After four weeks with the new Focus estate, I have a very sore neck. My last three cars have had progressively worse head restraints and this car has the worst I have ever encountered. The angle is all wrong, probably about 30 degrees forwards, meaning that the top of the restraint is more or less "shoving" my head forwards all the time. I have tried every possible height and backrest angle and whatever I do the top of the restraint goes bang bang bang against my head with the slightest undulation of the road (don't get me started on road humps!) or else I am reclined so far back that I can barely reach the wheel!
I am all in favour of road safety, reduction of injuries, particularly whiplash, but I can't believe it's impossible to structure head restraints to be comfortable and safe. The Rover SD1 had removeable button-on pads, Renaults have wonderful folding cushions which mould to the driver's head and neck, so why does a mass production car have to be so uncomfortable?
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I think this shows the value of carrying out an extended road test before buying (not infering that you didn't road test it Bilboman). Things like this certainly won't show up in the typical VW type "drive 1 mile down the road and come back" type test.
Funny, but I had the exact opposite problem with my Saab 95 - if I moved my head back to touch the restraint, I was staring at the roof!
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Funny but I had the exact opposite problem with my Saab 95 - if I moved my head back to touch the restraint I was staring at the roof!
I've just (after my earlier post!) found out that Saab 95 restraints move forward in the event of a rear-end collision. Apparently they're called "active head restraints". tinyurl.com/6ghy5t
Edited by L'escargot on 23/07/2008 at 08:26
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I have to recline the backrest of my 03 Focus further back than I would like, to prevent the head restraint annoyingly touching the hair on the back of my head. I seem to recall that some cars (Vauxhall?) had restraints which were well clear of your head under normal circumstances but moved forward in the event of a collision. They all should do that but I guess the cost is significant and manufacturers have to draw the line somewhere. Perhaps they should be an optional extra.
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Thanks for the replies so far!
I didn't actually get to choose the Focus, it's a company car. And a Vectra I had some years ago had better positioned restraints, with the passive safety feature mentioned above. The Focus is excellent in every other respect, but those head restraints will be the death of me. (I hope not!)
I came across this article whilst browsing: tinyurl.com/6kdty5
Perhaps inflatable head restraints are the way forward. Well, why not? The old Ford Scorpio had hand-pumped lumbar control adjustment: effective and much cheaper than electric motors which don't last forever.
Something else I miss from cars of the past: that pull-up lever to adjust backrest angle, where you could adjust the seat by leaning towards or away from the backrest. Much quicker and easier than that infernal wheel which is all but impossible to adjust while driving. And not exactly practical for those odd snatched moments of the more intimate forms of in-car-entertainment (sigh...) I don't normally like electrics here, but a recent hired Passat had fantastic electric seat adjustment - electrically heated too for real luxury.
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