How big is too big...
Discussion
BobsPigeon said:
Saw a new BMW X3 today and thought "f
k that's big" so checked the dimensions and it's longer, wider and only 10cm lower than the original 1999 X5.
Just saying.
I think we’re already at the point where they’re too big. Cars are getting higher, longer, heavier but crucially wider, when parking spaces and roads aren’t. Fine for motorways, but on narrow lanes or in urban settings, the sheer vastness of some modern cars is basically automotive obesity. k that's big" so checked the dimensions and it's longer, wider and only 10cm lower than the original 1999 X5.Just saying.
I was following some Merc SUV the other day, it was so wide you couldn’t see round it, so high you couldn’t see over it and thanks to the drug dealer spec “privacy glass” and high waistline, you couldn’t even see through it. It was really no different to following an HGV. Put one on a wet motorway and the spray they kick up is just insane.
If it were up to me, I would mandate a maximum width for regular cars and SUVs, otherwise we’ll get to the point where they quite literally won’t fit past each other on main roads without clattering the mirrors.
When I first saw a press photo of the new Ferrari Roma I thought it looked perfect, stunningly simple side profile and nicely compact.
Later I saw a road test and the driver looked pretty small in the car so I did a little digging...
It's about the same length as an Alfa Giulia, and the same width as a Ferrari Testarossa!! Always thought the TR was a stupidly wide car back in the day, and the Roma disappeared off my lottery win list immediately. The whole car needs scaling down by about 10% and then it would be perfect.
Seems like bigger / blingier / flashier is king these days. Don't even get me started on Q7s, X7s and so on.
Later I saw a road test and the driver looked pretty small in the car so I did a little digging...
It's about the same length as an Alfa Giulia, and the same width as a Ferrari Testarossa!! Always thought the TR was a stupidly wide car back in the day, and the Roma disappeared off my lottery win list immediately. The whole car needs scaling down by about 10% and then it would be perfect.
Seems like bigger / blingier / flashier is king these days. Don't even get me started on Q7s, X7s and so on.
Anything bigger than a Lotus Elan?
I generally have found bigger cars more stressful to drive. Worrying about meeting someone on a narrow road, or trying to fit down a narrow road with double parked cars or trying to find a parking space big enough. Even a Transit van felt too wide on one stretch of the M60 with narrow lanes.
I generally have found bigger cars more stressful to drive. Worrying about meeting someone on a narrow road, or trying to fit down a narrow road with double parked cars or trying to find a parking space big enough. Even a Transit van felt too wide on one stretch of the M60 with narrow lanes.
you're such a modern gent, putting your lady first. Makes the rest of us old skool big boys look bad!I think it's normal that over a 20 year span, a given model grows such that it's the size that the next model up used to be. I don't like this trend, but I think it's been going on a while, it's not a new or shocking trend.
For instance, the 1974 Golf Mk1 was 3.7m long and 1.6m wide. The 1994 Polo Mk3 was ... 3.7m long and 1.6m wide. By that time, the Golf Mk3 was 4.0m long and 1.7m wide.
I echo other posters that I feel able to enjoy a slightly narrower car more on the B-roads I often drive, (lack of) width is definitely a factor in my car choices and I've scratched a lot of cars from my 'realistic dream car' list based on size and weight.
In terms of 'when will it stop', I'm optimistic that the existence of width limits on urban roads will stop most normal cars going much over 2m wide. It's perhaps one thing to have to take the long way around if you're driving a supercar, but it's another if you're just doing the school run in your SUV, surely?
You know things have got ridiculous when a Skoda Superb or Mondeo takes up almost as much space as a Lexus430 Audi A8 or S Class MB, drove car transporters for decades so you really noticed the rapidly increasing sizes of these cars because you increasingly struggled to get them all on.
I don't mind a slightly longer car but prefer them reasonably narrow, our old shape Forester and even our baby Landcruiser 120 series are comparatively narrow without stupidly wide bulbous shaped doors so are actually quite pleasurable for narrow streets country roads and parking spaces.
Oh and whilst on a moan roll, what's with estate cars that due to fashion shaping coupe style lose massive amounts of estate space, the sole reason for buying an estate in the first place, Pug 406 a decent all round estate as was original Cit C5, both replaced around 2007/8 by 407 and new shape C5, both utterly ruined as estates.
I don't mind a slightly longer car but prefer them reasonably narrow, our old shape Forester and even our baby Landcruiser 120 series are comparatively narrow without stupidly wide bulbous shaped doors so are actually quite pleasurable for narrow streets country roads and parking spaces.
Oh and whilst on a moan roll, what's with estate cars that due to fashion shaping coupe style lose massive amounts of estate space, the sole reason for buying an estate in the first place, Pug 406 a decent all round estate as was original Cit C5, both replaced around 2007/8 by 407 and new shape C5, both utterly ruined as estates.
I guess it depends what kind of driving you do.
I have a W221 S Class and if you're driving in town or down a narrow road it does feel like a really big car. I mostly use it for motorway driving and then it's irrelevant. I've got the short wheelbase model too and it still feels like a big car. Ironically my other half has an ML which is shorter but similarly wide but doesn't feel as large on the road.
I suppose the cars I look at as being huge are the really large SUVs like the Q7!
If you're constantly driving in town and use a lot of car parks then anything bigger than a Ford Focus probably feels big.
I have a W221 S Class and if you're driving in town or down a narrow road it does feel like a really big car. I mostly use it for motorway driving and then it's irrelevant. I've got the short wheelbase model too and it still feels like a big car. Ironically my other half has an ML which is shorter but similarly wide but doesn't feel as large on the road.
I suppose the cars I look at as being huge are the really large SUVs like the Q7!
If you're constantly driving in town and use a lot of car parks then anything bigger than a Ford Focus probably feels big.
nunpuncher said:
It wouldn't be so bad if the increased exterior dimensions meant more internal space.
18mm wider across the rear sets than the new golf. I mean I don't design cars or sell them but I'm not sure how these things get through requirement sign off, I wouldn't approve them as an idea. Glenn63 said:
I know everyone loves an SUV bashing on here but how wide is the new rs6? Saw one on the motorway the other day and it looks ridiculously wide must be wider than an x3?
Fair point, I'm not bashing as much as confused. An RS6 is a rather special supercar not an everyday car for supermarkets and school runs. I just wonder what the limit is and what the market will demand in the future, people are certainly not getting any smaller. Glenn63 said:
I know everyone loves an SUV bashing on here but how wide is the new rs6? Saw one on the motorway the other day and it looks ridiculously wide must be wider than an x3?
I've been in a relatively new X3 and was quite surprised at the size inside considering it looks like a fairly big car, I suspect the X5 is significantly better though. I'm slightly converted when it comes to SUVs. My other half had a Merc CLS as her daily car which was lovely, spacious for four and decent boot. With a third little one on his way, we sold it and she decided on an ML despite me thinking an E Class would do the job. Well I'm very very taken with the ML. The amount of head room make it feel really spacious, plus you're not rubbing shoulders with the passenger and room for three in the back with a huge boot.
I'm still not convinced but things like the GLA over the A class but I can see why some '4x4s' have some appeal if space is on the agenda.
The Nissan Juke can still f*ck off though!! hahah
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