Are you sitting comfortably? That is the question that Ford designers posed to more than 1,000 volunteers in the two-and-a-half year process that has resulted in the company’s new front car seat.
The new seat design is making its European debut on the S-MAX Vignale, one of the first vehicles in a new range of upscale Ford Vignale products, delivering quality craftsmanship, superior refinement and personalised ownership experience. From a 135 kg American footballer to a petite 50 kg woman, volunteers of all shapes and sizes from 20 countries sat in the seats, and operated related controls. Feedback collected from these customers across the world has been verified by engineers using a state-of-the-art robot, programmed to quantify softness, roughness, temperature, hardness and comfort.
«Of all the systems in a car, the one people are most passionate about and connect with is their seat,” said Daniel Ferretti, seat systems engineering manager, Ford Motor Company. “Each part relates to a specific customer, yet helps everyone sit the way they like, while offering them support where they need it most».
The global use of one seat design, developed entirely in-house by Ford, is a first in the auto industry, allowing vehicle designers to improve rear legroom while also making controls and features more widely available to consumers around the world.
