Front Passenger Seat height

[ctrcbob]

Please note that when we say the side view mirrors are bulky, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH SEEING TO THE REAR.

It has to do with seeing the road in the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock position, when you are turning the car, or going around a corner.

I don't sit low in the car, however I have to raise my head high to be able to see over and around the mirror when going around a corner. Can't see in that area while keeping my head in its normal position. I MUST raise it to look over the mirror. Also there is no visual gap between the mirror and the A Post, so that is also a blind spot. My other car, plus other cars never had this vewing problem.

Again, it is NOT about looking in the mirror to see behind you. It is about seeing the area in the 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock position, forward of the mirror housing, to see the ground where your car is heading while in a turn.

 

[Mark_888]

Please note that when we say the side view mirrors are bulky, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH SEEING TO THE REAR.

It has to do with seeing the road in the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock position, when you are turning the car, or going around a corner.

I don't sit low in the car, however I have to raise my head high to be able to see over and around the mirror when going around a corner. Can't see in that area while keeping my head in its normal position. I MUST raise it to look over the mirror. Also there is no visual gap between the mirror and the A Post, so that is also a blind spot. My other car, plus other cars never had this vewing problem.

Again, it is NOT about looking in the mirror to see behind you. It is about seeing the area in the 10 o'clock to 11 o'clock position, forward of the mirror housing, to see the ground where your car is heading while in a turn.

I don't know about others, but I completely understood your original concern. All I can tell you is that it is not a problem for me, but I am taller than normal (and have a shorter legs and longer torso than most for my height).

The issue about seeing to the rear is that the larger side view mirrors (not necessarily where they are placed or whether they block the view forward) offer a better view of the rear side because the mirror is larger (at least in my opinion). I understand that the side view mirrors apparently seem to block the view forward for some drivers. I wonder if they have raised the seat up as high as it will go? But as I said before, I test drove a lot of cars and many of them were not suitable for me from a driver viability perspective, so I doubt the Genesis is suitable for everyone either.

 

[mikec]

I too notice the lack of visibility when sitting at a left turn lane... the curb of the island next to me is totally blocked by the mirror. I can easily imagine folks bumping or hopping the curb - just like rookie van or RV drivers. So far that hasn't happened to me...

I've also had pedestrians (in crosswalks) disappear behind the fat "A" pillars. I take extra care near schools since so many kids try crossing late and might be hidden when I get the green light. Those pillars are large enough to block a car coming 90 degrees to you and, if the speeds are right, to keep that car hidden. Remember the Cerritos airplane crash of 1986? That's what happened there too: the small airplane was blocked by a pillar in the commercial airliner's front windshield structure and stayed blocked because their relative speeds perfectly matched their intersection angle. The Genesis Sedan has a LOT more blind spots than my other cars - older 2-door hatchbacks. The new safety features make it easier to survive uninjured in an accident but they make it easier to get involved in an accident - in my opinion.

I wish the passenger side mirror had more "distortion" to it - the shaping of the mirror leading to the "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" disclaimers. I LIKE seeing a lot - not just "is there enough room for me to change lanes" but rather "is there somebody two lanes over also trying to change into that spot I'm aiming for?" I can see that in my other cars... not the Genesis. From a visibility standpoint, the Genesis requires a lot more head twisting to drive safely.

And, per the original intent of this thread, yes, I'd like a way to raise the passenger seat. My family is short... mom feels trapped in a bathtub riding in the car and can't site-see as much as she'd like. Even my taller friends have plenty of headroom so I'd rather sacrifice some headroom for the sake of shorter passengers.

mike c.

 

[knight]

I wish the passenger side mirror had more "distortion" to it - the shaping of the mirror leading to the "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" disclaimers. I LIKE seeing a lot - not just "is there enough room for me to change lanes" but rather "is there somebody two lanes over also trying to change into that spot I'm aiming for?" I can see that in my other cars... not the Genesis. From a visibility standpoint, the Genesis requires a lot more head twisting to drive safely.

mike c.

FWIW, apologies if my earlier post confused the issue of bulkiness with what is actually seen IN the mirror, after rereading it I can see where some might have drawn that conclusion. It was meant to be two different thoughts. The mirror is bulky and *can* sometimes make me feel I am missing something AND I don't feel that I can see as much as I could with the mirrors on my old Camry. Mike C might be on to something with the "distortion" factor.

-knight

 

[ctrcbob]

I too notice the lack of visibility when sitting at a left turn lane... the curb of the island next to me is totally blocked by the mirror. I can easily imagine folks bumping or hopping the curb - just like rookie van or RV drivers. So far that hasn't happened to me...

