The Ten Best/Worst Cars for Short and Tall Drivers

[Amused]

CU has put out this list, what do you think?

The tall and short of it

While most cars are supposedly designed for a wide range of physiques and statures, many vehicles don't accommodate shorter or taller drivers all that well. To find out which vehicles are better or worse for each, Consumer Reports took a closer look at recent test scores of 2001 to 2003 models for seat comfort, driving position, access, and the view out. The shortest tester is 5 feet tall, while the tallest is 6 feet 4 inches.

A handful of cars, mostly from Honda or Acura, are especially versatile, rated very highly by both tall and short testers. Families with different-sized drivers might consider the Acura RL and TL, the Audi A6, and the Honda Pilot. Similarly, several models serve neither tall nor short drivers well. Sports cars by their very nature cater poorly to both extremes: Tall people hit the roof while short people can't reach the clutch. We didn't include them in this analysis.

TALL DRIVERS

10 Best Acura MDX, Acura TL, Acura RL, Audi A6, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima, Volvo V70, Volkswagen Passat, and the outgoing 2002 Honda Accord and Mercedes-Benz E320

10 Worst Chevrolet Cavalier, Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Dodge Ram, GMC Envoy, Hyundai Tiburon, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Volkswagen New Beetle, Saturn SL2, Toyota Celica, Toyota Tacoma

SHORT DRIVERS

10 Best Acura TL, Acura RL, Audi A6, BMW 530i, Honda Accord, Honda Pilot, Lexus IS300, Toyota Avalon, Toyota Camry, Toyota Highlander

10 Worst Chevrolet Cavalier, Chevrolet S-10, Dodge Ram, Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Ford F-150, Hyundai Tiburon, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Nissan Frontier, Saturn SL2, Toyota Tacoma

 

[Armitage]

Isn't it amazing that many of the best for tall drivers come from asia, and many of the worst for tall drivers come from US? And trucks at that.

I definitely found that to be true when I bought my civic 10 years ago, and my tundra last year (I'm 6'3"). The dakota in particular sucked ... roofline comes down way to low in front, had to stay way back at stop lights or lean forward to see it. And always felt like if I was in an accident i'd crush in my forehead before the seatbelt/airbag would catch me.

 

[radioouman]

THis is great to know!

I am 6'5" and drive a Saturn SW2, which is the same as the SL2. I am very uncomfortable in my car. I always look around for a replacement, but mine has depreciated too much, so I really don't want to take that price hit.

 

[LAUST]

LOL the Dodge Ram, Cavalier and the Tacoma are on both BAD lists, they just must suck no matter what

And the Saturn SL2 I missed

 

[nord1899]

My roommate has a Mercury Sable (not sure what exact year, probably around 99). It was the only car that he could find resonably priced that would fit him. Oh yeah, he is 6 foot 7 inches.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: LAUST
LOL the Dodge Ram, Cavalier and the Tacoma are on both BAD lists, they just must suck no matter what

So is the Saturn SL2

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

This is a real player for those of us who are really tall - I remember about ten years ago my father was looking for a ~$30K entry-level luxury car, and literally could not fit into most of the candidates. He and I are both 6'4", but he has a longer upper body than me, with shorter legs. Leg room is especially important to me, because I drive every day in heavy-coled combat boots. Now we both drive Nissan Maximas (he has a '96 GLE, I have an '01 SE).

 

[vi edit]

Probably the single greatest invention for comfort accomidations are the telescoping steering wheel and the seat height adjustments

I wonder how many of the vehicles on the "best" lists have that feature?

I know the Audi's, the Passat, and the Altima have those features.

 

[scorp00]

I drove my girlfriend's cavalier some, and I had no problems(6'3"). She also drove it all the time and she had no problems(5'2"). Although it's a bad car for tall and short people according to this analysis.

I wish insurance considered sports cars like this analysis did. Cavalier, celica, and eclipse's are all sports cars by insurance standards.(pretty much any 2 door car is) :disgust:

 

[nord1899]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Probably the single greatest invention for comfort accomidations are the telescoping steering wheel and the seat height adjustments

I wonder how many of the vehicles on the "best" lists have that feature?

I know the Audi's, the Passat, and the Altima have those features.

What about adjustable pedals? Mercury I know keeps pushing that in their commericials.

Has to help somehow.

 

[BigSmooth]

Wow, there's just as many Korean cars as American on the "Best" lists - zero!

 

[vi edit]

The thing about GM is that their seating positions are ASS! I don't know what's screwed up, but the view from the drivers seat in many GM cars just sucks. Pull the visor down and you just blocked 75% of the windshield.

Want to see out over the hood of the car? Can't because your head is pinned to the ceiling.

