learn me: cars that are surprisingly accommodating to very tall people

pointofdeparture wrote: My Honda Fit is extremely roomy, I'm about 6'3" with a 34" inseam. The seat cushions are a little short for my long legs but otherwise it's shocking how comfy I am in there with plenty of extra headroom and legroom. I will be replacing the Fit soon though and I'm curious if I can find anything else that doesn't sacrifice comfort too much. Not having a sunroof really seems to help.

sunroof cars are an automatic pass for me.

Unrelated: can anybody explain how to multiquote (on mobile phone), so I don't post whore my own topic?

In reply to synthetic blinker fluid and Sonic:

The Scion xB is a curiosity to me. Ever since I read Palatovs website..

I think this is the link http://www.dpcars.net/scion/sc2.htm

...I've thought one of those would be fun. And odd.

In reply to G_Body_Man:

Good list. For me...

C6 Corvettes are a broken neck waiting to happen for me. Roof structure touches my cranium (can't recline the seat because it's on the bulkhead).

Co-worker's Nismo 370z was a torture chamber also.

But hell .. any car with a b-pillar is basically a broken neck waiting to happen for me. If I'm ever t-boned, I suspect I will die instantly because of the seat position.

Whaaaaa! I'm tall.

I'm 6' tall and have at least 3" of headroom in my sunroof GTI:

I have a hard time finding cars that fit me. Being only 6' but having a long 34" inseam is tough for many cars. Headroom is never an issue but the pedals to seat to steering wheel triangle is usually never right.

What I would like in most cars is the steering wheel to be closer to me. If I get positioned correctly for the steering wheel my legs are jammed up in the dash or binding on the wheel itself. If I get my legs where they can comfortably use the pedals properly my position to the wheel is all wrong unless I have the seat back leaned forward which is super uncomfortable and very quickly kills my back.

To me it seems like even wheels that are telescoping go the wrong way. I feel that they typically start at the standard position and move closer to the dash.

It's frustrating.

1988 Mazda 626/MX-6.

In reply to Nick (Bo) Comstock:

I hear you on the telescopic wheel thing. Long legs put you pretty far away. As a result, I sit very upright.

(Shorter) people always say "just lean the seat back" but it's really not a solution if your long arms can't reach the wheel.

Focus and fiesta ST, and mercedes w140, w210, w211, w220, c215 (most of the bigger ones are good but those especially).

I'm in your boat, similar body dimensions.

240Z. Ridiculous amount of room for the size.

Believe it or not, Miata with a hardtop. I was shocked too.

Most trucks have next to no interior room, paradoxically. Car wise, modern cars with a lot of tumblehome really suck, helmet always hits the side before the top. This is true even in relatively older cars like my RX-7, even though it has a sunroof the main problem is hitting the upper door opening.

My driving position is a semi-fetal one. Knees up, lay back a bit. Takes a lot of load off of the lower back that way. It is funny, when my sub-6' friend would drive my car, he'd have to move the seat back a few clicks because he drives straight-legged and upright...

6'2" and 33" inseam here. My wife's Saab 9-3 has an incredible amount of legroom. I usually Mac out the seat when adjusting but am probably a good 3" from the back in this car. HOWEVER, the seats themselves suck. No thigh support. I hear the sport seats in the Aero are better though.

My 6'6" coworker just bought a new chevy 1500. He seems to fit very well and likes the truck a lot.

My w126 300sdl (l is for long) has lots of room.

Early Focuses are quite roomy. Troopers, MR2s, and full-size Ford vans are not.

Mazda2 has a ton of room for the driver, loads of head room, and while I'm only 5'11", I can move the seat far enough back that I can't fully press any of the pedals. I have a lanky SOB friend who has codriven it for autocross a few times, he's 6'4" or so and has no issues.

I'm 6' 3" and can only imagine what torture 2 more inches represents. I have found that a majority of Euro Cars seem to have been built with me in mind. My BMW and VW 's all fit me like a dream. The caddy V first gen is pretty decent as well.

