Small cars on motorways

[TheAngryDog]

I've always said to myself that I would never drive a small car on a motorway. The reason for this is I do not know whether or not I would feel completely safe doing so. I had a decent sized accident 11 years ago where an Astra ploughed into the rear of my stationary Peugeot 605 at 60mph, while I was queung in traffic. AS a result, I have always owned larger cars since.

I need to buy a run around and have been discounting small cars because of my concern about how safe they are. Is this misplaced these days? My 605 was an M Reg, so will not have had an NCAP testing.

Does anyone else feel the same way?

[Rawwr]

No.

[Petrol Only]

Personally round town very occasional A road use then a 107 etc is perfect. But any motorway use. Comfort and perceived extra safety always wins for me. Surely bigger crumple zones? I really don't miss my early driving days. 1.0 polo loads of motorway miles.

[KTF]

A new small (do you mean city car or supermini sized?) car of today, is probably 'safer' than an old 605.

[TurboHatchback]

Big cars are much nicer on the motorway but I've driven many many miles on the motorway in small cars and am still here to post about it. I am far less worried about accidents on motorways than other roads, with proper defensive driving techniques you can reduce the risk of catastrophic life changing accidents to an infinitesimally small level.

[Bluebarge]

Stop being a wuss. Small cars are fine. Todays fiestas/polos etc are equivalent to the Golfs/Astras of 10 years ago. They are mostly safe, refined and quiet, as long as you get a reasonable engine (ie not the smallest eco-lump available). I regularly do long motorway journies in a 1.4 Polo - it's perfectly comfortable.

[TheInsanity1234]

I'd say that a Clio sized car is perfectly good for motorway driving, but not for regular use, more like a 2/3 times a week chug down the motorway for a few junctions.

If you want a car for prolonged motorway driving, then maybe look at a cross-over?

Usually smaller than a 4x4 etc, but bigger than a smallish car

[Pixelpeep]

Few years back i got hit from behind at 60mph by a transit van while i was in stationary traffic on the M25 in the Homesdale tunnel, J25 M25

He popped me out of the queue for the exit into the freeflowing and live lane 1 of the motorway. Scariest time of my driving life.

I was in a Honda Jazz. Apart from a very sore neck and back the next day i was fine, and if you look at the car, it did its job perfectly.

I would say it depends on the car. I wouldn't want that kind of accident in a 20 year old Citroen AX but most modern (NCAP tested) small cars are strong and have great resilience to impact.

You would be better off with a small modern car rather than an old big car. Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCecdOBCFjI

[R26Andy]

As a rule of thumb, I agree. The girlfriends little Saxo is unlikely to make motorway trips but that's just as much because it is uncomfortable and noisy as it is because of safety.... http://www.euroncap.com/tests/citroen_saxo_2000/70...

[Crosswise]

I carry ear plugs in my Mini to save my hearing when I do drive on the motorway, but safety has never concerned me. I'd rather do something other than finding things to worry about.

[TheAngryDog]

Im not being a wuss but at the end of the day, I have to get from Aylesbury to Sheffield and most of that is motorway, and given the standards of MANY drivers (lost count of how many poorly driven cars there were on the M1 yesterday) if someone decides to take offence to me (it happens) then I'd like to be in something safe. Now this is where my (mis-placed) pre-conceptions may be, as I've not had a small car in a long time, but I am considering something like a 206 GTi for the commute.

[stephen300o]

Even in the smart car I have felt safe on a motorway, it is a pretty safe road to be on, no junction, no blind bends, no pedestrians.

[MysteryLemon]

As said, a modern small hatch will be safer than an old 605 barge anyway.

I never had any issues bombing up and down the M1 in my youth in a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting. The only thing that concerned me was whether it would be able to get up the next hill without needing to drop behind the lorries

[rustyabarth]

Must admit im much more cautious when im in my Cinquecento rather than my Golf. Even thought they are both nearly 20 years old the Golf seems to hold its own much better especially if its busy and bumper to bumper with traffic.

If i was doing lots of motorway miles id want something more Golf/Astra size than a small car i think.

[Qwert1e]

MysteryLemon said:

As said, a modern small hatch will be safer than an old 605 barge anyway.

Guess that's right. I don't drive a big car but some of the old ones you see pottering up the motorway look terrifying.

[andy-xr]

Biggest thing I've found with smaller cars on motorways is getting blown around a bit and getting tailgated

Going over the M62 in a C1, the front end was a bit light on sidewinds, but easy enough to turn in to. Not something you'd find with a larger car

Few trips on the M6, we were doing the same speed as the car infront and overtaking traffic in L3, we'd get quite a few larger cars coming up behind and sitting close. Never happens in the Jag, or if it does, nowhere near as frequently.

I used to drive a 206 daily on a 120 mile commute, the only thing you'll find is the gear ratios in 5th are a bit high, same as with a lot of other small cars. The Rover 25 diesel I had sat at 3.5k mostly, it was fine but a bit noisy after a while

[SpeckledJim]

The only good reasons to buy a small car are low-speed fuel economy, and ease of parking.

For everything else, bigger is either better, much better, much much better, or not really measurably worse.

[Super Slo Mo]

I did 40k in 2 years in a Polo, admittedly it had the 1.9 tdi engine, so could hold it's own with the traffic, but it was fine.

The biggest snag was that lane hoggers would just ignore it, whereas the V70 that replaced it was great at clearing traffic. Mind you, my Superb is even better for some reason. Think it must have an imposing face.

[otolith]

Try driving something small and old with a near vertical rear window and no overhangs. Metro or AX. You think White Van Man is actually in your back seat.

[HumbleJim]

I regularly have a 270 mile run to do. Some times I take a Pug 107 sometimes a Merc SL. Wife prefers motorways in the SL and so do I but the 107 does a pefectly good job at 1/2 the fuel cost.