Judging by the antics in my local supermarket car park, the smaller the car, the more attempts it takes to get into a space.
I don't know if this is an extension on the dumb blonds theory :)
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Good cars shrink around you and feel small. R Type Bentley was like that. Didn't even have power steering and didn't need it.
Bad ones feel huge, like the MkIII Cortina. When you sank into the driver's seat the damn thing seemed to stretch away into the distance in all directions, and it felt rather as I imagine it feels reclining in a bath full of baked beans.
Perhaps some sporting BR denizens can enlighten me on this last point :o)
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Not necessarily.
I learned to drive in a Volvo 244DL and found the commanding driving position, forgiving and torquey B21A engine, rifle bolt gearbox, road bump bludgeoning mass, and progressive brakes made it easy to master. Parking in tight spaces was a doddle, inclusing parallel parking in a slot not much longer than the car thanks to good mirrors, the aforementioned driving position, and a very tight turning circle.
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SjB and Westping (in another thread) have both mentioned the brick-shaped Volvo 244 as particularly easy to drive.
A neighbour of mine, a long-time VW Karmann-Ghia driver (his wife still has a blingy Californian example) and a pretty poor parker, has recently acquired a very nice Volvo estate of that vintage. Must be, as Westpig points out, pretty resistant in the bumpers department too. Not a negligible consideration in these parts, not I hasten to add DD because of me.
He's still a fairly carp parker though.
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Physics dictate that a big car will be harder to park than a small car in a given parking space. I went from a Merc E-class estate to a Smart 4-2, so I know what I'm talking about!
As cars get wider (e.g. new Mondeo), the old urban roads effectively get narrower, so again a small car will be easier to drive.
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>>Physics dictate that a big car will be harder to park than a small car in a given parking space. I went from a Merc E-class estate to a Smart 4-2, so I know what I'm talking about!
Not true.
One swallow doesn't make a summer.
Choose a slot right down to the minimum physically possible for the aforementioned Volvo 244 and I will park it for you. With Ease.
Repeat in Bro's early Vauxhall Astras - much smaller cars - in to the same Volvo sized slot, and I will again park for you, but with more difficulty thanks to poorer lock, rear three quarters blind spots, inferior mirrors, and the position of the hatchback Astras' bumpers somehow being more difficult to visualise.
Off for that bike ride just mentioned now.
Withdrawal symptoms after a week of rain!
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But if that parking space is smaller than a 244, but bigger than the early Astra ... ?
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That's where the bumpers come in I feel compelled to point out :o}
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>But if that parking space is smaller than a 244, but bigger than the early Astra ... ?
That ain't physics - it's economics!
};---)
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>>But if that parking space is smaller than a 244, but bigger than the early Astra ... ?
That has nothing to do with the question "(are) bigger cars harder to drive?".
Sure, a physically smaller car will in theory fit in a physically smaller space - I think my five year old nephew has that one worked out - but if the car's dynamics and other attributes don't permit you to take advantage of the smaller size with ease, then that smaller car might actually be more difficult to drive.
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I agree with SJB; years back I had a Mark III Zephyr, for which the rear tailfins showed exactly where the back bumper was so was easy to put in tight spots.
My wife went from her Mum's 1972 Mini to a Peugeot 504 Estate with no problem. Smaller modern cars with rounded corners, thick pillars and consequent blind spots are much harder to place without parking sensors. (Could this be a marketing ploy, make 'em so sensors are needed?)
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Physics dictate that a big car will be harder to park than a small car in a given parking space. I went from a Merc E-class estate to a Smart 4-2 so I know what I'm talking about!
I'm not sure that's true. The aim of parking is (usually) to park the car equidistance between two lines (or vehicles). Whether it's big or small it's still got to be in the middle. However, if you've got a bigger car you may want to spend longer searching for a bigger space. My main concern when parking is minimising the risk of somebody bashing my car, which happens far too often even with my tiny car and careful parking. I will sometimes have multiple attempts parking just to get an extra few inches on one side.
I've never driven a big car, but I would imagine the shape is what makes it easier to drive. A bigger car will require more care in some situations though eg. a 3 point turn may become a 5 point turn.
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Why does the car have to be in the middle of the space p3t3r? Personally i park as near to one end as I can, thus increasing the chance of someone else being able to use the remaining space. I wish more people would do this.
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Why does the car have to be in the middle of the space p3t3r? Personally i park as near to one end as I can thus increasing the chance of someone else being able to use the remaining space. I wish more people would do this.
On end spaces I do park as close to one side as possible, but not when cars may park on both sides. If you park to one side of the middle ones then it may be more difficult for somebody to get into the space next to you when the person leaves. Also, what if the person next to you has lots of young children or shopping etc., they may struggle to get into their car, especially without bashing your car. I'm sure you must get a lot of damage to your vehicle if you do this, I suspect some people may even want to 'key' your car just because you're parked badly.
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Why does the car have to be in the middle of the space p3t3r? Personally i park as near to one end as I can thus increasing the chance of someone else being able to use the remaining space. I wish more people would do this.
Quite right AW. Pet hate of mine. Makes me want to use force to push the carphounds to the end where they should be. Of course usually their wheels are turned or they've got autos in park. So the only thing to do is plant a bomb in the car with a motion sensor, so they blow up down the road and NEVER DO IT AGAIN.
We got the will, but we ain't got the technology unfortunately.
