To wonder why we allow the sale of so many cars that don't fit a standard space?

[Bussesrus]

We are looking for a new car that will fit all 6 of us plus our dogs. Having looked at many options just about everything with a third row and boot space will hang over into another space by anything from .2 to nearly a meter. Where exactly are you meant to park these SUVs and vans?

Re car sizes. Why haven’t housing companies not increasing size of garages? Cars are getting wider with thanks to safety measures. My parents’ house is 20 years old and got a 16 reg VW Golf. They can park car in garage but unable to open the door to get out of car.

I have an SUV, have for 10+ years and honestly it's never been a problem. Might overhang a little but that's just life. You see loads of white vans, big cats etc in spaces. As long as you don't park on a turn that stops people from getting round without difficulty it's not really a problem.

Part of the issue is the added safety features that were not about in the 1950s/60s/70s necessitate a larger car eg crumple zones, door safety, etc.
I drive a 7 seat 4x4 (for towing mainly) but not averse to parking it squarely neatly reverse parked in the supermarket, when few others seem to be able to park square to their space. It's perfectly possible. However I only park where the back of the space = edge of car park, otherwise it sticks out a little at the front, and I see so many that cannot drive trying to park I worry for the front of the car if I park in a space with a parking space behind..

So all spaces should be able to accommodate cars that the vast majority of people don't own. Is that the gist of your argument?

Whilst cars are bigger generally now I think three rows + boot are still relatively uncommon and so I suspect it's not an issue for most people. Most SUVs and 4x4 do fit into normal spaces. I see them all the time.

We love vehicles of all shapes and sizes. OH’s hobby. But each one comes with plus and minus features. You just engage brain daily as to how and where to park, does it need the gears changing, can the dog and a passenger fit in, will it get over the road humps, how many to the gallon😱, what if it snows………….

Two things occur to me
1-they want to build houses as cheaply as possible and a larger garage would cost more money
2-many households have more than one vehicle which would cost even more if it required a garage so what you get is a token garage; not big enough for a vehicle certainly, not big enough for all the vehicles used by the household so it's just a storage space 🤷🏻‍♀️

For the school run we use an electric car that fits us all just fine because the dogs and sports kit doesn't need to come with us.

We use the big car once a week for a hike/mountain bike etc plus just about every school holiday. The latest addition means this really isn't going to be practical anymore so need a bigger car or to start using two cars.

It's really just me pondering because the idea of hanging over a space makes me feel quite uneasy.

We agreed that if we needed more space, it was much cheaper to rent a larger car (which we anyway did when travelling abroad) than to buy and run one routinely at least half empty.

Yes we do this (little Prius C, 2 kids, no dog. Can park anywhere! Ironically (we live in America) when we come to the uk we hire a big car to fit all the luggage in and then parking is a nightmare.

We may need to go a bit bigger at some point though, as the kids get older then leg space is going to become a problem.

We need bigger parking spaces unless your bendy and the size of a matchstick it's so hard to get in and out of your car. I'm sure we've all been in the situation of climbing over the passenger seat to get in the drivers seat because of other people's inconsiderate parking

It isn't a myth. Small cars today are not small cars of the past, which is what the car spaces are based on.

Small cars are safe, but they have crumple zones which means they are bigger than the past, and that follows up as the cars themselves get bigger.

Big cars in car parks is becoming quite a big issue. Multiple times a week now I'm left squeezing into my small car because of big things parked beside me. I can't count the number of times I've gone to park and then realised if I take that space I won't be able to get out of the car because of the cars either side.

Another issue is driving on small country roads. They aren't big enough for 2 cars if one of them is a massive wagon/massive wagon driver doesn't realise how wide their car is. I had my wing mirror swiped off by some gobshite in a big car about 6 months ago, my colleague had the same thing happen to him last week. In both cases the driver didn't stop and we were left to foot the bill.

Our daily car really is big. A long wheelbase Jeep Wrangler, plus towbar. It seldom fits into most car parking spaces, but you find one so that you can overhang the rear onto a verge, or kerb, but not obstructing pavements. It often means that you might have to walk a little further with such spaces being further away from stores, etc… But we don’t mind the extra exercise. It has the added bonus of long side steps so it doesn’t get “dinged” by those who open doors carelessly.

Some SUVs have sliding doors, so easy to get folks out.

Us little car drivers facilitate the big cars on our little roads.
some just aren’t built for our roads (Audi Q8, bmw x7 etc).

When you’ve cars that can’t fit through 6ft 6 restrictions it’s an issue for our roads.

Well I do take your point but at the shopping centre I mentioned parking is actually free, apart from the Premium spaces. They are outside Selfridges so that gives an idea of the market they are targetting

What about when pedestrians get hit? Much higher chance of death.

Cars are bigger than they were yes.
They are also a heck of a lot safer than they were.
Do you really think an old style mini would cope with the size of kids car seats these days? Really?
Life moves on and car parks need to too. Spaces need to be bigger and walkways need to be safer.
Reality is people need or want cars for all manner of reasons and it's not for others to make judgments on people whose life's they know fuck all about.

Car parks abroad often now have solar panel roofs providing both shade for cars and power. Perhaps we should be looking to do more of that.

I’ve a big Land Rover and I’ve never had an issue parking. I can’t visualise what you are talking about either.

What does that mean? My two Labs are 40+kg each. Some people don’t want handbag dogs🤷‍♂️

I find some spaces tight in my car and I drive a polo!
Actually sat in a car park just now and someone has flung their door open and hit my car. I wrap my hand around my door so I don't damage anyone else's and take such care

Fat people

That's what the SUV owners are hoping for, fewer pesky pedestrians getting in their way is a win for them!

We have a bigger car as we couldn't get extended rear facing car seats behind me or husband (5ft10 and 6ft3) in our mazda. The front passenger seat was touching the dashboard 🤷🏻‍♀️ we'll trade back down when the kids are big enough to be forward facing our out of car seats.

And for the record we walk almost everywhere and only really use our car at weekends for the big shop or for day trips