I've also had pedestrians (in crosswalks) disappear behind the fat "A" pillars. I take extra care near schools since so many kids try crossing late and might be hidden when I get the green light. Those pillars are large enough to block a car coming 90 degrees to you and, if the speeds are right, to keep that car hidden. Remember the Cerritos airplane crash of 1986? That's what happened there too: the small airplane was blocked by a pillar in the commercial airliner's front windshield structure and stayed blocked because their relative speeds perfectly matched their intersection angle. The Genesis Sedan has a LOT more blind spots than my other cars - older 2-door hatchbacks. The new safety features make it easier to survive uninjured in an accident but they make it easier to get involved in an accident - in my opinion.

I wish the passenger side mirror had more "distortion" to it - the shaping of the mirror leading to the "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" disclaimers. I LIKE seeing a lot - not just "is there enough room for me to change lanes" but rather "is there somebody two lanes over also trying to change into that spot I'm aiming for?" I can see that in my other cars... not the Genesis. From a visibility standpoint, the Genesis requires a lot more head twisting to drive safely.

And, per the original intent of this thread, yes, I'd like a way to raise the passenger seat. My family is short... mom feels trapped in a bathtub riding in the car and can't site-see as much as she'd like. Even my taller friends have plenty of headroom so I'd rather sacrifice some headroom for the sake of shorter passengers.

mike c.

Thank you Mike. Ditto to the above.

 

[mcginnpm]

....the curb of the island next to me is totally blocked by the mirror....I've also had pedestrians (in crosswalks) disappear behind the fat "A" pillars.

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I hope you paid attention to and made a mental note of that curb as you pulled into the left turn lane and came to a stop. The curb didn't move while you were stopped (even if though it might now hidden from view by your mirror housing) so, if you run over it as you start moving and make you left turn, I can't say that I've got a lot of sympathy for you.

As for the "A" pillars, I agree that they are a bit fat and could hide a pedestrian who is standing stationary in the FOV blocked by the pillar. Those pillars are roughly 2.5-4 feet from your head thus, by taking half a second to lean your head left and right a few inches, you will clear those blind spots of any hidden obstacles.

I guess I'm just spoiled. After 20 years of flying jets in the Marine Corps, where the rule of survival was "head on a swivel" and "eyeballs outside", I don't find it so inconvenient to turn my head, or lean it left and right a couple of inches. It's more of a natuarl instinct. If you're goal is to plant your noggin on the head restraint and never move it during your entire trip, yet still see everything around the car, you might want to think about changing your driving habits, or putting a lot more mirroes and video monitoring systems on your car.

 

[mikec]

I hate to be a stick in the mud, but I hope you paid attention to and made a mental note of that curb as you pulled into the left turn lane and came to a stop. The curb didn't move while you were stopped (even if though it might now hidden from view by your mirror housing) so, if you run over it as you start moving and make you left turn, I can't say that I've got a lot of sympathy for you.

As for the "A" pillars, I agree that they are a bit fat and could hide a pedestrian who is standing stationary in the FOV blocked by the pillar. Those pillars are roughly 2.5-4 feet from your head thus, by taking half a second to lean your head left and right a few inches, you will clear those blind spots of any hidden obstacles.

I guess I'm just spoiled. After 20 years of flying jets in the Marine Corps, where the rule of survival was "head on a swivel" and "eyeballs outside", I don't find it so inconvenient to turn my head, or lean it left and right a couple of inches. It's more of a natuarl instinct. If you're goal is to plant your noggin on the head restraint and never move it during your entire trip, yet still see everything around the car, you might want to think about changing your driving habits, or putting a lot more mirroes and video monitoring systems on your car.

Yup, using pilot terms the "workload" of looking around is higher in a Genesis sedan than my other cars thanks to the large pillars and outside mirrors. It takes more effort to look around in this car compared to my other cars. Accident investigation is part of my job... so I'm particularly annoyed/sensitive to car design & styling decisions that lead to blind spots.

I really like the domed "wide angle" mirrors - that's what I meant by the "distortion" style mirrors. Lemme see several adjacent traffic lanes, not just the one next to me when I'm lane changing.

mike c.

p.s. what did you get to fly? F-18s since those are Navy & Marine birds by any chance?

 

[Disaster]

If you want to see poor visibility, drive the new Lacrosse. With it's high and steeply sloping apron and huge C pillars looking out the back is worse than in some all out sports cars I've been in. The rear camera should not be optional.

 

[mcginnpm]

p.s. what did you get to fly?

All operational flight time is in the F/A-18.

Concur that the "A" (and the "B") pillars are fat. I don't know if we can get around that though with the side airbags and curtains that they stuff in there.

For me at 6' 5" the "B" pillar is more of an issue. My seat ends up set so that my head is right next to the pillar, thus I need to lean forward a bit when I look left. After 20 years of "squirming around" in the cockpit, that kind of "workload" is transparent to me.