Car suggestions - tall person. help.

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extrayda, Jan 20, 4:19pm
Hi,

I'm looking to replace my Estima as it is getting on, and starting to need repairs (~200,000ks). It's been a good reliable car. I'm struggling with what to replace it with.

I've briefly looked at a Camry and Teana, which I fit in.
Didn't seem to fit well in the Atenza, but I didn't fiddle with the seat settings.
Would prefer a car, but if I need some sort of wussy softroader to get headroom I would consider it.

Budget - options up to $20k would be good, but I would prefer less ($10-$15). It's going to live outside and be boring, so no point being too flash.

Needs:
- Don't want Euro (love C63's etc. but not interested in high repair costs, or specialist servicing requirements).
- Would like a Chrysler 300C, but suspect that would be a dumb purchase, so not really going there.
- Don't want a Subaru.
- Not a Mitsi fan either, but feel free to suggest.
- I'm 6'4" so needs to have height.
- Fit 4 people comfortably.
- NOT a people mover, it's been great, but I don't need 7 seats anymore.
- Probably not a hatch as they don't have the legroom for whoever is sitting behind me.
- Fuel economy is NOT a consideration.
- Needs to be recentish (ideally less than 10 years old).
- Needs to be petrol for decent range, otherwise I would completely give up on life and buy a Leaf (honestly, I would - for most of what I do it would be good!).

Thanks.

monaro17, Jan 20, 4:22pm
Toyota Highlander. Yes it has 7 seats but is not a traditional ‘people mover’

absolute_detail, Jan 20, 4:50pm
Skoda superb wagons have a ton of room. They dont require any more servicing than any other car, or would you only interested high performance euro cars like amg mercs and rs audis?

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:00pm
I quite like them, but it is much bigger than I need, and I suspect higher priced (haven't checked though).

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:06pm
Not many in my price bracket, and would prefer a sedan (although I see there is a sedan version). I'm not keen on VW products, but will add it to the consideration list - might have better headroom.

I *like* the high performance euro cars, but don't want to buy one in my price bracket, as it will most likely be a problem. Otherwise I would buy a cheap Maserati, enjoy it, and suffer the consequences.

The car will live outside, and be a daily driver, so I was thinking more of just a basic jappa.

richardmayes, Jan 20, 5:15pm
x1
There's a 2003 Renault Avantime for sale in wellington at the moment. 86,000km.

Like a Renault Espace / Toyota Estima thing that's been shortened to a 2-door, 4-seater but retains the high roofline, huge doors etc.

richardmayes, Jan 20, 5:17pm
x1
I had a Nissan Tiida once as a rental car, and those are a bit taller than the average small car, with excellent rear seat legroom and headroom for what they are. (Horrible little cars in every other way though. )

vtecintegra, Jan 20, 5:19pm
2015 onwards Hyundai Sonata might work so long as you get one without the sunroof - the seats have a lot of adjustment so you can drop them right down.

The 2015 onward Legacy is good too (or would be if you hadn't ruled out Subaru)

kazbanz, Jan 20, 5:20pm
Tiana is a good fit and easy in your budget.
Toyota Mark X Zio is plenty roomy and has the advantage of having big station wagon carrying capacity.
Camry hybrid -Good sized sedan that just "happens" to be really economical
Lexus LS450 /gs430 Fancy badge but basically a decent size Toyota
Toyota Crown Royal or Crown athlete -big comfortable cruiser.

vtecintegra, Jan 20, 5:31pm
The Lexus GS has virtually no headroom - I'm not tall and I struggle with them. Also the hybrids have very small boots before the current shape where they relocated the HV battery.

lovelurking, Jan 20, 5:34pm
We have been happy with our Nissan Murano.

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:40pm
Hey Kaz, long time.
I did see a Crown for sale on TM, quite liked it. Not sure how they would be for parts - possibly a bit of an orphan over here?
I did see a certain car yard had both a Teana and a Camry Hybrid !

There's lots of those Camry Hybrids around - my only concern is it seems to combine the worst of both worlds - servicing of ICE and added complexity of EV. I have no concerns with economy - the benefit of the ugly Leaf is that maintenance costs would be low (until the batteries fail I guess).

Quite like the bigger Lexus's Lexi? haven't tried sitting in one yet.

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:41pm
Both my kids have one, good space, but feel very 'lightly built'.
They have had no issues with them though.
A bit too small for me.

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:45pm
Someone on the ;other' site I frequent also suggested a Sonata, which seems a good option.

Even the older Subarus had ok headroom, I just really am not a fan of them.

