RE: Visibility matters more than horsepower: TMIMW

[mac96]

TooMany2cvs said:

mac96 said:

Sorry but really don't care about the second. (IE don't know!)

There might be a fairly big clue in the middle of the steering wheel.

True enough, still a lot less interesting than the first.

[DonkeyApple]

Ratten said:

Rangie Classic - lots of visibility, but as for carrying speed you need an exceptional set of plums for that and at least a Day Skipper ticket. Possibly Ocean.

Fun though!

Sawing at the wheel like Gordon Bennet is half the fun.

[DonkeyApple]

jhonn said:

Yup - all-round visibility is a boon - hence the popularity of SUV's/4x4's with elevated driving positions. On the country roads round these parts these vehicles tend to carry more speed than low-slung cars, no matter how much power they have.

Which is why something like the Rangie Sport SVR is one of the fastest A-B cross country options currently on sale.

[Roger Irrelevant]

The one car I particularly remember as having great visibility was my old K11 Micra; pretty much every other car I drove when I had that felt rather claustrophobic. Obviously pretty much every other car felt like a rocketship too, but you can't have everything.

[Hungrymc]

aeropilot said:

Exactly.....the Saab 900 design from 1979, had roll-over protection comparable with many a modern car designed in the past 5 years, yet the visibility from the drivers seat of a 900 was fantastic, with the upright a-pillars and slim b-pillars, and that fabulous curved upright windscreen.

I love the 99 and 900s (the eighties version). And I certainly recall them having a brilliant safety reputation amongst the competition of the day. I'd love to know if they really have the same kind of structural integrity of modern cars - I seriously doubt it as I can't see how you'd get the structure without the thicker section but maybe. Perhaps very vertical pillars are particularly efficient with specific load paths (erm, vertical ones for example).

Forward visibility in my cars....
Evoque : is OK, but the exterior mirrors are massive and cause a big blind spot at the foot of the A-Pillar.
Evora : is Excellent (I think the structure is from the B-Pillar not the A-Pillar?)
Series 3 : Is great for visibility, but not the safest thing
Motorbike : Great visibility but .......

[Ecosseven]

I had one of these as my first car. Even as a new driver I found it easy to reverse park mostly due to the fantastic visibility.

[Glutton]

Can anyone remember an article in Car magazine in the late 90's? They tested a Lamborghini Diablo against a 106 Gti and on a run over Dartmoor B roads the pug won, because of the drivers ability to see through corners and get the power down.

[anonymous-user]

driftingphil said:

Didn't Subaru make it one of there key design features on the latest WRX STI.

To the point they move the mirror out the way.

A flag pole mirror is what it's called. The current (and brand spanking new) Fiesta has them. The Focus doesn't, but it needs them for sure. Porsche Macan and 2017 Q5 have them too. It helps enormously as the mirrors are mounted rearwards of the "common" position, and allows the glass to go right up to the intersection between a pillar and belt line.

Edited by mstrbkr on Wednesday 14th December 21:41

[LanceRS]

This was brought home to me on the way down to Goodwood on Sunday. We had a small convoy, the lead car being a Noble. I was in my E46 and noticed that he was having to come to a stop at roundabouts where I would have carried through because I was high enough to see that it was clear.
I am acutely aware that when I drive the family Smax, that my head is bobbing around like a chicken as I try to look around the various thick pillars. Given how big the windscreen is, it's a touch ironic that you cannot see where you are going.

[havoc]

My Civic's a 2008 car / 2007 design, and I still notice the A-pillars getting in the way, after owning for >3 years. It's also got those silly front quarter-lights that don't do a lot...

Some other stuff I've driven/hired, most specifically VAG MQB-platform machines and a horrid Insignia, have been easily as bad, in some ways worse - Octavia III A-pillar is ridiculous, and rear-vis in that was almost non-existent - certainly when trying to see anything less than 1m high! (Like kids, walls, bollards, Lotuses...)


Conversely my NSX (with the heavily-sloped windscreen - not necessarily an impediment!) is a joy to drive/place on the road - widescreen windscreen, low door-sills, wraparound rear glass and the front wheelarches peaking exactly over the contact patches.

[ewand]

havoc said:

Conversely my NSX (with the heavily-sloped windscreen - not necessarily an impediment!) is a joy to drive/place on the road - widescreen windscreen, low door-sills, wraparound rear glass and the front wheelarches peaking exactly over the contact patches.

Agreed ... the first time I ever drove an NSX was when I drove mine away from the vendor's house. A 2hr drive through the Cotswolds with no real idea of where I was going followed, and the thing that struck me most was how easy it was to place the car due to great visibility. I still miss that car...