Being tall's a pain in the @rse sometimes!

[Peter]

It's not worth it Wayne ........don't do it!!!!!!Nothing is insurmountable, you can get over this..........

Arrr, there be only one thing to be a-doin when summat gets too tall.


Cut the bugger down to size, Oi got a chainsaw you can borra LadyWayne.

[Glutton4...]

I have a friend with a Citroen Xsara Picasso, she says you can move the seats around to suit, and she loves it to bits. Her hubby is tall.

Have you considered a Ford Galaxy (or whatever the newer ones are now called)? I understand the seats in those can be moved to change the layout.

Had a 6'4 friend years ago, he had a Range Rover for pose value and a Fiesta for comfort! My 6'2 BIL can fit in a Ford Ka but not a Subaru Lagacy!

Failing that ... get a Disco - they're fab for headroom!

Seriously - I hope you have fun 'researching,' assuming you get the time with the impending arrival.

[beefy]

He he he, I admire your determination, but a minibus is never gonna happen. Thanks for the thought though.

Have you ever driven a Picasso HW . I thought the same "no way am I getting a F**^%&g people carrier " . At the time we were looking at Rover 45 (MG ZR ?) in the dealership when the salesman asked if I'd be interested. We were looking for something that would take 2 under 4's in the back as well as a teenager (next door's kid - who helped babysit ) . I really didn't want to drive it but after a drive and a night thinking about it I realised that it was what we needed .
Don't let the boy racer in you cloud your judgement .Ours was a 1.9 D and it could get to 100 (given time and a good road) but was nippy enough .
I'd say go and try one - give it a fair chance and then make up your mind.

btw - loads of room on the back seats for nappy changes! - I'd rather not think about that again.

[bubblewrap]

Have you tried getting on one of those things when you're 6ft 7?

You think you have problems a friend of mine(died some years ago) was over 7ft tall

[digthatchick]

That as may be, I'm still not convinced about its handling. The higher you are, the more body roll you get - it's physics.

Try a Discovery with anti roll - I'm on my fourth in 12 years and love them. Loads of room, little kids love them because they can see over hedges when you are driving rather than having the appearance of driving down a long tunnel. Value for money? my current one has 132,000 on the clock and still starts first time and has passed every mot.

[Glutton4...]

You think you have problems a friend of mine(died some years ago) was over 7ft tall

What'd he do - hit a bridge?

Sorry, bad taste.

[bubblewrap]

What'd he do - hit a bridge?

Sorry, bad taste.

He did die 17 years ago, he was often asked "if it was cold up there"

[Mikey]

Well dude, it won't matter what you buy the vehicle will not be big enough for a trip to the shop the week after the bean arrives. The stuff we used to take on a simple trip was just nuts, it would take us three hours just to plan what time we were going to leave!!

Anyway back to the subject I am not especially tall, 5'10, but I have a very flat driving position, to the point where most of my rugby mates (second rows) can't drive it without first moving the seat forward. I have found that in most vehicles I cannot get far enough away from the steering wheel to find a comfortable driving position. One of the few cars I found I had tolerance was in a Vauxhall vectra estate, a reasonable priced car especially second hand. The list of vehicles that failed included all rovers, fords including a mondeo, citreons though I didn't try a c5 as it wasn't out at the time (picasso was rubbish, sorry peeps), hondas, volkwagon, fiat, and don't get me started on people carriers, what were they built for dwarfs or summut. Anyway, I doubt the vectra is the only decent length of rake out there but it has mean't at least I can drive lying down, my favourite position.

[Glutton4...]

Just a thought, but you'll need some wonga - years ago I used to drive (at work) a Toyota Previa (old one) cathedral-like for room and lovely to drive. I understand the new ones (look fab) are even better.

We have friends with a Kia Sedona and they love that.

Like I said before, enjoy the test-drives - I would.

Seriously, hope you find what you're looking for. X

[HeyWayne]

Didn't want to go into it, but...

