Inexpensive car for a tall person

wba31

2001-2004 Honda Civic. massive inside. might be better with a petrol than a diesel with his mileage, although if mileage is done at 60mph the mpg of the diesel is awesome.

[Deleted User]

I'm 6'6", and finding enough headroom is the biggest pain in the neck there is when it comes to buying a car. Legroom isn't so much problem, legs bend in the middle.

Firstly, be careful how you sit. It's easy to slouch a bit or duck your head for a few minutes on a test drive and convince yourself there's enough room, but you'll get very tired of the aches and pains after thousands of miles.

Secondly don't assume that large cars have more headroom than small ones, they don't necessarily. Don't assume that similar models are the same either, my Mk4 Cortina had enough room, the Mk5 didn't.

Beware of deeply dished roof pans, they may have enough headroom, but the top of the windscreen can be so low that you'll have to duck just to see out.

Sunrooves make a difference, as the headlining is slightly lower to make room for the mechanism. The frame is usually aligned with the centre of your head too, and it's not padded like the headlining.

Adjustable seat height is an irrelevance, when they're set as low as they'll go they're the same height as the non adjustable passenger seat.

When it comes to legs, make sure that the pedals aren't too high. When your knees are bent you can't pivot your ankles far enough to get your toes onto the pedals without lifting your heels off the floor. After a few hours of lifting your feet up every time you need the pedals in busy traffic you'll feel as if you've gone a few rounds with an all in wrestler.

Another problem I've noticed is that some cars have the steering wheel too close to the pedals, so you're forced to choose between stretching for the steering wheel with the seat back, or cramped legs with the seat close enough to reach the wheel.

The problem seemed to get a lot worse about the time 4x4s became fashionable, I think because manufacturers tried to pander to the desire for a high riding position by raising the seats in saloons without raising the roofline.

Indout96

Get him to go to a garage and try sitting in a few cars.

I am 6'4'' but have shortish legs for my height and longer body so have trouble with a few cars, mainly with sunroofs, I had a Celica with no problem, my daughter has the same car but with sunroof and I cant fit in.
At the moment I have a new Focus ST2 with no problem and also tried the Fiesta ST and again fitted without problems so there are smaller cars that are OK.

pulliptears

almillar wrote: »

Fiat 500 are both cheap to run with plenty of leg and headroom...

Fiat 500's do have legroom, providing you have no backseat passenger. A 6ft 3" driver would have the seat a good way back so anyone behind him would have to be very small indeed. As the 500 is also only a 4 seater car this would restrict him to 1 adult passenger in the back I suspect.

I'm only 5ft 5" and drive a 500, my seat is right the way back at my height.

wadewade

Thanks, everyone, a really useful list of suggestions. Much appreciated.

bartelbe

A bus, lots of headroom and very cheap.

PenguinJim

almillar wrote: »

I'm 6'2 and couldn't get behind the wheel of one!

That doesn't sound like a height problem!

heartbreak_star

BeenThroughItAll wrote: »

Get an auto, then you can drive whatever you like.

Nah, I drive my mum around in her automatic and don't like it so much. Prefer having gears

HBS x

SunReader

I'm 6'4 had loads of cars and worked in the trade, most cars aren't a problem at all. Some tall people have long legs, other have long bodies- they are the one's that struggle.

Big cars always for me, also cheaper and better. Everyone wants a small car now (to save money lol) and they pay top money for cheap basic cars where the big luxury cars when old are cheap as chips.

Peater

Most comfortable car I've own in terms of seating position was my Smart Roadster. I'm 6ft 3 and it was the first car i'd had that my knees weren't around my ears to have a chance of having the steering wheel at a desirable distance. The car was totally unpractical in every other regard though!

It is important to keep a crook in the elbow while holding the steering wheel in a natural position. I see alot of people driving around with their seat too far back and their arms out straight. That position offers you very little control in an emergency situation.