How big is too big...

[Lester H]

mrmichaelsankey said:

Parked the wife’s Macan - not a small car by any means, next to a new defender……. Jesus Christ it was massive.

Walked away and looked back, Macan looked like a child’s toy compared to the defender!

Now I live in Brentwood Essex, serious school run 4x4 country and some of those monsters (not the mums, although I’m sure they’d eat me for breakfast) are stupid big! GL Mercs, Audi Q7/8, x5, Bentley 4x4s, so many tanks that seriously can’t be needed for a school run!

Quite right. Too big is not an issue when driving on normal A or M roads, even on lanes round Leaden Roding if you are an Essex man when quiet. The problem arises with inappropriate use like school runs. I understand the other post about bulky child seats ( you need a PhD to fit any of them) but agree that a Golf or equivalent should be fine for school run. The remedy would appear to own 2 or 3 cars but use the ‘Golf’ for the school run. I posted last week re supermarket hazards, and decided that school run was equally horrid .Also, interesting observation in response to the O.P. Is that most older cars in my extended family - for which I somehow appear to be responsible- look really small.

[Cold]

Must admit I would prefer it if my new Range Rover Sport had similar exterior dimensions to my previous RRS. But it's a bit longer and a bit wider with a slightly longer wheelbase which can sometimes mean shuffling into/out of parking spots needs an extra manoeuvre, which is a pain.
However, Land Rover should be commended for making it around a third of a tonne lighter than the old car, as well as less smelly.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

RosscoPCole said:

Isn't a VW Up roughly the same size as Mk1 Golf?

Similar, the UP is wider and taller but a bit shorter.

[swisstoni]

The latest gen of cars has now pushed past the point of too big imho. Certainly for packed parts of the UK.

[jamieduff1981]

Amateurish said:

I actually like these bigger cars, excellent for wafting along in comfort. As others have alluded to, bigger also means safer.

Unless you expect to crash (in which case a lifetime ban would be the obvious solution), older cars are far better at the wafting thing too. New cars are much too complicated and mostly have diabolical suspension. Some very expensive new cars don't seem quite as crap as other new cars, but it's just juxtaposition - e.g. crashing down a flight of stairs in a shopping trolley seems comfortable compared to driving an Audi S3 with its rock hard rear springs over a speed bump.

Older cars have better seats, a better ride and can do it more quietly too without the roar from grossly oversized modern tyres to cope with bloated, overweight modern cars.

[Section 8]

I think this says it all.

[simonrockman]

plenty said:

1,500 kgs is a pretty good cutoff for me - anything heavier than that is too lardy for me.

So the current 911 is out.

[simonrockman]

At least Mazda has kept the MX5 small and light. The Mk4 ND is lighter than the Mk 3 NC.

[skyrover]

Something like this will be a chore to park in tiny British parking spaces if used as a daily driver.



Otherwise in theory nothing smaller than a 44 ton truck is too big

[mrmichaelsankey]

simonrockman said:

plenty said:

1,500 kgs is a pretty good cutoff for me - anything heavier than that is too lardy for me.

So the current 911 is out.

Only so much weight you can remove from a new car…. then you start adding 18 way seats, chocolate coloured dash boards, bigger wheels, plastic spoilers, trick suspension/roll bars/rear steering…… things start getting even more lumpy.

A mate is bringing his 991.1 C4 over soon, going to have a go and swap notes as he tries my 992 C4S…. I don’t think the weight has increased much at all, aluminium use etc, but we will see

[croyde]

Was following a new 1 series and an original 1 series. Wow! There's a massive difference in width and general porkyness.

My old E36 looks tiny when parked next to the latest 3 series. I keep mistaking them for 5s.

My little Duster is 10cm wider than my old BMW.

Even my 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis was starting to look svelt compared to new European cars

[J4CKO]

I find having an overly big car an encumbrance, fine if you need one for family and or carrying stuff but would question getting a really big car when you dont actually need one.

The roads are full on honking great vehicles, usually with one person in it who then moan about cyclists, completely missing the irony that they take up 10 times more road space but its the bike in the way. Then you get to a town centre and its massive queues of big cars nose to tail, dont batt an eyelid...Its why densely populated countries tend to use bicycles and light motorbikes as it just doesnt work moving that many people when they are in 2 plus tonnes of car.

I notice my neighbours who have a large SUV have kind of stopped using it so much since they got a tiddler for their kids to learn in, nine times out of ten they take that, I mean why wouldnt you when nipping to the shops ?