Ok, to all the MPV fans I'm sorry, but I don't buy the "they're bigger inside". They may have more headroom - can't argue with that, but headroom isn't the issue for me.

The size of internal space of any vehicle is dictated by the wheelbase - the distance between front and back wheels. The more space between them, the greater the possibility for legroom - or room between front and back seats. It's why limousines ("stretch limos" not withstanding) have a longer wheelbase than their standard counterparts.

There are a number of cars I can "fit" in as has been mentioned, but very few of them comfortably (my first car was a MK1 Fiesta). Driving with your knees up either side of the steering wheel is horrendous for your back as your leg joints are all under strain due to awkward angles. Once again, it's a legroom issue not a headroom one.

The larger MPV mentioned are all big cars, with not particularly good aerodynamics, or handling credentials - as a result they are less frugal than their estate counterparts. You take something bigger, and heaver and try to move it - it takes more effort - more fuel. Lower centre of gravity also provides more stability, and for me - "boy racer" comments aside, it makes me feel safer in the car.

I've looked at 4x4's (Volvo XC90 being the favourite) as well to give an elevated position - reducing bending, but again - none fall within our criteria for performance and economy. The Discovery seems horrendously expensive - even it's most economic model only returns 30mpg on paper (my Leon did better than that!), and spews out 262g/km of CO2.

Being the height I am it's always been a bit of a game for me (and in more recent years - my brother-in-law) to see what cars "fit", and as a result we've sat in hundreds between us. Dealer forecourts, car shows, friends, relatives, etc etc, so we've tried almost every conceivable car (with the inclusion of a few "exotics"), and very few tick all the boxes. But how many of us have the same set of boxes?

[jackie j]

Did you miss the bit about me being 6ft 7?

More room than you think. Before that we had a Nissan Serena yes a people carrier but their was seven of us so needs must. These are very roomy, and could put the middle seat down and just use the very back if needed.
Good luck with your search I think you will have to try and test drive just about every car until you get the right ' fit.

[OverWyreGrower]

I have a SEAT Alhambra (very similar to the old Ford Galaxy and the VW Sharan)... it's got 7 seats, although we remove the back 2 to give us a huge boot (for the dogs, but also holds a pushchair/pram, travel cot, weekend baby bags etc when we have our nephew). We also take it camping and it happily fits all the stuff in, 2 adults and 2 large dogs.

Yes, it's a bit of a minibus (!) But does have lovely adjustable seats and loads of headroom. One of the best things about it is the space in the back seats. You can fit a child seat in behind the passenger without having to compromise on leg room for the adult.

[lainey lou]

I have a very flat driving position, to the point where most of my rugby mates (second rows) can't drive it without first moving the seat forward.
I can drive lying down, my favourite position.

You wouldn't drive in that position if you'd seen the nasty leg injuries it can cause in a crash. ( been working in trauma recently - shocking)

[HeyWayne]

isn't Jeremy Clarkson somewhere up near your height? email him and ask his views - seriously, I would! He might feature you on TG

He's a short@rse at 6ft4

Funnily enough, LadyWayne was reading the In Gear section of the Sunday Times yesterday, and he was talking about the XC90 - which is what got LW thinking about that as an option. He said it's the perfect family car (or words to that effect).

I did consider applying to The Used Car Roadshow, but can't find where to apply.

To be honest though, I'm not sure what he could show me that we haven't considered in the past at some point. I'm well known in my circle of family and friends for being a bit geeky regarding cars, and for taking so long to reach a desisin about what car to have - due to trying so many in the process.

There are any number of considerations when one person is choosing a car - add two more people and the list of wants/needs gets longer...

[di]

Just make sure & take your carseat with you when looking for the new car....not all carseats fit in all cars...(something to do with angles of seatbelts I think??)
Sorry if that's stating the obvious to a self confessed car geek...we were caught out when we needed to change car when DD was little.