What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Higher car

Can you help us to find a car that will accommodate tall people in the back, please? Our 15-year-old son is 6ft 5in tall and for long journeys prefers to sit in the back of the car. We have tried all the models we can think of, but he cannot fit comfortably into any of them. People carriers and 4 wheel drives are deceptive as the seats are so high off the floor that they have no more headroom than a saloon. Cars like the Citroen Berlingo have lots of headroom, but the headrest only reaches up to my son's shoulder blades. The only car the comes close is the Mazda 5 people carrier, but unfortunately the headrest fits exactly into the nape of his neck so wouldn't protect him in an accident. We contacted Mazda, but they were not prepared to swap the headrests for us, even though the rear headrests were much taller, as the car would then no longer be factory standard
(we couldn't do it ourselves, because for some reason the headrest poles are further apart on the rear seats than the middle seats). I can't believe we are the only family to have this problem, as children
are getting taller and taller. Do you have any suggestions?

Asked on 9 May 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Check out the new Citroen C3 Picasso. Video demonstration involving 6' 5" PR manager at
www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=384 Consider also the Citroen Berlingo Multispace and Peugeot Partner Combi. All these combine better ride quality than most cars with vanlike carrying capacity.
Dear Honest John,

Please help me choose my next car. I would like it to have:
    Select a few terms below
Similar questions
I’m 66 and 6’10” tall and have run a Xsara Picasso Exclusive 2.0 HDi from 2004, which I love. Everything about it is right for me; however, it is approaching eight years and 100,000 miles so probably...
I currently run a 2007 VW Touran diesel with 42,000 on the clock, which had some problems with the electronics, eventually sorted by the dealer under guarantee. I no longer need such a large car as it...
I am retired and find myself in a situation whereby I need to convey my two grand children in car seats along with their mother. Therefore I need a car up to £20,000 that has space for 3 adults and 2 children...
Related models
Decently practical and spacious. Good load capacity. Panoramic front screen with no blindspots.