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As I'm closing in on buying one at last, I had it in my head that bucket seats are a must, but have heard they aren't the most comfortable on longer journeys. As I am looking to do some long jaunts in the car including some euro trips, I'd like seats which I can do lots of mileage in, as this wasnt the case in my Z4M Coupe, which seemingly had seats designed to cut off blood flow to the legs, and other very vital areas, despite me being a quite average 5ft11 and of slim(ish) build.

Would love to hear your thoughts/experiences of long journeys in both options of seat, especially those who have done continental driving trips etc, or anyone who has upgraded/downgraded so to speak.

Apologies if this has been covered many times before, did a quick search and nothing relevant came up.

Many thanks.

Aren't the standard seats both Recaro-made and buckets? That's what I have, and I find the car perfectly comfortable for longer journeys. Others have commented that they are much more comfortable than they look. I'm of similar height/shape.

I have run both seats in my car. The car left the factory with comfort seats which I ran for two and a half years before swapping to buckets which I have had for 6 years now.

Not a huge amount of difference in comfort between the two to be honest, the comfort seats have more adjustment options so you are more likely to get comfortable in them. The seat base can also be manually extended if you need more thigh support.

The biggest difference between the seats is getting in and out of them! For the driver you have more options as you can use the steering wheel to assist but the passenger has less options. Getting in and out gracefully without wearing out the bolsters is considerably more difficult with the buckets.

My wife hates them and everybody that has sat in them always comments that they are difficult to get in and out of.

Personally I don't mind that they are harder to get in and out of, they give much better support, look fantastic and make the car feel special.

Both are good seats though so you can't go wrong. Try and sit in both and see which ones you prefer.

Neither seat address the fact that the pedals are offset to the right though, I wish Audi had removed the foot rest and moved everything over to the left a little bit!

Never tried the comfort seats but I had a B7 with the buckets for 8 years. Never had an issue with comfort in that car. In fact I find most others cars less comfortable. I never did a continental trip in it but I spent some really days in the driver seat.
With regards to the passenger seat comment, I never had any complaints other than my mum who moans about getting in and out of most cars. My wife liked them so much she paid to have them in her car as a £3k factory option.

I had comforts in a B6 S4 which gave me lower back ache on long drives. No similar issues with the buckets in my RS4

I’m 5’10 - average build. 80kg, 34” waist

I’ve driven to/from Scotland in them from Surrey (single day each way), and done a trip to Paris - very comfortably

I think if you’re 6ft+ and/or broader, then they might be uncomfortable.


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Hubby is 6' 3" and a well built 100kg. He reports no issues in fitting in the seats but says he needs a leg stretch every 2-3 hours. In my book that coincides with my caffeine habit and staying fresh at the wheel... I love the bucket seats and would feel my car was missing them if it had comforts...

Thanks to all for all the great info and experiences, has definitely helped get a better idea of how each are to live with long term, and has me leaning towards the buckets.

I'm sure the mrs will be fine getting in and out over the high bolsters, after 3 low sports cars with bucket type seats, I'm looking forward to having something normal height!

My wife loves my bucket seats. We've driven to the Alps many times in one day 760 miles from Dover. I also have a bad back and I'm 6ft 1". I can't rate them highly enough.

The only person whose visibly struggled to get out of mine is my dad, who's nearly 80 and has not long had a hip replaced. And I think that's primarily because the car is lower than what he's used to.

Good to hear so many wifes love getting poked in the arse (by a seat bolster).

I clearly married the wrong woman

I would have loved the buckets but was far more put off by all the stories of the cars being broken into and having them nicked. I therefore went for std recaros and they're great. Don't have any worries now when I leave the car. Was at a recent car meet in N yorks and got talking to some lads with RS4's and one of them knew of a lad who'd just had his nicked a few weeks ago.

6'4" here and currently the (very) wrong side of 100kg. Buckets are very comfortable.

To my way of thinking an RS4 isn't an RS4 if it doesn't have these (and DRC, and carbon inlays, and FBSW....and isn't Sprint Blue ). As noted above, they help make the car the special thing it is.

One other negative however - they chew up the rear leg room something chronic. Leg room wise there's barely any more room in my RS4 than in my 911!

I'm 6.1' and 88kg and the buckets are some of the most comfortable seats I ever sat in. I did lots of road trip in my B7 and the seats were great.

Interesting to hear about the rear legroom, which hasn't been mentioned before. As far as I can tell that and the theft factor are the only negatives with the buckets.

Yes, definitely less room in the rear with the buckets installed. The rear passengers can't get their feet under the front seat with it in the lowest position and also the bucket seats are deeper and wider.

Higher bolster wear, inflation valves leaking and the leather unclipping from the seat backs are other negatives.

They are a good bit lighter than the fully electric comforts though.

The buckets also look much more special, however the comforts in race cloth do look really nice.