Watkins' Viggen

[ElectroGhandi]

I made this to hang up in school:

[theholycow]

That is by far the creepiest giraffe I've ever seen.

Edit: How the heck did I mistype that word? Fixed.

[ElectroGhandi]

That is what everybody is saying! I think it's sexy.

[94Corolla5Speed]

It's "imagination"... or is that a purposeful misspelling?

[ElectroGhandi]

Yes, it is on purpose.

[watkins]

Back to the hatch discussion:

The three door body has absolutely useless rear seats. That is to say, they cant be folded flat if you still want someone to sit in the front seat. You know, like the driver.
Ive never seen them folded, but I assume the five door 9-3 is far more useful due to the extra interior space.

Regardless, the trunk itself is very large and rather deep, so pretty big items can fit. Like a camper shell.


Seriously though, its got a ton of space and, though theyre impossible to fold, the rear seats have plenty of room to comfortably fit two. Three can squeeze if youre into that kind of thing.

[theholycow]

Would the seats fold more usefully if you remove the headrests (if that's an option)?

[ElectroGhandi]

Yeah, if I got a 9-3 hatch, it would be a 5 door.

[watkins]

Would the seats fold more usefully if you remove the headrests (if that's an option)?

The headrests actually are on a bar the width of the car that folds backwards when the seats are folded. Except theyre not in the car at the moment. The issue is that the seat bottoms tip forward before the backs can be folded down. Thats where the tight fit comes into play

[RITmusic2k]

Yeah, I end up avoiding that issue because (1) I'm pretty short, and (2) I set the driver's seat in a 'racing' profile, very upright and close to the wheel. So there's room for the rear seats to fold forward, no problem.

[watkins]

I sit very upright as well, though I do sit relatively far back. Im certainly not tall (5'10" ish) and I follow the recommended seating distance based on clutch leg. Maybe I just have long legs or something. I also like the wheel a little farther away than recommended.

[ElectroGhandi]

I recline the seat and sit real low, while steering with one hand on top of the wheel and the other arm hanging out of the window.

[watkins]

Mines not 90*. Its comfortable*

My steering wheel is also about mid palm when I put my arm out, rather than wrist. About a three inch difference. Its telescoping, not tilt.

[theholycow]

The older I get, the more upright my seat gets. When I'm 60 it will probably be 90 degrees. By the time I'm too old to drive (or dead), it will probably be leaning forward. When I was 16 it was gangsta-lean, I pretty much drove from the backseat.

Something that really sucks is that no matter what I do with the seat, I feel like I'm straining to lean forward; I can feel it in my belly, it's all tense. It's not from being nervous or anything; I'm sure it's something to do with lumbar support or seat position but I can never get it figured out. For months or years at a time I don't notice it but I think it's still there; then sometimes I go for days or months at a time being hyper-aware of it. I had forgotten about it for at least a few months until I wrote this post. Now I'll be feeling it when I drive.

[RITmusic2k]

I don't know what my setup is as a measure of angles, it's just where the seat ends up based on my body proportions. Seat bottom is adjusted so I can floor the clutch with a slight bend in the knee; steering wheel and seat back are adjusted so I can lay my wrist on the top of the wheel without rolling my shoulder off the seat back. Seat bottom tilt and lumbar to taste.

EDIT: I also have a 'relaxed / long trip' seating position and a 'valet' seating position saved. Relaxed position is slightly further away and more reclined, Valet is slammed way back for ease of entry/exit.