FAO those of you with large / big cars
Discussion
goldblum said:
Owned an S8 for a couple of years. Narrow lanes weren't too bad - the car's looong, not particularly wide. Multi-storey carparks required a bit off patience though. City driving was fine you just waft and get used to looking for the more distant on street parking slots.
I have an S8. Parked in Gatwick multi storey not too long ago. Took about 40 minutes to inch it out of the space. Length is difficult... Also have found lanes on Dartmoor difficult and in one had to fol mirrors in to fit through.jamieduff1981 said:
No problems with an S-Type. Much like power and overtaking, a few extra inches length and width doesn't really make that much difference to what can and can't be achieved. I'd venture that parallel parking in London might not be much fun, but I don't go to London. It's not very cramped in Scotland - that's more of a SE England problem.
Ditto no real problems, though visibility out is abit poor so blind spot is abit bigger, lost an Audi A6 Avant last night which was going with the flow in L1 on the M3 (I wasn't being a MLM, I was returning to L1 after overtaking a MLM). Agree didn't enjoy parking the S-Type or the ZT in London, but no longer a problem as I don't go to that festering s
thole anymore Lexus LS400 fits just fine...assuming the only oncoming traffic was a Badger.
You do just get used to it especially when deciding where to park. Sometimes it means having to give up on the first few spots you see.
There must be hundreds of thousands of Transits and Sprinters etc on the roads each day that they all seem to manage.
You do just get used to it especially when deciding where to park. Sometimes it means having to give up on the first few spots you see.
There must be hundreds of thousands of Transits and Sprinters etc on the roads each day that they all seem to manage.
Edited by redtwin on Thursday 17th April 09:05
Only ever had 2 problems in the jag. One is in marlow, they have a width restriction either side of the bridge over the thames. I discovered that its a touch narrower than the jag so dont go that way any more. The other is the multi story at our office. Not enough room to get onto the down ramp so i have to reverse down the up ramp.
ETA if you do a lot of driving on narrow city roads you have to either accept your wheels will get kerbed or do a fair bit of reversing.
ETA if you do a lot of driving on narrow city roads you have to either accept your wheels will get kerbed or do a fair bit of reversing.
Edited by Dodsy on Thursday 17th April 09:07
Blib said:
I don't drive my Quattroporte in London if I can help it. It's far too big and as I have something specifically bought for town driving, it would be silly for me to use the QP instead. I drive a Fiat 500 TA in town.
Same here - the width is the issue especially with speed calming 2m width restrictions all over the placeNo issues here either. Someone commented above that anything bigger than a Mondeo is too big for our cramped island...utter tosh.
The only issue I have is parallel parking in the centre of town. Having a good sense of spacial awareness helps, also not being frightened to get up nice and tight to kerbs/hedges.
I love having a big car as I love having the space inside to stretch out a bit.
The only issue I have is parallel parking in the centre of town. Having a good sense of spacial awareness helps, also not being frightened to get up nice and tight to kerbs/hedges.
I love having a big car as I love having the space inside to stretch out a bit.
I don't have many problems in my XJ, expect for in multi-storey car parks which are an absolute nightmare. There's a couple where it simply won't fit down the off ramp, and even at the ones where it does fit, people are rarely understanding about waiting for you whilst you manoeuvre.
Geekman said:
I don't have many problems in my XJ, expect for in multi-storey car parks which are an absolute nightmare. There's a couple where it simply won't fit down the off ramp, and even at the ones where it does fit, people are rarely understanding about waiting for you whilst you manoeuvre.
Try the one in Putney (above Waitrose) - if you come off at the first level and drive around to find there are no spaces then it is impossible to drive up to the second level in anything of any reasonable size.londonbabe said:
My S124 is the first car I bought after passing my test, and it did seem huge for a few weeks. I got used to it. I can judge the width fairly well, but not the length
Actually quite a narrow car by modern standards. Also square edged and with a tight turning circle. Basically not that hard to thread about. Depends where you live.
