Driving onto the Eurotunnel train in a bigger car
Discussion
BOBTEE said:
A900ss said:
I'm not the OP but I don't understand the 
behind your comment.
A Kuga surely has a smaller footprint than a Mondeo...
Smaller than a Mondeo you say... behind your comment. A Kuga surely has a smaller footprint than a Mondeo...
Dimensions seem to back me up.
Mondeo mk 4 hatch
Length - 4,778 mm
Width - 1,886 mm
Kuga
Length - 4,524 mm
Width - 1,838 mm
I drove my (new to me) Mk4 Mondeo Estate into the train, both lower deck and upper deck, when I went to the Netherlands last year. It can seem like a big old bus if you're used to driving something smaller (it seemed a fair bit bigger than my Focus Estate, despite not really being that much bigger). As others have said, much bigger vehicles get on the train. Worry about the length, not the width. Practise parallel parking it if you're not too confident already. Because you need to steer in sharply obviously getting as close as you can with the front to the wall so the rear tucks in. Remember the best way to make a big car seem small is having someone guide you into the tightest of parking spaces with it - after that you'll intuitively know how close you can get.
The Op is worrying far too much - any Mondeo will fit easily with acres of space.
I've taken a range of unfeasible cars onto the tunnel - big SUVs, Tall MPvs, wide and low performance stuff etc, but the only one that gave me pause for thought was the below when we were sent upstairs with it as the very very long bonnet seemed to be about to hit the ceiling before we eventually crested the rise of the quite steep ramp...
We bought this to go to the Le Mans Classic and our fellow passengers included other such sensible cars as an Ultima, a Ferrari Testarossa, a Cerbera in Gulf colours and a 911turbo done out as a police car.
If your car over 2m, eg a Discovery with a roof box, you go in the tall truck otherwise you go in the ordinary two level car train.
|http://thumbsnap.com/Z54IFTNZ[/url]
I've taken a range of unfeasible cars onto the tunnel - big SUVs, Tall MPvs, wide and low performance stuff etc, but the only one that gave me pause for thought was the below when we were sent upstairs with it as the very very long bonnet seemed to be about to hit the ceiling before we eventually crested the rise of the quite steep ramp...
We bought this to go to the Le Mans Classic and our fellow passengers included other such sensible cars as an Ultima, a Ferrari Testarossa, a Cerbera in Gulf colours and a 911turbo done out as a police car.
If your car over 2m, eg a Discovery with a roof box, you go in the tall truck otherwise you go in the ordinary two level car train.
|http://thumbsnap.com/Z54IFTNZ[/url]Edited by FBP1 on Tuesday 28th February 07:55
lucido grigio said:
iguana said:
Should hope so! as this was a lot longer (half a metre longer than an artic) & a tad tight but no probs & did it a few times.
If that is longer than an Artic ,is it an Abnormal load ?
What's total length ?
BobSaunders said:
More to the point... what's the towing weight of that van!?!
Have to say I did wonder, I think that's a sprinter so could well have a 3.5t towing capacity, so assuming the trailer is about 1000kg, 1400kg for the Porsche, and 900kg for the Clio for a total of 3.3t it's probably ok, surprisingly!Howard- said:
I'm going to France later this and I'm being a bit of a big girl's blouse in regards to driving my car, which is a mk4 Mondeo - pretty chunky - onto the carriages. I've booked onto the normal car section but now I'm thinking that I should book onto the one for taller vehicles in order to save potential wheel damage. I'm dreading having to drive onto the upper deck if they tell me to.
Anyone else got any insight driving larger saloon/estates onto the trains and/or to just tell me to man up?
Ta!
Oh dear, a Mondeo is not a large car by any stretch of the imagination. It is a medium size car, will fit anywhere on the Chunnel.Anyone else got any insight driving larger saloon/estates onto the trains and/or to just tell me to man up?
Ta!
MrBarry123 said:
When we went on the Eurotunnel last year, we had a new Bentley Continental GT in front of us.
He clearly didn't know or care about how wide his car was because he managed to continuously curb his alloys as he moved along the carriages.
He then proceeded to keep his engine on throughout all but the last 5 minutes of the journey, even after repeatedly being told by the steward to turn his engine off.
Dick.
Try sitting in front of a car with the alarm going, then when the owner would come back as instructed by stewards, just unlocked car, locked it again, and walked off....What was he going to see?He clearly didn't know or care about how wide his car was because he managed to continuously curb his alloys as he moved along the carriages.
He then proceeded to keep his engine on throughout all but the last 5 minutes of the journey, even after repeatedly being told by the steward to turn his engine off.
Dick.
I always ask to go on lower level and always get on
pits said:
Try sitting in front of a car with the alarm going, then when the owner would come back as instructed by stewards, just unlocked car, locked it again, and walked off....What was he going to see?
I always ask to go on lower level and always get on
Perhaps just going for a bit of a stretch, however it's far from easy pushing those doors open, there must be a knack but I can't quite seem to get it right.I always ask to go on lower level and always get on
KevinCamaroSS said:
Howard- said:
I'm going to France later this and I'm being a bit of a big girl's blouse in regards to driving my car, which is a mk4 Mondeo - pretty chunky - onto the carriages. I've booked onto the normal car section but now I'm thinking that I should book onto the one for taller vehicles in order to save potential wheel damage. I'm dreading having to drive onto the upper deck if they tell me to.
Anyone else got any insight driving larger saloon/estates onto the trains and/or to just tell me to man up?
Ta!
Oh dear, a Mondeo is not a large car by any stretch of the imagination. It is a medium size car, will fit anywhere on the Chunnel.Anyone else got any insight driving larger saloon/estates onto the trains and/or to just tell me to man up?
Ta!
just don't open the boot, as it will hit the (sharp metal) ceiling 
To be honest the only time to be concerned about dimensions is:
1. if you have low profile tyres - the kerbs are low, but still high enough to scratch most low profile rims. Anything sportscar-ish and youll be using wing mirrors to judge tyre distance from the kerbs.
2. if your car is abnormally wide (think supercar, or huge SUV etc). Mostly supercar though - as width + point (1) makes for a less than comfortable experience.
And the caveat is the ramp to the upper deck can be quite severe - so anything very low (again, sports/supercar) where you might typically hit speed bumps... you wana be in the high vehicles carriage.
1. if you have low profile tyres - the kerbs are low, but still high enough to scratch most low profile rims. Anything sportscar-ish and youll be using wing mirrors to judge tyre distance from the kerbs.
2. if your car is abnormally wide (think supercar, or huge SUV etc). Mostly supercar though - as width + point (1) makes for a less than comfortable experience.
And the caveat is the ramp to the upper deck can be quite severe - so anything very low (again, sports/supercar) where you might typically hit speed bumps... you wana be in the high vehicles carriage.
Wide enough for a Testarossa, but a bit too tight for a Zonda, according to Harry Metcalfe:
https://youtu.be/fxF4TRIuH4g?t=1518
https://youtu.be/fxF4TRIuH4g?t=1518
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