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I like big cars but only because of the width , not the length or height. In fact I'd prefer to buy a corsa size car but only if it was the same width as say a 5 or 7 series. Why is it manufacturers seem to think that only small people drive small cars since I've yet to find a small car I could sit in without the arms of the person next to me getting in the way of my arm and the gearshift!
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because by nature they are city cars so need to be small and nimble to zip through traffic.
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Its getting so 'small' cars are getting wide. The new Corsa is probably as wide as the old Cavalier.
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Because if they were any wider they'd be wider than they are long?
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I don't see whats wrong with having a short car thats easy to park but also wide enough to seat 3 adults confortably at the back and 2 very confortably at the front.
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The new Corsa is probably as wide as the old Cavalier.
Couple of weeks ago I parked my dad's Mk4 Astra (Astra-G if you prefer) next to a new Corsa. Same length & width when comparing the pair of them, and the Corsa was slightly taller.
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>because by nature they are city cars so need to be small and nimble to zip through traffic<
Does anything on four wheels actually 'zip through traffic' any more? Or is that just another bit of adworld fantasy?
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Does anything on four wheels actually 'zip through traffic' any more? Or is that just another bit of adworld fantasy?
Yep the original smart car was great for whizzing round birmingham city centre when i worked there and had one as a demo for a couple of weeks
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Square cars at last then.
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> Why do small cars always have to be narrow?
Because thats what makes them small.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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Agree with POT - one of life's problems is that small cars are getting too big. I recall our Clio II as certainly seeming quite wide.
Perhaps something with 3 seats across like a Fiat Multipla or Honda FRV, would give the OP the room they're looking for?
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"Bike" Magazine want a "width tax" - having been in the lakes last few days, I can see the point, I was i my own bloatmobile but hey doesn't stop me having an opinion.
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Narrower the better. More nimble and wieldy. I'm not fat, nor are my family; therefore we don't need a wide car.
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Try most recent shape micra - ours is two door. We had driver (son) 6'2, 40"chest 29" waist; front seat husband - 6'2", 45"chest 37"waist; friend 5'11"ish and average, two females 5'4/5" one chunky and one less so all in back. Comfortable ride for all - and really nice having a driver on a night out!! ;~)
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I'm sure the micra is nice , but I doubt you'd get 3 abreast in the back comfortably.
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Surely it's unreasonable to buy the smallest car a manufacturer makes, and expect it to seat 5 adults. Why Peugeot's 207 is the size of a 306 is beyond me. People bought the 205 in huge numbers because it was small. If I were looking for a small car, the latest Clio, 207, Corsa, Punto etc etc just wouldn't fit the bill because they're not small. And they're certainly not narrow - I bet most are similar width to my Almera.
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The clio 3 is not "small" by any stretch of the ruler.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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The clio 3 is not "small" by any stretch of the ruler.
That's exactly the point I was making - no "small" cars are, except the likes of Panda, Picanto, Charade etc. The traditional superminis are now all Astra-sized.
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We did - although I will admit two were a couple so probably sitting closer than a non-related pair and it was only a ten mile journey. We were quite surprised - we did have the broader chaps in the front though.
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Not everyone who is big is fat. Theres this stuff known as muscle. ANd if you want something really narrow why not just buy a bike?
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Not everyone who is big is fat. Theres this stuff known as muscle.
Yeah, that's right, it's, errr, muscle...
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>Yeah, that's right, it's, errr, muscle...
Err , yeah thats right there is. Some of us train. Want to tell me this guy is fat?
www.pudzian.pl/english/index2.php
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Err yeah thats right there is. Some of us train. Want to tell me this guy is fat?
I doubt many of the Backroomers look much like that! I also doubt that that bloke drives a Nissan Micra, as he would possibly be able to lift one up.
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Because that's the way they make up time on the rest of us, by ploys such as straightlining roundabouts. My (younger by eight years) brother is a prime exponent!
It's amazing how it can overcome a 250 horsepower difference.
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A car wider than it was long would not be very stable, surely?
Would it corner safely?
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A car wider than it was long would not be very stable surely? Would it corner safely?
Don't know, but I wouldn't fancy doing an emergency stop, it'd fall over! ;-)
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I like big cars but only because of the width not the length or height. In fact I'd prefer to buy a corsa size car but only if it was the same width as say a 5 or 7 series. Why is it manufacturers seem to think that only small people drive small cars since I've yet to find a small car I could sit in without the arms of the person next to me getting in the way of my arm and the gearshift!
Small cars, superminis, whatever you want to call them used to be narrow but newer models of the same car are invariably wider than their predecessors and this is, to me, an annoyance as they won't fit comfortably into my 1930's garage and I do insist on garaging cars, if possible so to do.
I'd like a new Renault Clio for my partner but it is almost as wide (measured at the door mirror extremities) as my new Golf and therefore almost impossible to extricate oneself after entering the garage.
