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- Canada
I reckoned that's where you were going with this.
These types of solicitations draw merely anecdotal complaints. Then there is the matter of the counter arguments and unintended consequences.
A commonly cited complaint is that the seats are too narrow. A second is that the bolsters are too firm which would be less of an issue or a non-issue if the seats were wider. A third is the seats are two firm, thus the discussion of adding padding.
It is hard to see how the seats can be widened. Maybe an inch each with a total redesign of the console and a narrowing of the storage compartment/armrest. It would seem wide bodied individuals need a wider vehicle. That's a non-starter. Maybe the CX-50 will add some body width and seat width to go with it, but judging from the pictures I would not count on it.
Softening the bolsters or adding more padding takes me to the unintended consequences and counter argument. Drivers such as myself like them just the way they are. The 4 out of 5 seat rating from Consumer Reports and no complaints from Car & Driver in their 10 out of 10 review would indicate I am not alone. You're not likely to get many people such as myself responding to your solicitation saying, "don't change them."
Some have observed, including myself, that the general design of the vehicle coming from an Asian mindset does not acknowledge the width of American bottoms. While the US is a primary market, these are global designs. In the end, seats cannot fit the wide range of body types, American or otherwise. The buyer has to find the vehicle that fits, not the other way around.
Another consideration is you are not differentiating the fabric seats, the faux leather and the actual leather seats. Do you assume they all have the same characteristics? I wouldn't.
Personally, I don't care what they do to the seats going forward. If my vehicle maintains the reliability I anticipate it will be many years before I trade it at which point it will be a blank slate analysis of the options. My Sienna trade will happen first and that replacement will be a vehicle larger than CX-5. This is my first Mazda and I'm far from married to the marque.
My comments relate to your methodology and the inherent limits of forums where the preponderance of threads relate to what is wrong and and far less about what is right. Assessment of seats in particular are idiosyncratic compounding the problem.
I get it. You don't think it's useful to have this information, and you've explained your reasons clearly enough for me to understand your point of view. We can just agree to disagree and leave it at that. I'm fine with this being an exercise in futility, if that's what it comes to.