I'm 5'7" and my old Forester fitted me like a pair of old slippers - perfect.

My wife and I are of similar height. I found her A-Class awkward - she found it great.

Its amazing how many people forget about the ergonomics when deciding to buy a car (I realise that, at least in the past, some features may not have been available [e.g. reach adjustment on steering wheels, height and lumbar adjustment on seats] except on more expensive models/cars in general).

I soon learned this the hard way - by getting severe back problems from driving my first car (1996 Nissan Micra), just because I had the seat one notch too far back (it felt fine when driving) so I was stretching to reach the pedals and not having my rear firmly against the back of the seat (essentially I was slouching). My back problems went away within a few days of adjusting the seat. I was very grateful of the copy of a colleague's car (a Vectra) manual section showing the best way to get the optimum driving position.

Before I even bother with a test drive, I make sure the seat/steering wheel position is fully adjustable and that the pedals and steering wheel aren't offset (at least by any apprecable amount). If the car doesn't meet that criteria, and has a decent footrest, then I'll reject it, however good it is in all other respects. I also make sure that I go on a long test drive on all types of roads (including poor surfaces and winding country roads) to ensure I can reasonably gauge how good the driving position is as well as general comfort (ride).