Road tax should be per kilo of car, say £2 per kilo, per year and everyone pays it, that would get people into smaller stuff, EV drivers wouldn't (And shouldnt) get a pass out and it would get the manufacturers thinking more about weight reduction.

[monkeychild]

I have a love hate relationship with my Abarth 595 (2nd car). I love it as it's small & quick, but hate it as it's small & harsh e.g. if I need to go a distance it's a pain (literally). But in car parks and tight roads/spaces it's an absolute joy! (well apart from it's oil tanker turning circle) The sheer size of modern cars especially SUVs (especially when they are not that spacious inside) is nuts, it doesn't help that our roads are tight due to parked cars and some people are petrified of having to go near or bump up a curb to allow 2 way traffic to move.

[jjones]

Ford Ranger Width without mirrors:1860 mm
Range rover Width without mirrors: 2,073
Standard UK parking space width: 2400

Wife likes to go shopping so purposely gets a small hatch when buying a car so she can park in town more easily. Wherever she parks she usually returns to find her car is flanked by these ridiculously large cars so they can use her "space" to open their doors into (and seems most don't give a st if they hit her car while doing so).

[DonkeyApple]

Cars get bigger as wealth increases. At the same time, as wealth increases the number of pies purchased also increases, which in turn facilitates an actual need for larger cars.

The truth is that today because a significant number of people are members of the Daniel Lambert Fan Club vehicles do need to be much larger. And sturdier.

Wander down the typical provincial highstreet in the UK and you simply won't find too many people able to fit in a mini these days.

[MC Bodge]

J4CKO said:

I notice my neighbours who have a large SUV have kind of stopped using it so much since they got a tiddler for their kids to learn in, nine times out of ten they take that, I mean why wouldnt you when nipping to the shops ?

We use our ye olde, almost worthless in terms of £££s, 56 reg Fiesta far more than we use our Mk5 Mondeo estate.

The Fiesta is easy to park, turn around, easier to get in & out of in a busy car park (even for slim people) and you don't need to breath in through 6'6" width restrictions. The old Fiesta is very well-packaged, smaller and noticeably narrower (but spacious enough) than a newer supermini
-it also has nice responsive controls that modern cars don't. It is a joy to drive and fine on a long motorway run, even if it won't pin you to the seat at 70mph.

ps. The Mondeo does come in handy for holidays, going to the tip, carrying things on the roof, four bikes on the tow bar etc. and driving just as well fully-laden or empty. The smaller Mk3 Mondeo estate, with its more squared-off back, may have been a better size. On reflection, a 5 seater Berlingo or similar might have been a better buy.

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 22 June 10:57

[MC Bodge]

monkeychild said:

I have a love hate relationship with my Abarth 595 (2nd car). I love it as it's small & quick, but hate it as it's small & harsh

Small cars with a more suitable ride and composure for the road are available.

[parabolica]

Muddle238 said:

BobsPigeon said:

Saw a new BMW X3 today and thought "fk 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.

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.

Too big for the UK maybe; perfectly sized for most other lucrative global markets including North and South America and China. If someone here in the UK wants a SUV of (relatively) dinky proportions there are plenty of options from other manufacturers.

[plenty]

monkeychild said:

I have a love hate relationship with my Abarth 595 (2nd car). I love it as it's small & quick, but hate it as it's small & harsh e.g. if I need to go a distance it's a pain (literally).

I’ve driven Abarth 595s for thousands of miles across lots of different terrain and never once did I feel uncomfortable or wish for something larger. Personally never got along with “small cars are no good for long distances” way of thinking. Ok, my Clio 182 wouldn’t be my first choice for a long-distance haul but that’s because it’s had all of the soundproofing removed.

When I need a limo I use my 2008 A-Class, which is 5 inches shorter and 1.75 inches narrower than a Yaris GR but offers all of the comfort I’ll ever need. I’m no spring chicken either. Maybe I just have a higher NVH tolerance than the average.

[simonrockman]

MC Bodge said:

monkeychild said:

I have a love hate relationship with my Abarth 595 (2nd car). I love it as it's small & quick, but hate it as it's small & harsh

Small cars with a more suitable ride and composure for the road are available.

Fiat 500 based cars with a more suitable ride and composure for the road are available. But what do I care, I used to have a VX220 as a daily. The biggest problem with it was that I couldn't hold a phone call above the road and tyre noise.