Tall bloke in a Chimera

[c7xlg]

Hi There,
I'm thinking of getting a Chimera as a 3rd car... I'm 6'5" tall with long legs and wondered how tall people get on with them as touring cars. Is there enough leg room/headroom/elbow room?

I'm considering models, with a budget of 8-10K I think I'll be going for a 4.0 or maybe a 450.

[T_Pot]

plenty of room headroom is surprisingly good. your best bet obviously, is get ya bum in one and see. but im sure you will have no probs

[900T-R]

Peter Wheeler is 6'5" with long legs - and it shows. A Dutch magazine once said the Chimaera's driving position was made for 'dwarves on stilts'...

I'm 6'3"ish and -unlike other roadsters - the Chimaera feels like tailormade.

[barryhercules]

I'm 6'5 and find my chimaera a lovely cosy fit, Not so great as a passenger mind you.......

[900T-R]

barryhercules said:

Not so great as a passenger mind you.......

That battery has got a lot to answer for...

[Barkychoc]

barryhercules said:

I'm 6'5 and find my chimaera a lovely cosy fit, Not so great as a passenger mind you.......

Not so in a V8S - my wife complains that she slides down the seat as she can't reach the end of the footwell!
Battery is in the boot

I'm 6 foot 3 and legroom and headroom is fantastic.

Edited by Barkychoc on Thursday 17th January 15:04

[blueyonder]

I'm 6'2'' and have no problem and I think the seat could go back a few more inches. Headroom is good too

[c7xlg]

Top notch! I do remember sitting in a Grif years ago and being happy at how much leg room there was.

I also sat in a Caterham when I was 16 at the motor show and realised I could never own one.. until they brought out the SV model, which fits like a dream.

So... now time to pop down to Fernhurst one weekend and have a looksie at a few models and hopefully test drive a couple before taking the plunge!

[Zippee]

900T-R said:

barryhercules said:

Not so great as a passenger mind you.......

That battery has got a lot to answer for...

My 6' 2" mate accomanied me for a week in 2006 on the Alpine Furball. 3000 miles of tight Alpine roads later he's vowed never to get in my car again unless he can drive.

[im]

Agree with the other comments.

As a driver there is plenty of room throughout the height range of even the tallest but as a passenger you have a problem (knees up I'm afraid) if your over 6 foot or more.

[bigdods]

Dont forget when test driving, the pedals are adjustable. I am 6'2" and have the pedals wound 2/3 of the way out and the seat all the way back as I like to adopt a relaxed laid back driving position. I would imagine you would need the seat right back and the pedals wound all the way forward to be comfortable.

[Krautchimaera]

I am 6'3" and 19 stone, the car fits like a glove, just wonderful. I usually have the problem that there is not enough headroom for me (built a bit like a Terrier). My other car is an X-type Jag and I can always feel my hair touching the roof. My brother has the same car with sunroof, impossible for me to sit in it. with the Chim absolutely no problem and there is more than enough legroom for me, the seat can still go one notch further back and the pedals are really screwed out.

[jonny_c]

I looked at this before I got mine a few months back - Having tried a Wedge, a Cerb, a Tuscan and a T350, all were 'un-accomodating' in some way. Wedge has an awsome driving position with loads of leg room but no room for shoulders/elbows. Cerb has no head room, Tuscan and T350 bad on all things. Only the Griff/Chimaera fitted me like a glove. Ideally an inch more headroom for bumpy roads but i can definatly live with it.

Some advice i got from from HHC - many cars apparently are fitted with spacers under the seat, depending on the initial owners requirements - so some cars can be worse than others on headroom. Adjustable stearing helps me and obviously the pedals need to be set right back.

I'm a big chap though - 6'6" without shoes and 22 stone ish. Which means i sit on seats rather than in them, which doesn't help.

[PVN]

I'm 6'5" with long legs (36" inside leg). I find my Chimaera 450 extremely comfortable. I have completed a European tour taking in the Italian alps and completing 420 miles in a day with no discomfort whatsoever. I did a similar trip in my S3 which was also comfortable but I found the exhaust note much more wearing on a long journey. Its not so intrusive in a Chimaera.

[oagent]

very good car for tall folk. I had more head room in a chim than in a bmw 3 series, and MUCH more than in a merc E300 coupe

[BIGRAH]

c7xlg said:

Hi There,
I'm thinking of getting a Chimera as a 3rd car... I'm 6'5" tall with long legs and wondered how tall people get on with them as touring cars. Is there enough leg room/headroom/elbow room?

I'm considering models, with a budget of 8-10K I think I'll be going for a 4.0 or maybe a 450.

Well im 6ft 8 and I find mine very comfortable, go for it !

[im]

The REAL problem with the Chim is, perversly, for short people who can't reach the pedals.