His model is the XLE Hybrid. The seats are different between the trims. I'm not sure his insights from 6 people where some didn't like the seats on a long trip means the seats are bad. I've taken my XSE on 2 hour trips and had no issues with the seats.

 

Just finished a Wilmington to Asheville NC in a 2020 RAV4 hybrid XLE. My wife complained the whole return trip how uncomfortable the front passenger seat is. That’s about an 8 hr RT experience.

 

No issues with 2½ hour long trips with premium SofTex seats.

 

Love my seats - Very comfortable There are many seating adjustments including lumbar support.

 

Seats are same design. Only difference is cloth vs vinyl (fake leather, what toyota calls softex)

Plenty of discussion on that here. Bottom cushion is too short and hard.


Passenger seat too high and not adjustable

 

Aren't the XSE seats different? seems like lots of side bolster support in the XSE, which some might not like but we have found it to be comfortable for long road trips.

 

No complaints with my Limited. Three hours non stop have been comfortable for me and I have back issues. No complaints from the passenger either but it would have been nice if the passenger seat was powered too.

 

No issue with a 6 hrs drive, in fact I had to get rid of my fusion cause it killed my back if I was in it longer than an hour.

 

Hey I'm just posting the review and independent opinions from long term testers. Of course most owners here will say they are great.

Mine are ok but not nearly as good as my Highlander.

 

Of course most owners here will say they are great.

I don't think the fueling system is great and the Toyota app is useless for me so far. So why would I give the seats a positive review if I didn't think they were actually comfortable?

 

XSE, Softex. Driver seat is VERY comfortable.

 

Maybe I'm weird, but I've never found any seat to be uncomfortable in any vehicle.

 

Same here and that's a lot of cars of practically all brands and four Ford trucks in 60 years of driving.

 

The seats in my XLE are too firm. Interesting that a number of people say that they really like the seats that have the Softex material. That leads me to believe that either the seat bottom cushion is slightly softer; or the Softex material adds slightly more softness. Irregardless, I won’t be buying a Toyota trim again that has the cloth seats.

 

I have a XLE model with cloth seats. Tried the Limited with Softex ventilation but wasn't impressed with ventilation. Have it in my Lexus but the Limited airflow was not impressive so went with less money and got the XLE cloth. My wife and I love the cloth and heaters. We drove 15 hours straight through to Florida from Ohio three times a total of 90 hours in long trips and we feel great at the end of each trip. No sore backs or bottoms. Only issues is the lack of seat memory settings which the Limited had and the lack of height adjustment on the passenger side which the biggest issue.

Rear seats are great for legroom and headroom and we like the recline feature.

 

I for one was very worried about the seats on drives over an hour. I was coming from a dozen years spent between 2 Camry Hybrids and a few decades in sedans in general. I'd never owned any SUV before. I did a few weekend test drives in various 2019 RAV4 loaners and found them all varying degrees of uncomfortable after an hour and increasingly uncomfortable as time went on.

But since i don't often go on multi-hour trips, I decided finally to go for the Limited Hybrid with ventilated seats. The first week I was a bit concerned. But after exclusively driving the RAV4 for a few weeks (rather than switching quickly back to the Camry after the weekend rental ended), I haven't really had any problems. I've even been on a few 3+ hour trips over the last 6 months and it has been fine. Not Camry comfortable, but my concern wasn't warranted.

YMMV

 

I have a limited and the seats are trash. I had a 2015 Nissan Murano and man I dream about those seats. Nissan might have terrible transmissions and every single model might be due for an overhaul but damn do they get interior and seats right.

I go on long road trips 5+ hours and in the Murano, felt 100% fine. RAV4 long term comfort is not good. Seat cushions are thin. Vented seats work better tho.

 

Best seats ever for me was a 1987 dodge Omni. Too bad everything else was not so nice😆

 

10 hour roadtrips no issue... once again glad to not cheap out by going with top trim

 

Hi, I have had my white XLE since May. Of course I have the cloth seats and can't speak to the other trim levels. I actually really like the feel of the seats even after a drive for an extended time. I had an older RAV4 in the past and actually traded it two years later due to the seats feeling so uncomfortable and having back issues. For the hybrid, I traded in my Volvo XC40 and have been pleasantly pleased. I had people sit in my XC40 and not like the seats in it and I couldn't understand why....I suspect it may boil down to just each individual having different opinions ... too hard, too soft, not comfortable, comfortable....depends on the person but I totally understand the feeling of a seat not being comfortable as it is aggravating. So far, my seats haven't shown any wear.....so far. The past RAV I had seats began showing wear pretty quickly.

 

In the video, they mention that the uncomfortableness is being reported by the 6'6" and 6'4" drivers.

I'm a heavier 6'4" dude in an XSE, and I've driven it for a 4-hr trip so far. No complaints on the seat, although I find myself wanting to duck my head because my hair brushes against the lowered ceiling (due to the moon roof). I was surprised that the powered seat doesn't lower more than it can.

 

Another 6'4" owner (with 30 extra pounds thanks to COVID) reporting in- leg room is adequate, driver's seat is comfortable for 3hr+ drives without a stop. Toyota's rear seats have a well earned reputation for poor thigh support. My 5'4" daughter frequently has to roll up her jacket and stick it under her legs on longer trips.

 

Another vote for the XSE seats to be comfortable with just the right amount of softness and support. Perhaps they have different cushion material from the full fabric seats?