Random fact, had someone come to pick up a TM purchase from me in a very sick (as in unhealthy) sounding Legacy. I had a look at it and chatted to the owner and it was a Diesel Boxer. Never seen one before or since.

extrayda, Jan 20, 5:48pm
Feasible, probably a bit big, and I have always struggled a bit with that front end styling. (in general I'm a Nissan fan though).

asa50, Jan 20, 6:52pm
190cm here, my picks, Holden the only car where I do not have the seat on the back peg. Have not driven a Honda for a while but they were good for my frame when I last tried. My current car Mondeo, technically Euro but its a mix when you look under the hood fits well but a bit slow.
Highlander legroom very bad considering the size.

likit, Jan 20, 7:34pm
Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon

kazbanz, Jan 20, 7:53pm
Re Camry Hybrid-Mate give one a try. Turn your brain off and just drive it.
I really like them to be honest. Maintainence-mehh -lets be really negative and battery squats after three years.--its 2.6k for a new one.
But The Lexus stuff and the crown pretty good for maintainence. and hardly an orphan drivetrain.
if you wanna take a Zio for a spin-and can handle the gym locker room smell of mine you are welcome to drive mine

socram, Jan 20, 8:47pm
Regardless of size of car, I'm 186cm (6ft 2") and never had a problem with headroom or legroom (apart from original Minis and that was easy enough to resolve) - but I've always bought British.

Even my wife's (4 door) Mini Cooper, I don't have the seat all the way back.

Although we can get 4 people in it, it is on the small side, but driver legroom is more than ample.

Ruling out Euro's because of potential repair costs is in the 'what if' category, and we've spent nothing on repairs for years now, yet all our friends seem to have spent money on theirs, with a variety of maladies, from software/electrics to gearboxes and brakes.

poppy62, Jan 20, 8:53pm
I'm sorry I can't offer you any Boring suggestions.

s_nz, Jan 20, 11:52pm
I'm 183cm (mostly leg).

I found the current shape highlander very spacious. But you said you don't need the size, and it is a big, thirsty car to run.

I would look a bit harder at the Camry given you fit. They have decent back seat space to fit adults, are fairly reliable, handle acceptably and so on. Your budget would have you in a 2015. The hybrid version (do loose a touch of boot space) makes 151kW which is quite respectable, and does a respectable 5.7L/100km.

I found the Subaru legacy great for leg room.

As a general rule euro and US cars (and those targeted for those markets) seem to be better suited for taller people than Japan and Korean brands.

As a left field selection, you could consider the Toyota Porte / Spade. Very small on the outside, but really big on the inside. Super high roof. Im 183cm tall and must have had 15-20cm of clearance over my head (with the drivers seat down as I perfer. I could also fit behind by driving position in the back seat, which is something I can't do in my fairly large Lexus RX suv.

4.11, Jan 21, 7:27am
im 1.95m 110kg
I drive a 2009 1 series BMW diesel, I fit in this easy
we are a family of 5 and can all just squeeze in this
Euros are not expensive to fix, I service the car and it costs 80 bucks
Its diesel and will do 600km to a tank (50L) and its Diesel
Its fast for a diesel and creates a heap of torque(feels stronger than a petrol)
I drive this everyday and I do 600ks a week

tamarillo, Jan 21, 8:36am
Always tickles my funny bone.
OP, I’ve found jap imports, especially the ones that were not a model made for western export, cramped and do not allow enough seat movement. Which makes sense.
So Commodore is best suggestion though it’s a shame you won’t look at big Volvo’s as they have best seats ever anywhere and so spacious.
SUVs don’t necessarily offer more space for you, they are often based on saloons platform and merely offer more height.
A Japanese possibility is an NZ new Accord.

oh_hunnihunni, Jan 21, 8:47am
My Scottish uncle was 6ft 9. As a young man he drove a mini. It was always sheer delight for us kids to watch him fold himself into it.

In later years he became a fan of Audi, and had a new one each couple of years until he died. Still had issues though, his Edinburgh garage was too small.

totalimp, Jan 21, 11:11am
I'm tall and big and struggle to fit in alot of cars and find a comfortable position. I think most of my height is in my legs and i hate smacking my knees on steering wheels.
I've found commodores to be super comfy and spacious. Had a VW golf which worked but was compact. Hated the driving position on our old nissan patrol but our old nissan safari was fantasic. Not a fan of hubbys trailblazer but i'll drive it if i need to. I flat out refused to drive the patrol. I find the windscreen a little low/small though. I've had 5 series BMW's which have been perfect. Currently drive an X5. Tried a prado and it was similar to the trailblazer, not comfy but i'd make do if i had to. Hated most toyotas when i tried them
I find the euro cars seemed to have more comfort and variety of positions for drivers - seat goes up down back and forwards aswell as the steering wheel. I'm very fussy though