Of course these new, wider cars, ride better, have better dynamics than the models they replace but they do give rise to the unfashionable habit (nowadays, it seems) of garaging them.
Additionally they make passing in narrow country lanes a bit of a hazardous pastime.
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If you want narrow then you could buy Mitsubishi's i car, which is designed to meet the Japanese Kei Car regulations: www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/index.htm?md=1180&
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SWMBO Getz is great in supermarket car parking spaces etc.with plenty of room to open doors. Unlike my Passat EState where I often overhang the white lines.
Narrow and short has its advantages. Absurd to expect a small car being a spacious 5 seater.
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This is a curious phenomenon, isn't it, which I don't think I quite understand.
I'm sure that cars of the 30s, 40s and 50s were narrower than their modern equivalents, and no doubt Oldgit's 30s garage was designed for something like a Ford 8 or 10 - whose successor, the upright, swaying, black-box Ford Popular, continued till 1959.
But my first ever car, a 1955 Austin A50, would seat 6 normal-size adults (3 + 3) in some comfort - so where's the space gone to? Wider doors maybe, for safety? Perhaps - yet I remember friends of my parents surviving a horrific crash through the protection of the stout bodywork of their 1940s Wolseley.
What I'm saying is - if cars are wider than they used to be, where's the benefit?
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Also alot more are longer too with arguably less space inside. It always amazes me how little legroom there is in cars that are long and fairly broad eg midrange Volvos or Golfs. Compare that with the room in an Austin Maxi/Renault 16 of yesteryear. I think seats were more compact back then and also doors were much more flush on the inside. Not lots of mouldings etc.
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But my first ever car, a 1955 Austin A50, would seat 6 normal-size adults (3 + 3) in some comfort - so where's the space gone to? Wider doors maybe, for safety?
Yup - my dads 375 consol had a bench seat in the front, with column change, and we sat three abreast up front. The consol is narrower than most modern cars.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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My first car was a Ford Anglia. A nice, pleasant car (in its day) to fit in & drive. The other day, I had the chance to sit in one and couldn?t believe how tiny it was. I?m pretty sure that every ?upgraded? model is either longer or wider than its predecessor, making room for a ?new? model in the mini range.
I also think that big (or fat) people in a little car look ridiculous?it looks as if they?ve had vaseline rubbed over them to get in!
Similarly, little people driving Jags.
So I would suggest that you buy a car that you are comfortable with instead of expecting a manufacturer to produce a Tardis?.whether its fat or muscle, you need the room my friend
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I agree with Mad Maxy (" Narrower the better. More nimble and wieldy. I'm not fat, nor are my family; therefore we don't need a wide car.")
The real question is "Why do big cars have to be wide?" I want a car that is big inside, but small outside. Makes a lot of sense if you drive on a lot of narrow roads.
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Is the answer to this question not a Compact MPV - Modus, Note, Meriva, C-Max, etc or am I missing the point?
Is it not a good thing that cars are bigger now as it represents in most cases a lot more protection - crumple zone, airbags, etc
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Reckon small cars are wider in relative terms than large cars.
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Gan - that's why I drive a Berlingo!
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A few weeks ago I had a drive of a Mk II Escort. Plenty of room for my 6'2", 14 stone frame and a similar sized friend. Very nimble as it is quite narrow (a shade over 5 foot) and has quick steering. In fact it felt more roomy than many modern (large) small cars and my head did not hit the roof. I am sure that if today's small cars were a similar width traffic flow would improve in built up areas.
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Using Ford's nomenclature, undoubtedly the trend is to increase size with each new model, then drop the largest off the top; au revoir Grenada. The Mondeo is larger than the Grenada was. The Focus is larger than the Cortina. The Fiesta is probably the same size as the Escort.
As for 6 adults in a 1955 A50 - I'd like to see that!
I'd take a 4 seater which had 4.5 feet of boot width for golf clubs, but which was no longer than a Focus.
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I've no doubt the width is chosen to keep the shape in proportion. If cars were badly proportioned then sales would suffer.
--
L\'escargot.
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surely congestion is affected by length not width. You can only get one car in a lane, not two or more side by side, as with bikes.
That's why I don't understand why the Smart is called a traffic buster, it may be small and easier to park, but your still stuck when you get to a queue.
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Aim low, expect nothing & dont be disappointed
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Have to disagree on this. It can make quite a difference down narrow lanes where you may then sometimes pass an oncoming vehicle easily rather than having to squeeze past. Can also make all the difference in getting past a parked vehicle in a busy strret. One road I know was rarely a problem 25 years ago. Now with wider cars, huge 4x4s and door mirrors it often virtually stops as people try and squeeze past.
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surely congestion is affected by length not width.
I know of several roundabouts where one lane unofficially becomes 2 during rush hour. It's easy to fit into one "lane" in anything up to Mondeo-sized, but if there's a 4x4 in the way, everyone has to wait until they reach the roundabout before the 2 queues can work properly again.
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I do now realize the ill-effects of obesity :)
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