning right, and I can't find a comfortable grip on the steering wheel.

When I move the seat to alleviate all of the above issues, my legs aren't comfortable.

Terrible seating ergonomics if you're six foot or better.

I've taken to telling anyone interested in the Focus to rent one for a week.
You just can't pick up on everything that will annoy you on a test drive... even during a long test drive.

 

I'd have to agree, this seems to be pretty serious for those 6' and up. The car has a lot going for it though, so taking it to a car upholstery place or some other kind of modification might be worth it in those cases...instead of giving up on it.

 

I bought my focus SE Sports pack hatch, about two weeks ago and love it so far. However, On my first one hour commute, I found myself (6'1") very uncomfortable because of a lack of thigh support and not ever being able to fully extend my leg. I got home and was pissed, as I put less than 100 miles on my car, which I loved on the 3 mile test drive! My old car was a 03' Focus ZX3 and I was so comfortable in the car. I found myself spending the entire hour messing with the settings unsuccessfully. I felt like I could never relieve the pressure off of my left foot. And if I lowered the seat (the only way to push myself further back) I ended up (like others have said) with my head looking out the back window, and not being able to reach the wheel well. Since then, I have found a more comfortable position; not perfect, but more comfortable. I reasoned, the car is awesome, inexpensive, fun to drive and fuel efficient, if I find myself still uncomfortable in a year, I will buy aftermarket seats, or moddify the stock sports seats. You can buy a very nice set of Corbeau or Racaro seats for less than $1000, with money left to go towards upholstering the back seats to match if you want. I bought a set of really nice Corbeau adjustable race seats with sliders for a project car for $900. Racaro's are cheaper. But my recommendation is first fiddle with the seat more, as I found a sweet spot(which was closer to how it was when I bought the car, slid all the way back). At least I now know the adjustable seats have the same issue as my sport SE seats do, as I was regretting not getting the more expensive seats.

Edit: so while driving into work tonight I noticed a little tag near my left shoulder which said "airbag". Maybe replacing the seats is not as viable of an option after all! : /