Just took my Ashtray in for new tyres this morning. As much as I love barges, I have to say it did cross my mind what a nightmare the car park would have been in the 7 or S I'm constantly hankering after.
Beyond E39 size would probably become a PITA where I am.
There's nothing I havent driven that I thought was too wide really, that's a mix of vans, barges and SUVs, including a massive LHD Infiniti that I had to drive on the wrong side of the road (never done before), in the US having just stepped off a 12 hour flight and to top it all off it was dark
I think if you struggle with perception, which my g/f does, it's harder to work out how you're going to do something, she can barely work out whether she'll fit into a parking space, so she wont touch the S Type at all.
It's weird because with the Jag you can see the corners easily, yet her Ka has a sloping bonnet that she doesnt really know where it ends. Though to be fair I thought it was shorter than it was and did once push it's nose into the back of my own car
I think if you struggle with perception, which my g/f does, it's harder to work out how you're going to do something, she can barely work out whether she'll fit into a parking space, so she wont touch the S Type at all.
It's weird because with the Jag you can see the corners easily, yet her Ka has a sloping bonnet that she doesnt really know where it ends. Though to be fair I thought it was shorter than it was and did once push it's nose into the back of my own car
I ran a 7 Series for a couple of years. It was difficult to thread through traffic in busy cities. No problem on back roads.
I found it a pain to park in areas with small parking spaces. I often had to occupy two or have the car overhanging a space. Parking it in a busy area was more akin to bringing the QE2 into harbour. I often took the family hatchback if I need to nip to a busy shopping area.
I now run a 5 series and find it the perfect balance for comfort and manoeuvrability.
I found it a pain to park in areas with small parking spaces. I often had to occupy two or have the car overhanging a space. Parking it in a busy area was more akin to bringing the QE2 into harbour. I often took the family hatchback if I need to nip to a busy shopping area.
I now run a 5 series and find it the perfect balance for comfort and manoeuvrability.
Edited by Pickled Piper on Thursday 17th April 12:26
Only real problem I've found was with manoeuvring, and to a lesser extent, parking in newer multi storeys. Even then it's not really a problem.
Country lanes are for the most part plenty big enough and for those that aren't I struggle with the Caterham too so again some what irrelevant.
Country lanes are for the most part plenty big enough and for those that aren't I struggle with the Caterham too so again some what irrelevant.
fulham911club said:
Try the one in Putney (above Waitrose) - if you come off at the first level and drive around to find there are no spaces then it is impossible to drive up to the second level in anything of any reasonable size.
That's actually one of the car parks I was thinking of! There's another Waitrose (think it might be near Gerrard's Cross, but I've only been there once so I'm not sure) where the underground carpark is possibly even worse. The entrance is incredibly narrow and at a right angle to the main road, so it requires a 6 point turn to get into without scraping the wheels. It was clearly designed before cars became as big as they are today.Bisonhead said:
No issues here either. Someone commented above that anything bigger than a Mondeo is too big for our cramped island...utter tosh.
The only issue I have is parallel parking in the centre of town. Having a good sense of spacial awareness helps, also not being frightened to get up nice and tight to kerbs/hedges.
I love having a big car as I love having the space inside to stretch out a bit.
Errr i don't think so mate.When space is at a premium(shock horror it might happen) , big car loses out - although the extra walking helps exercise wise !The only issue I have is parallel parking in the centre of town. Having a good sense of spacial awareness helps, also not being frightened to get up nice and tight to kerbs/hedges.
I love having a big car as I love having the space inside to stretch out a bit.
Big cars aren't very space efficient inside either as the fat leather takes up all the space.
Big cars don't allow for quick in /out parking either.
Biggest car i had was Rover 75 and doors have to be opened carefully when other cars are parked alongside.I have to squeeze out -even though i'm stick thin
Just my experiences - not knocking anyone for having a big car one iota - as they are far more interesting than most cars.
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