I have a '16 R, and I'm really struggling with the seat position. I am 6' 1" tall and have a back condition that causes the upper part of my spine to curve outward slightly. It's not quite a "hump back", so to speak, but I have to recline seats more than most people like in order to sit in a comfortable position. With my R, in order to have the seat reclined where I need it, it needs to be moved forward first, making my leg position very uncomfortable. In that position, I can't drive it more than a few minutes before having pain in my knees and feet. Instead, I've been driving with the seat moved aft and the seat not so reclined, but that causes my lower back to hurt after about 30 minutes of driving, even with the various adjustable support structures inside the seat.

I've read that the '18 and up seats are able to be both moved back farther and reclined better than my seats. If I were to purchase a newer seat, is it plug and play? The seat controls on the newer cars look exactly the same as mine, so I'm hoping it was just a seat re-design with the same functionality. My car is a coupe, and I don't remember the convertibles I test drove being as uncomfortable as mine is, but I was so excited when I found my car (I like the coupe's looks better), I hardly noticed the difference.

 

Have you thought of seeing an osteopath to see if they could advise on how to set the seat up? Cheaper option than changing seats if it works!

 

The seats should be interchangeable, but I'd start by doing a test drive in a later model year and see if it helps.

 

The newer seats can't actually be moved back any further since the body dimensions and tracks are the same. However, because the newer seats aren't quite as thick, in their furthest position you do gain about 0.75-1" of extra leg/head room, which could make the difference or not. Just don't expect a significant amount of extra room.

One other thing to try is the 'creep' mode when moving the seats into their furthermost position back (or if the recline hits the back wall). If you just hold the button until it goes all the way back, the seat will actually 'bounce' forward a bit once it hits the back of the passenger cabin. Hold the lever to get you about 98% to full stop and then use the lever to just incrementally tap your way to fully backward (or reclined). The seat will hold that position and it can be saved.

 

I've been doing the tap mode for a while. I tap, tap, tap, get it better, better, better, and then it takes off forward again... I need just an inch or two more. I wish the pedals were adjustable. That would solve the problem entirely.