I Love My Ponytail, I Hate Moving My Seat to Accommodate It
Scotty Reiss
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Finally, Four Cars That Get This
Ponytails range from sloppy to chic, from the scraped-back-for-yoga to fancy expensive up-do. And they change the way you fit in your car.
Think about it: You get in a car for a test drive, your hair nicely blown out and flat ironed, and it slips over your shoulders as you sit back in the seat and let the smell of new leather seduce you.
Ponytails are not just style; they are life+style
But then comes the first day you rush the kids out of the house, scrambling into coats and loosely tying shoes because everyone is late for school. You scrape your hair back into a ponytail and hop into the car and boom: your chin is shoved down against your chest and your outlook at the road seems a bit more shallow than it was yesterday.
That’s because your hair is in a ponytail. The two or three inches of hair protruding form the back of your head pushes it forward and down, so you’re looking more at the hood of the car and the ground right in front of you making it more difficult to see the road ahead.
If you do what most of us do, you reach down and adjust the seat. You play with it until you feel comfortable.
Or, if you are like a friend of mine, you don’t and end up with a stiff neck and a visit to the chiropractor.
You shouldn’t have to adjust the seat every time you get into the car. In fact, manufacturers have added seat memory to many models so that you can find the perfect position and keep your seat there. This makes your mirrors and other settings optimal. Resetting your seat every time you get in the car is not just silly, it can be unsafe.
A number of car makers have addressed this issue, one as a result of customer feedback, the others just as a matter of tinkering with the function of the headrest.
Audi added an adjustable headrest to the Q5 after talking to women about what they want in a car. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Audi Q5/SQ5
Audi surveyed its female customers for updates to the newly redesigned Q5 SUV and found the ponytail issue a top complaint. The company added a headrest that moves backward or forward with the push of a button. We hope Audi adds this feature to all its models.
See our review of the Audi Q5
BMW’s 5 and 7 series sedans offer a premium seat that adjusts just the upper part of the seat. Photo: Scotty Reiss
BMW 5 and 7 Series
The premium seats in these cars allow you to adjust only the upper portion of the seat, effectively the headrest, to adjust forward or back. BMW has featured this for a decade or more and while it’s not likely that this was due to the request of ponytail-wearing women in its customer base, it’s probably why many women love to hop into the drivers seat of these cars.
Here’s what we thought of the BMW 530i
The Lincoln Continental isn’t just plush, it has a 28-way adjustable drivers seat that allows you to retract the headrest. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Lincoln Continental
The newly introduced Lincoln features every luxury you can imagine, including a seat that adjusts 28 different ways. Including a headrest that telescopes in and out. We love how it reaches forward to cradle your head so you can sit back, relax and enjoy the drive.
Thinking Lincoln? Here’s our thoughts on the MKC
The Ford F-150 has a head rest that adjusts forward and springs back into place. Photo: Scotty Reiss
Ford F-150
If this is a surprise, just think about the other group of people who have something on their head that might demand an adjustment in the headrest: Men who wear work hats. And a lot of them drive F-150s. From hard hats to cowboy hats, having something on your head makes the headrest push your head forward. Ford invented a ratcheting headrest that pulls forward click by click and when pulled all the way forward, snaps back to its original position. If you’re a truck driving, ponytail wearing driver, this is a must-see.
Here’s what else we like about the Ford F-150
Honorable Mention: Chevrolet Impala
Several years ago Chevrolet introduced a retractable headrest on the Chevrolet Impala. In talking with designer Crystal Windham she loved the adjustability of the headrest but it wasn’t done with women in mind; she wanted everyone who got into the Impala to feel comfortable and pampered.