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Seat advice

Got2b

Full Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2004
Messages
30
Location
Phoenix
Hi, need some help on seat options. I would prefer to stay with the bench because of its extra seating capacity and lower price, but am concerned by the lack of vents in the back. My car is like that and my kids complain of being cold. How strong are the front vents? Do they adequately heat/cool the back seat area?

If I went with bucket seats, how good are the two vents in the console? They don't look very big. Do they make a difference in the back? Are they worth the extra cost? I understand you also more supportive seats with the buckets and that adds to cost.

Does the sport leather come with heated seats? Or is it only the full leather that comes with them?

Lastly, in another few years my son will be entering scouting and we'll be doing a lot of camping. Any one have experience on whether leather or cloth is better for that? I've heard with kids leather is better because its easier to clean. I would like to hear you all's expereinces with these matters, thanks.
 
I continue to be unimpressed with GM's "leather" quality, I like having the extra seat in the front, I didn't need the seat heaters, the A/C is sufficient to cool the rear seat, I don't care that my kid can't control the temp in the back himself, there are vents under the seats that get plenty of heat to the back, the "bench" (actually more like buckets with a seat between) is comfortable to me, and the price was right (fit my budget).

Therefore, the bench was the right choice for me.

A few have put after-market leather over the bench, which I think is very cool.

Yes the full-feature leather seats are more supportive and have more adjustment combinations. You'll just have to sit in both and see which you like in this regard.

Good luck (y)
 
Got2b said:
Hi, need some help on seat options. I would prefer to stay with the bench because of its extra seating capacity and lower price, but am concerned by the lack of vents in the back. My car is like that and my kids complain of being cold. How strong are the front vents? Do they adequately heat/cool the back seat area?

I wanted to go with a bench seat but I decided against the bench seat because the room in the center bench area is large enough for a small child and that's it; 3 adults would not fit upfront comfortably.

I opted for the full leather heated seats as cleanup is much easier with 2 kids in the back. If you went with cloth, you could scothgard them I guess.

 
I have never had a complaint from rear passengers regarding heating/cooling probs. And I went with the cloth bench to save money and have more room for passengers. It turns out my wife loves riding next to me up front, and sometimes have had 5 other full size men ride in there on our way to play basketball or something. It comes in handy.... I love it.
 
vdubpig said:
...sometimes have had 5 other full size men ride in there on our way to play basketball or something. It comes in handy.... I love it.

One may want the leather and rear vent if they also ride on the way FROM playing ball, LOL ;D
 
CalvaryMike said:
Don't get the cloth buckets! They have to be one of the most uncomfortable chairs made. No lumbar support! :8:

See what I mean about having to try it out yourself? I dove to KY and back on cloth buckets, and neither me nor my passenger had an issue. Go figure.

Oh, oops, I meant cloth bench :2: But they don't have lumbar adjustment either, short of moving seat bottom up/down to move the "hump" up/down at your back.
 
Got2b,

Heated seats come with the Full Leather (FL), not available with the Sport Leather (SL). I liked the styling of the SL better but I am soooo glad I got full leather, just for the bum warmers.

My kids complain about the rear seating surface being cold with the FL, though. No complaints about heating or AC, so the vents must be adequate.

I had a bench seat in my '98 Silverado. Most uncomfortable thing I ever sat on - so I was not even entertaining the thought of a bench seat in the Avy. Sure would like to be able to sit a 6th person at times, though.

Member brmiller has done a "bench seat" mod for his leather interior. Check out the link in his sig, good info on what needs to be done. Of course, doing that mod removes the console vents to the rear. But I guess you were looking to save $ by going with the cloth so you'd probably not go that way.

Good luck! And I guess I better say it: you better post pics when you take delivery!

Regards,

-Joe



 
As someone already mentioned the bench seat is not really a bench. Two buckets with a small seat between.
The bench seat provided me with as much support as the buckets.
I wanted the extra seating, in particular for times when the mid-gate is down

I plan to go with Katzkin leathers or auto custom leather package later this year. Still cheaper than buying the leather seats and you get more leather.
Now that is based on Canadian prices, maybe the leather option is not as stepp in the US.
 
I have the fabric bench in my 02 and I searched three states for the bench option. I needed to carry 6 adults for short runs and there is no other way. I like the fold down center console/ armrest when not using it as a seat.
Fabric or leather is personal preference. I've had both and fabric doesn't seem to look worn as soon, is cooler in the summer and warmer in winter.
Overall, I'd say the fabric-bench is pretty comfortable and I'm glad I went that way.
 
I have the 10 way heated leathers and I love them. I only have to turn it on for about 45 seconds before I turn it off. MMMM toasty.
I also have the dual zone A/C. Interestingly, the rear vents are tied into the DRIVER'S temperature. I know this because while I was toasty in my seat, my wife was in back rear passenger side with the baby. She wanted heat, so I tried warming up the passenger side control - no change on the rear vents. Only when I changed my side did the back vents warm up. I think this is backwards; the driver should be completely seperate from the passengers. I ended up heating the passenger side, and pointing the vent at her, which worked fine.
 
I too have the bench seat option in my AV... which is really to bucket seats ( without inside arm rests ) and a stationary centre seat that folds down for a console and arm rest.
As for cooling and heating issues for the rear passengers, no problems to report here. The thing that I miss not being able to get with the bench option is the fact I could not get the memory position option for the drivers seat, and brake/gas pedals. As for the quality of the leather seats, my wife is not a fan of them, but I do like them, but as you can see, the dicision was to have the 3rd seat in the front available, thus no leather or memory position.... Memory position is not an easy mod to complete or is it cheap, as your using GM parts. :E:
 
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