According to Volvo, poor seats in cars cost the UK £8.8 billion a year in lost productivity and £200 million in NHS costs. So buy a Volvo is the clear message.
Ford has been at pains (pun intended) to point out that the seats in their newly-titivated S-Max and Galaxy are designed to keep your back in good shape. But Volvo has been doing that for more than 50 years.
Since as far back as 1965 and the Volvo Amazon, Volvo has been incorporating spinal research in to its car seat design, and now uses a three-tier approach to seat comfort to make sure the seats work for drivers and passengers alike from initial comfort through cruising comfort to dynamic comfort. And it works.
Volvo’s seats are probably the best in the business, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re poodling around town or crossing a continent, they just work. And, with back sufferers on staff and umpteen Volvos driven a lot of miles, we’d pick Volvo seats every time.
But Volvo are keen to point out that their seats don’t just offer better support and comfort than anyone else, but they potentially save the UK a whole heap of money.
According to Volvo, some 2.2 million motorists have missed a week or more of work due to bad backs from driving – and many more a shorter time – costing the UK £8.8 billion in lost productivity every year, and pain from poor car seats sees a third of drivers seeking medical help, costing the NHS getting on for £200 million a year.
Kristian Elvefors, Volvo UK MD, said:
Back pain from poor-quality car seats is a bigger problem than many think. Not only is it costing the UK economy billions in lost productivity as employees take sick leave, but poor-quality car seats are also placing an unnecessary burden on the NHS, costing hospitals and GP surgeries hundreds of millions a year. Volvo is committed to ensuring that all of its customers, regardless of shape or size, find the seats in their car incredibly comfortable and pain-free.
But even if you don’t give a fig about the cost to the economy of back pain caused by poorly-designed car seats, your back still deserves a Volvo.
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