“My old B5 Passat coincided with the onset of sciatica in me, which I’ll not blame the seats for, but it never affected me in the same way when I switched to my first Volvo.

“But the worst seats? My dad’s 1999 Opel Astra saloon (like the one pictured, but in dark blue, RHD and with cheap looking hubcaps). It was all-round one of the worst cars, with only a Vectra he had a loan of for a couple of days being worse (strangely, the Vectra interior seemed a lot cheaper than the Astra despite being higher up Opel’s range, and a newer model). We did a lot of miles in that shit.

“It’s a car he’d never have bought if he had the choice (it was a work vehicle). I truly hated everything about it, but the seats, especially, stick in my mind as being particularly back aching.”

Launched in 1998, the second generation Astra came with three or four doors and space to seat five. Sadly, everyone you piled into that car would instantly regret asking you for a lift.

Suggested by: philipdunlop