German cars have it figured out. Very commanding view of the road without sacraficing head room or overall comfort.

 

[Dedpuhl]

I'm 5'8'' and have a 2000 Hyundai Tiburon. I have no problems at all. If anyone over 6' gets in, then it's cramped, but not that bad.

The Tiburon is a perfect fit for me...

 

[vi edit]

What about adjustable pedals? Mercury I know keeps pushing that in their commericials.

Eh, that' kind of neat, but I'm more of a fan of low tech, less problematic solutions. Making the pedals motorized/electronically controlled just makes for one more part to possibly/eventually break. It'd suck if the pedals got stuck in my position and my wife had to use the car and couldn't reach them

Telescoping steering wheels are non-mechanical in nature and pretty much next to impossible to break. A hell of a lot quicker to operate and cheaper too!

 

[Tom]

Sounds like an interesting and useful article, but without looking at the specific reasons they rated cars a certain way I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

This is the same outfit that rates Cheerios higher than Froot Loops !

:Q

 

[Tom]

"Telescoping steering wheels are non-mechanical in nature.."

Really ?

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

I'm more of a fan of low tech, less problematic solutions.

Thats one of the most important things to me with vehicles, well most of everything.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
Sounds like an interesting and useful article, but without looking at the specific reasons they rated cars a certain way I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

This is the same outfit that rates Cheerios higher than Froot Loops !

:Q

Very, very true.

There's two types of tall drivers - long legged drivers and tall upper body drivers. I'm not exceptionally tall, only 6', but I've got very lanky legs that make it very difficult for me to fit into many cars. I just can't get my legs under the steering wheels of many vehicles. For me, the telescoping feature is invaluable.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: LAUST
LOL the Dodge Ram, Cavalier and the Tacoma are on both BAD lists, they just must suck no matter what

And the Saturn SL2 I missed

i noticed that

-=bmacd=-

 

[Demon-Xanth]

WHO THE HELL CAME UP WITH THAT LIST?!

The Ram EASILY fits taller drivers, and the Altima does NOT. I'm 6'1" and my dad's Ram has pleanty of head and leg room while my Grandma's Altima is a pain to drive and impossible to get comfortable in because of the shallow footwell.

edit: typo

 

[LAUST]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
I'm 6'1" and my dad's Ram has pleanty of head and leg room while my Grandma's Altima is a pain to drive and impossible to get comfortable in because of the shallow footwell.

I think 99% of all cars have too shallow a footwell, thats why I would like to get an econobox for a daily driver but man the comfort of having my legs down from my body instead of stright out is just awesome and is why I am so patient about getting a car for just commuting

 

[prontospyder]

Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
WHO THE HELL CAME UP WITH THAT LIST?!

The Ram EASILY fits taller drivers, and the Altima does NOT. I'm 6'1" and my dad's Ram has pleanty of head and leg room while my Grandma's Altima is a pain to drive and impossible to get comfortable in because of the shallow footwell.

edit: typo

Which gen Altima are you talking about? Because the 2002-2003 Altimas are extremely roomy. I'm 5'8" and there are still tons of head room above.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
"Telescoping steering wheels are non-mechanical in nature.."

Really ?

I may have used the wrong descriptor there. By non mechanical, I mean that they aren't motorized, making them immune to motor failure, electrical problems, fuse problems, switch problems, ect.

On them you usually pull a lever down and tug, then lock the lever back into place. Fast, efficient, and cheap to make. How many times have you heard of a power window dieing in a car? Ok. Now how many times have you hear of tilt mechanism crapping out?

That's what I thought

 

[Scootin159]

I'm 5' 10", 135lbs and barely snuggle into my car (see the sig), although I find it VERY comfortable for myself. My dad (~5'8", ~200lbs) can get in it, but finds it very uncomfortable. My roommate (~6'1", ~160lbs) can get in, but has to have his head to the side a little.

The back seat is much worse. I've had girls who are 5'0", ~100lbs who can't fit in there comfortably (or at all if I don't move the seat forward). And even with that I had to take the roof off so that they would have enough headroom (remember they're only 5'0").

I still think it's the best car I've ever ridden in (and I've ridden in Diablo's ).

BTW...I have dual 8-way leather sport seats, but no tilt wheel.

 

[Doggiedog]

My MDX fits me (5'10") fine and has lots of extra space for taller drivers. I guess it didn't make the 10 best list for women because it doesn't have a telescoping steering wheel. My wife (5'3") doesn't seem to mind though.

BTW: vi_edit, my old car had a motorized telescoping steering wheel. The car (99 GS 300) had seat position memory and the steering wheel would also adjust according to the memory.