to be wary of driving a larger car?

[sherazade]

Have been driving a smallish peugeot 307 which finally went bust

In the early stages of my driving after passing my test early 2012 I managed to scratch and scrape the car a bit (mainly parking and bumping into walls and gates). I still dislike parking and driving in tight spaces.

DH and I share a car. He wants us to buy a vauxhall Astra as he has driven them for years and says they've never let him down, and we're very limited with choice because I can only drive an automatic and we have a very narrow budget, so there are quite a few Astras available that fit our criteria, except I am really wary of driving a car much bigger than I am used to given that i'm not the best driver , I'm also quite tiny ( I do have to prop myself up with cushions in the driver's seat so I can have a decent view, FWIW am barely 5 feet tall and wear age 11-12 clothing). I would LOVE a little micra but DH's work requirements means he travels all over the country and does ALOT of mileage and needs a bigger car.

SO AIBU to be really wary of driving a bigger car or is it fairly easy to get used to?

I absolutely understand your concern, when you're used to a little car anything bigger seems like a tank. An Astra isn't that big though, you'll get used to it very quickly, go for it.

Why does he need a bigger car? I don't understand how doing lots of miles equals big car

I assume he needs the car to put stuff in? But TBF I'd rather do a lot of miles in a bigger car, if I could afford it.

I drive a scenic, went to it from a punto, so I understand your trepidation! Trust me, you'll get used to it. I do sometimes think I can't fit it in a parking space and then when I walk by I discover that I really could have

I moved from a tiny old Polo to a (comparatively) huge Mondeo estate when I had ddtwins, I spent an afternoon up at my parents farm manoeuvring it about and soon got used to it.

What you are being U about is getting an Astra - I've had two, one was the worst car I've ever owned and the other was the second worst. I will never ever touch any Vauxhall with a bargepole ever again

AFAIK smaller engines work harder on longer, faster journeys. This is what dh has said anyway after having commuted with smaller and larger cars for most of his career.

I went from a Smart car to a 4x4 [shoot me].
Got used to the bigger car in about 5 minutes.
You'll be fine.

Surely a peugeot 307 and an astra are more or less the same size? Both smallish family cars

I had a little peugeot 106 when I first passed my test and managed to write it off within 5 months! Needed a new cheap car quickly and got an Astra. It seemed big for the first few days but I soon got used to it. Had a few cars since then but got another astra last April. Both mine have been reliable, they are excellent medium sized family cars and the older models, pre 2005 I think, have fantastic boot space.

I'm 4ft 10, my first car was an Astra, now I drive a Scenic. Being a shortarse makes no difference in these cars. You do get used to bigger cars, quicker than you expect.

Can you go for a corsa type size as a compromise?

I have a 1.4 corsa automatic and its great!

You'll get used to it, honestly! Many ways they are easier to park! Just look for nice big spaces!

scherezade's dh is right, a larger engined car on a long journey will be so much more efficient than a little one. Seems counter-intuitive but it's true.

I went from a 307 to a 4x4.

Saying that, I had been driving for years and was a very confident.

What you're wanting to get is not classed as big in my book.

Go for a test drive in one.

I've had the same car since I passed my test (5 years, not like 20 or anything, lol) I scraped it loads in the first year, but I've been fine since. I've now driven bigger cars and my DP's vans and been fine - I think it's more to do with getting used to driving than size of car.

Try a bigger car, you might surprise yourself.

My DH does a ridiculous amount of miles and finds larger cars more comfortable for long journeys - he likes the cruise control as well.

But an Astra is a small car, isn't it?

I have a Mini Cooper and he has a 7 seater; the main difference, for me, is the extra weight of the big car giving more momentum so you have to watch your speed on the hilly country roads. The size means you have to be more cautious about parking and passing, obviously, but you just take it slowly and cautiously and you soon get used to it.

But, as I said, not much difference between what you've already got and the Astra.

I don't get it, Astras are classified as small family hatches, SAME as 307 (any Golf, Focus, Megane, A3, Leon etc etc) it's the same size

I learnt to drive in an estate volvo.
Loved it at the time bit when
I passed y test I went and bought a small hatchback car.

Its been about 10 years but parking big cars (4x4's/large executive saloons) I find difficult, however., I do feel a lot more comfortable once driving on the open roads in them.

Would class an Astra as a medium car tbh, you'll be fine-I went from a Cinq sporting, to a Hyundai Coupe then onto a 95 estate which is a large car.

By the way - you are sharing te car so both need to be happy with it.
It's not just his decision but yours too.

Make sure you at least treat drive one.

In my experience, astras might seem large on the outside bit are very easy to park.
Get one with parking sensors.
It won't seem any larger than the 307 and will be nicer to drive so you will probably prefer it anywy

To be honest, I think you need driving lessons.
You shouldn't be this worried about driving a car that is not a big car anyway! And bumping into things in tight spaces? Hope that's not my car in a car park sometime.
Seriously - sounds like you learnt enough to get through your test and that's it.
You need to build your confidence, and your skill. Book some lessons - maybe try to find someone who teaches in an Astra style car?

She's been driving for not even a year- no wonder she isn't confident yet, Cabrinha.

I went from a diddy car to a focus and that felt like a huge jump, but I felt safer and it actually improved my driving.

I've always driven big cars. For some reason I feel safer in them. Peugeots are involved in more fatal accidents than any other car according to a family friend who's job involves collating these statistics.

TBH an Astra isn't a large car. It's a small family car. If you we're talking about a Skoda Superb Estate or and Audi Q7 I'd think you had a point but an Astra will only be marginally bigger than a 307 if at all.

I agree that you'll just need practice and to learn the size of your car.
I went from a Punto to a Focus and I much prefer a Focus. You just need to use your mirrors a lot and get confident in knowing the size of your car and what you can and can't do with it.

I agree you need some more lessons to improve your confidence. I passed my test in 2011 in a Honda Jazz and then immediately started driving our family car - a VW touran. Now that IS a big car and we've both emerged after 18 months unscathed. I am very careful when manouvering it and I know I'm not that skilled sometimes but I get by and I'm getting better. If I couldn't cope at all I would have got my instructor to give me some more lessons. An astra is not a big car. YOu should be able to contemplate it without horror.