 

The seats in my LE lack lower back support. I use an air pump adjustable lumbar support on longer rides that I bought for my old 2000 Corolla that also lacked lumbar support.

 

I’m a fan of the XSE sport seats but I have the fuel fill problem.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I’m a fan of the XSE sport seats but I have the fuel fill problem. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My 2023 Hybrid driver seat is just uncomfortable as the 2015 passenger seat. 130 miles in and I’m thinking about selling it.

 

XSE seats are firm but well designed and comfy on long trips...I’m 6ft wife is 5’10..

 

We drove 1165 miles, two 8ish hour days, seats were just fine. Love the ventilated seats!

 

I have a bad back due to a birth defect. I really suffer from bad seats. Which is why I didn't get another Subaru Outback. My Subaru made my back worse, IMO. I have a 2019 Rav4 XLE hybrid, bought it in August of 2019. While I have complaints about it, one of them ISN'T the seats. I have driven four hours in a day, and have had no issues. My back is much better after getting rid of the Subaru. I am shocked to hear that there are complaints about the seats. I find the Rav4 seats to be very comfy. The fueling situation however..... I got 8 gallons on the last refill!! I'm 5'11", BTW.

 

Just chiming in: Seat comfort is my Number One issue. Nothing is more important (to me), and I just shake my head when I hear people say they bought a car that has uncomfortable seats. Seems like you should be able to figure that out relatively easily during a test drive. In the end, though, I expect that this has a lot to do with your height, probably moreso than anything else. I'm on the short end, 5-foot-5 inches and shrinking, as I get older. "Noooooooooo!!" Anyway. I have had good seats and bad seats. Toyota seats have usually been fine, but I've had a couple that got irritating over time. I always go to the big car show and the main thing I do is sit in cars that I have an interest in. There are some truly horrifying seats out there.

I'm absolutely very happy and satisfied with the seats in my Limited AWD. WIth Softex. I understand "short seat cushions," but I don't consider mine to be anywhere near that category. Avalons have usually had that, for some odd reason. But I'm more than happy with mine. The way you sit in a seat may have a lot to do with it, too -- I have always tended to keep my seat as low as it will go, probably leaning back a bit more than a lot of people do, and driving mostly with my hands on the lower half of the steering wheel. Before this, I had a 2015 Corolla S Premium, also with Softex, and at this point I like Softex better than anything else I've ever owned. I utterly wouldn't take leather over it. If it might make any difference, I have the "only heated" seats -- I seem to have managed just fine over the past 50 years without ventilation, but I'm in cold, rainy Oregon, and I love the toasty, warm, two-setting heated seats. When I read about how the ventilated ones didn't seem to be nearly as warm, I was very glad that I didn't get that option.

Anyway, before the 2015 Corolla I had a 2008 Camry SE V6, and the seats in the 2015 Corolla were very similar -- not exactly the same, but very, very close. So close I wouldn't have been able to say that "this is different than that." I liked both, and I especially liked the big side bolsters that held me in place. The Limited seats aren't too far away from those two seats, but it's definitely a more upright seating position, with a bit less bolstering. Which is what I wanted -- as I get older (63 years as I write this), the bolstering in the sporty seats was starting to push on my thighs, which arthritis and other body aches and pains didn't like over time. In the end, the transition to the Limited seat was very easy, and very natural.

Being a senior citizen, I am retired, and I am definitely doing the "get in your car and drive somewhere" routine in retirement, so I'm putting plenty of hours in that seat. I have accumulated a few different seat cushions and such for cars back in the past that weren't so comfortable, but all of those have remained buried in the garage while I've had the past few cars. At any rate, I'm coming close to a year driving my Limited (purchased in mid-February of last year), and I've been more than happy with the seat, every minute I've been in the car.

In the end, it took a few years to comprehend how important seat comfort was to me, but over the past couple of decades I've learned what works for me and what doesn't, and I continue to go to the auto shows and sit in lots of cars. And I was completely prepared to judge how well I liked the Limited seat when I took my first test drive. I thought it was just fine during that test drive, and I've been happy ever since.

 

It’s not the seats that are uncomfortable. Its that the center console is too wide and doesn’t allow for a relaxed right leg

 

Seats always seem to be an issue in any vehicle when you read any car forums since manufacturers make one seat fits all. I have an XLE hybrid I have driven to Dallas TX twice about 1,600 miles one way. Eighteen hours the first part of the way then six hours the second day. Use to drive the full 24 hours in one shot. I have no problems with the seats nor does my wife in the passenger seat. Not to say someone else wouldn't have a problem.

 

I have the 2019 XSE and I thought driving it was comfortable before going on a long trip. For the Xmas holidays we drove approx 2500 miles round trip in 1 week to visit family and and I drove the majority of it. While the seat itself seemed comfortable, I noticed my left arm/shoulder getting sore. I came to realize there is no ledge on the drivers door to rest my elbow on and eventually it stressed my shoulder. It seems the arm rest on the door does not extend back far enough to rest my elbow on it. Once I realized this, I borrowed my daughters winter jacket and stuffed it between the seat and door to rest my elbow on it. That seemed to eliminate the pain in my left arm/shoulder.

I agree with the gentleman above regarding the Murano and their great seats. We had a 2013 and it was very comfortable to drive on a long trip.