First impressions are very important - I don't believe you'd change them much the second or third time either. Bus seats now, in London or elsewhere, are much more solid than previously, although one or two operators have realised this doesn't encourage the non-committed and are introducing something more comfortable. Regrettably, weight of bus seats has become a big issue.
I certainly find the upstairs claustrophobic, particularly when fully occupied. Not sure where they are all going to go after London - Barnsley more likely than Malta, I feel.
The same thing about first impressions happened among enthusiasts about the London spec Scania OmniCity. The first ones that were 56 reg and the new Euro 4 engine ones from 08 reg had very minimal seat padding, I believe due to concerns about the overall weight (indeed London United's SP16-37 are a hefty 12,520 kg). This continued on the large number ordered during the 58 reg and 09 reg periods, even if the weight decreased very slightly. However, those from 59 reg onwards were given more seat padding. But the initial reputation has stuck and many think all of them have rock hard seats. London United have added loads of padding when they've refurbished theirs, but Stagecoach only added a little bit. The suspension is also hated for being harsh over bumps, which I'll say is a bit true. Still, I really like them, especially their enormous windows, but I will say that if my route had anything better than the horrible early centre staircase Volvo ALX400 and President vehicles which made up majority of the allocation until 2012, then my opinion about the Scania OmniCity may well be different today.
Back on topic to this Borismaster thingy (:P), I am not a fan of the tiny windows either, which certainly as you say makes it feel claustrophobic. Something also continued to the Gemini 3 models by Wrightbus, which is a shame as I liked the huge windows that had remained since the first Gemini in 2001
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And not a particularly good one either.
Ironically the standard TfL spec Enviros/Geminis seem to have much better air cooling units on the upper deck, which would be fine if every summer people didn't then open all the windows and let the cool air out and the hot air in, rendering them pointless!
The Scania OmniCity buses can sometimes have ice cold air cooling units, like the Geminis. I had one on the 262 last month and while I sat right in front of the unit, someone later opened a window in front and I could really feel the warm outside air rushing in when the bus was moving. In the winter the same unit on the OmniCity can pump out hot air which makes the interior very warm. The Geminis are also good. Open windows in those cases always annoys me, operators really should add stickers next to the windows about the air cooling (ok some won't change their behaviour but a decrease of open windows is a good thing). The E400 one doesn't seem very good though.
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Hmm. I'm rather sceptical about that.
Me too, see above post regarding an experience last month.