I'm 5'2" but have shorter legs than many of my friends the same height. It limits our choice of big cars considerably. We currently have a Mazda 6 which is very nicely adjustable and I don't even need it on the closest settings. However if we find we love this caravanning lark a lot we may want to change to something heavier, probably with 4 wheel drive. Anyone have a recommendations of cars that fit people with short legs?
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
What??? i'm the same height as you and can drive anything and i'm a bus driver too ..its not like you are a midget sized person ,you should be able to drive any car
I would say modern car seating is adjustable for just about any stature nowadays & this would include larger 4x4s. Yrs ago Japanese cars seemed better suited to smaller drivers as they were designed for Japanese who on average have smaller statures but I doubt that is the case now.
I'm 4'11" with a 26" inside leg, and I don't really have much of a problem with any car any more.
Years ago I did. I remember really wanting a Renault Megan's once and I literally couldn't even get my toes on the pedals. But now that seats move up and down (as well as back and forwards), and steering wheels move in and out as well, I think the world is your lobster really.
Last time I looked at cars about three years ago, I looked at a lot that would have been considered good tow cars, and had no problems with any of them. Would be easier with electronic seat packs. That's on my wish list for my next car, that's the only thing.
But certainly, car shopping is easier than shopping for trousers!!
I am a tad under 5ft and have driven every size and shape of car from a mini to a range Rover never any problem with reaching pedals I am sure you will be ok just give it a go
------------- Live life to the full you are a long time dead
The answer is not as simple as ..... 'My partner is 'x'ft tall and can drive anything..' The most informative answer I feel so far is that from RachIN76 who actually gives some statistics that may, or not, be similar to those of the o.p.
I have a similar problem, but at the other end of the spectrum. My wife is 5'3" and I am 6'3" but we both have the same inside leg measurement: 29". This leads to headroom problems for me whereas friends who are 6'8" can quite easily sit in a car that I cannot.
FYI, my wife has no real difficulty in driving most vehicles. Occasionally she complains of excess pedal travel (clutch mainly) on hire cars where she has to 'overstretch' but otherwise ok.
In our 1989 Defender where the seat moves backwards and forwards but has no height adjustment she is fine, but has the seat about as far forward as it will go (makes it very interesting when she neglects to return the seat to the furthest setting and I try to enter the vehicle).
In our D3, her problem is that as she has the drivers seat so far forward, the nearside mirror cannot rotate far enough inwards so that she can see the rear nearside corner of the vehicle. (The mirror has been examined and is, apparently, correctly set).
Other than that, she has encountered very few problems.
My mrs is 5'1"; inside leg is 29", drives a 60 plate Nissan Micra diesel mainly.
I am 6'6"; inside leg is 36", drive a 1997 Toyota Landcruiser Colorado diesel mainly.
We both swap cars on a regular basis; and she has towed the caravan with the Landcruiser, with me mainly asleep, all the way from Heysham to Bournemouth comfortably.
Finds it very comfortable, and the standard side steps and grab handles make getting in and out easy for her.
Over the past few years, we have had a lot of cars between us. Her biggest bugbear was the Primera; for some reason, the seats always made her legs sore driving on long journeys.
Chances are, OP, that you will be fine in any car; most are tailorable to just about any shape.
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
Some food for thought. I've learnt that the very slight "over stretching" needed to depress the clutch fully acculates to back, hip and knee problems (which I only discovered when i had a break from my car when it had insurance repairs). Today I've sat in a few which I could get a good driving position. Think for me triple adjustable seats are the answer, that's what we have in the Mazda. If I can't adjust the tilt then most big cars have seats which are too deep for my thigh length. Does sound like more and more cars are v adjustable. Lawrence I love the look of the cx5, however they're too new to be in our price range, will have to wait a couple of years...
------------- From tents to trailer tents to a tin tent to an air tent to trailer tent and back to tin tent!
If reaching to fully press the clutch is an issue, and its a 4 wheel drive you are going for, an automatic would be a good choice; make sublime towcars, and giant cars dont really suffer increased fuel consumption as an auto over the manual counterpart.
Auto Landcruisers have a history of issues; mainly the radiator with an ATF cooler intergrated, so I went for the manual.
My BMW was an auto; so easy to tow with, no clutch balancing act etc, just stop or go pedals and Cruise Control that changed down a gear for you on hills.
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
I was always a dyed in the wool manual driver-------------until I bought a lexus ls400, there is no manual version of this car and everything else about it suited me at the time so I ended up driving an auto.
Now I would not consider a manual, no more aching left leg in motorway traffic jams, just effortless relaxed driving. Current wheels Audi A6 Avant quattro. 6 speed auto with tiptronic (flappy paddles) for when I want to play at being an F1 driver
Good choice; mate only ever buys VW or Audi, his pops was time served VW mechanic, so they both swear by them.
Currently has A4 Avant auto as company car; lovely motor.
Not talked him into a caravan quite yet; but will get there...
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
My ex is 4ft 10 and the only car she can't drive is a ford ka, she drives buses and coaches for a living,
We had a terrano 4x4 and Hyundai trajets and a crappy vw sharan, she was able to drive them all.
She also managed to drive the motorhome too, modern cars are a lot better at adjusting the seats
If you struggle to much, get an auto. It's only ever the clutch where you would have to stretch out we found,
------------- Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
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Topic: Tow cars for those with short legs?!