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Wait a minute, I think we're thinking of different things. I thing of the type of spaces you get in supermakets, are you thinking of the ones you get at the side of the road? At the side of the road I do tend to leave bigger gaps for other cars, but allow enough for the others to get out, which many people don't seem to think of. I struggled to get out once when another car went in a Smart cars space lol.
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">I learned to drive in a Volvo 244DL and found the commanding driving position, forgiving and torquey B21A engine, rifle bolt gearbox, road bump bludgeoning mass, and progressive brakes made it easy to master. Parking in tight spaces was a doddle, inclusing parallel parking in a slot not much longer than the car thanks to good mirrors, the aforementioned driving position, and a very tight turning circle.
<"
How true! I owned one many years ago for commuting, magnificant vehicle, no tailgaters and the bumpers were supreme, I seem to recall that hydraulic rams were fitted to the front. It shames me to admit it, but I used to park by ear when a wall/fence/hedge was involved, perfect parking was achieved when the revs dropped/crunching/snapping sounds occurred.
4 pots on the front brakes?
Awful thing to drive though.
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The first car I drove after passing my test was an E reg Range Rover Vogue SE. IT was probably the easiest car to drive and park I have ever known. No wonder such vehicles are so popular with ladies in the cities.
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How do they manage to fluff it up so spectacularly in most cases then? :-S
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My cars have been hit 4 times over the years, outside the house.
On every single occasion the guilty party was a woman on the school run (I live opposite a village primary school), driving a large 4x4 or people carrier.
I know of a dozen or so other instances along our road -- all but two have been the same.
On the basis of this straw-poll it would appear that larger cars are more difficult to park; either that or the drivers of these things are a bunch of daft bints who need their licences taking away.
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On the basis of this straw-poll it would appear that larger cars are more difficult to park; either that or the drivers of these things are a bunch of daft bints who need their licences taking away.
in the similar vein to driving with a mobile phone.....the average school run driver isn't paying attention to their driving...are they? They're paying attention to the kids...
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in the similar vein to driving with a mobile phone.....the average school run driver isn't paying attention to their driving...are they? They're paying attention to the kids...
Very true. It must be said that a friend of mine has a Discovery, and can park the thing in smaller spaces than I manage in the Primera. Excellent driver, and never anything other than in complete control.
It's more a question of knowing the boundaries of your vehicle, and your own limitations. No particular reason why a large car should be any "harder" to drive than a smaller one, as long as the driver realises that there are things he or she can do in a Matiz that they can't do in a Landcruiser. Simple common sense, but sadly a fair few drivers don't seem to get it.
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Mrs Cat has no problems whatsoever at all with driving my 300C (well, except for getting the keys off me that is !).
But having reversing sensors is certainly a very good assistance when pltting the beastie around a car park. :)
MTC
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I could take my W123 Merc at 30mph through a gap only a few inches wider than it. Vectra... under 10mph. I remember Lady Thatcher saying that she would only drive Jaguars as you could always see the front corners.
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I watched a lady in a very small red car hold up the traffic in the Kings Road for ages while she inched through a huge gap. Comment from a passing cabbie, loud enough for the street to hear:
"Just because it's red love, doesn't mean it's a bus"
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Ah, I think I know the driver - wasn't a cinquequento was it? The one I know ALWAYs drives in the middle of the road if out of London ie on country lanes - so "she can get out of the way of an accident" mmm, and there we were thinking she was causing the accidents.
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in the similar vein to driving with a mobile phone.....the average school run driver isn'tpaying attention to their driving...are they? They're paying attention to the kids...
Brats who won't be quiet you mean! Mine stayed schtum until spoken to. Not cruel...just rules. Now 21 and a professional person who loves her Dad. Much the same thing as eating Vegetables really. They all would do if only they had the opportunity to. Crap parents breed crap children.
Yours in despair...U.K. done for............MD.
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I have a Seat Toledo since the end of 1999, I am so careful when I park. I am used to parking close to things all my life;but I never normally get careless, I take the trouble to get out and genuinely check how close the back is to something. Once I was parking outside a Seat main dealer.My mind was full of other worries, I backed in beside another Toledo. There was just a wall behind me and I knew I was safe. Suddenly there was a sickening bump. I had hit a protruding extension from the wall.I didn't see it as it was below boot level out of my vision.I felt sick and had to pay for the repair to my bumper etc!!! Always get out and check when reversing with a booted car!!! I am the sort of person who hates any mark or scratch on my car. I recently hired a C Class Mercedes and had no trouble. Never ever get careless!!! When I go away on holidays to Nice or recently to Lisbon, I fortunately nearly always get to hire a Renault Scenic or Grand Scenic the last two times.Good visability and easy to park. Last summer in nice I had to park a Grand Scenic literally half an inch or less from the wall on an extremely narrow very hilly little road. I also had to squeese it in to small parking spaces. I luckily never bumped anything. As a pedestrian in Paris, I saw an incredible woman driver parking a big SUV into the tiniest parking space. She never bumped anything. She had inches only to spare. What an incredible driver. I've seen plenty of others bumping cars in Paris though.
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Judging by the antics in my local supermarket car park the smaller the car the more attempts it takes to get into a space. I don't know if this is an extension on the dumb blonds theory :)
And to back that up, just look at the number of small hatchbacks with parking dents & scuffs!
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