I have a 2006 Vauxhall Meriva 1.7 CTDI which reverses up our drive easily. I recently test-drove the new Meriva. But because of its long front overhang it could not reverse up the drive, which has quite a steep gradient. I stopped before I did any damage, but it was quite clear that if I had persisted in my attempt to reverse I would have caused significant damage to the overhang. The same thing happened with the new Ford C-Max.

We tried the Ford Fusion, which was fine, but is now on run-out and its replacement, the B-Max, has a long front overhang. It seems that almost all new cars now have extended front overhangs, for, I understand, aerodynamic reasons.

We will be testing a Nissan Qashqai, but, although it is quite high off the ground, the overhang is nevertheless quite long. Can you think of anything else we should try?