Triumph TR7 and TR8s have a bunch of room inside. There are a disproportionate amount of really big and tall owners because they are one of the few sports cars that fit big guys. Add a roll bar between the seat and back panel and space gets limited to people around 6'3". Seats basically sit on the floor and are very thin. Only real issue is the seats are only a foot or so off the ground, so older guys with bad knees have a hard time getting in and out. You have to sit down and swing your legs in, or throw one leg in and fall into the seat. I'm building a gutted, caged, LS3 powered coupe and when then fixed back seat is all the way back, the steering wheel and pedals are out of my reach. Ended up installing reverse hung Wilwood pedals and extending the steering column, so I could reach them and because Wilwood reverse hung pedals in a street car are really cool.

tr8todd wrote: Only real issue is the seats are only a foot or so off the ground, so older guys with bad knees have a hard time getting in and out. You have to sit down and swing your legs in, or throw one leg in and fall into the seat.

I have difficulty getting in and out of ANY car, so this is second nature. Sit in car, use hands to lift legs into car. Done. When getting out, you just elbow the A-pillar to lever yourself up.

You can't really do that with a truck.

In reply to Knurled:

...I describe that to people as "climbing under the kitchen table" because it can be quite roomy down there but it takes lots of contrortionism to get in/out.

The tall hatchbacks may be the best bet. Besides the Fit and the xB, there's the Nissan Cube and Versa hatch. The Versa isn't a great car by any means, but I've rented them a few times. I'm only 5'9", but I could have worn Abe Lincolns hat and still fit in it easily.

Used Popemobile if you can find one?

I saw a few recommendations for e36 sport seats, but those cars have zero headroom. My head touches, so with a helmet on I have to recline waay back. They are good for thigh support though (and I believe all BMWs can be had with the adjustable thigh bolster).

Surprisingly, a Morgan 4/4 and an MGB. Either had plenty of room, especially head room for me with the top up.

Far as the old roadsters go...

My dad's big Healy (67 BJ8 mark III) has a ton of room. Because your ass is about 5" off the road.

Tom Suddard wrote: My w126 300sdl (l is for long) has lots of room.

Mercedes are the WORST. They have those giant knee bolsters in the dash that, literally, with no hyperbole, prevent me from being able to reach the brake pedal.

The thread reminds me that one of the first things I did with my Golf was install a lap belt so I could take the knee bolster and throw it far, far away.

NGTD wrote: VW's - I know this board hates them, but they fit big guys well. I am 6'4" and about 330 and I drive a Golf.

This. While not as big as you guys, at 6'2" I fit surprisingly well in my Golf R. Very good ergos for such a compact car.

I read somewhere that Jeremy Clarkson (6'5") daily drives a GTI...

I didn't come here to make a car recommendation per se but i have had a 6'7 obese man and a 6'6 skinny man in the driver seat of my 1g Insight and they were both comfortable. It has a ridiculous amount of room for an 1800lb car.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Scion xB has a surprising amount of room for a compact car.

A colleague of mine is an inch taller than you and bought a first gen xB, into which he got himself, his 6 foot wife and his two 6'8" sons on a regular basis. We called it the Tardis, because it was larger inside than outside. Hard to beat a box for space.

This prompted another colleague to buy a 2nd gen xB, which is known as the XBox.

I'm 6'4". Porsche 911 has a lot of room.

I drove my brother in law's 2003 911 Carrera 4 convertible from Atlanta to Hilton Head Island last summer. I hoped it'd be a pure joyride.

By the time I got to Macon, I was in serious pain... Couldn't adjust the seat enough. I took a beach towel and rolled it up and sat on it, and told him "sorry man, I can't drive that car anymore".

It was a bummer.

I'm 6'3". These are notable cars where I have to move the seat forward from its rearmost position.

• Air-cooled Beetles
• Pontiac Fiero
• Infiniti G35
• Porsche 914
• Honda CR-Z
• Porsche 911 GT3 991 - with helmet
• Nissan GT-R - with helmet
• Suzuki Samurai
• 1st generation Taurus, SHO and SLO

Surprisingly, my biggest gripe with my wife's 4Runner is lack of passenger knee room.