Are Cars Getting Smaller?

[TheDoctor]

OTOH, some cars are remarkably spacious.
I was always impressed by the interior space of our Hyundai Matrix (it had to have *something* going for it!).
Recently we managed to fit three people, two cases, two rucksacks and a road bike into a Toyota Yaris.

 

[swee'pea99]

Humans are getting bigger

"In 50 years, according to statistics kept by the Ministry of Education, the average height of Japanese 11-year-olds has increased by more than 5 1/2 inches. The height of girls, who grow faster at that age, meanwhile, has increased even more."

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/01/w...e-japanese-it-seems-are-outgrowing-japan.html

 

[400bhp]

Bigger, fatter and not quite a full metric ton heavier.

Cars or people?

 

[mjr]

When we moved to France in 2010, we brought with us a LHD Ford Focus Estate, 2006 version. [...] Now we have made the decision to return to the UK, I thought we should perhaps get the updated version of the same car.

2006 Focus Estate = 4.470m x 1.839m x 1.495m
2017 Focus Estate = 4.556m x 1.823m x 1.505m

So no, the new one isn't noticeably smaller - 8.6cm longer, 1cm higher and less than 2cm narrower.

Safety regs are only a small part of the whole picture though. The rest is down to design/aesthetics 'luxury materials' extra sound proofing, more electronic gizmos, yadda yadda.

But you can get away with all sorts of wasteful design inside the cabin panels now because most people assume it's extra safety equipment!

The only fringe benefit is the extra unused space does make it slightly easier to work in there than when every cubic inch was being made to work - if you can get the flipping panel off without cracking any of the nasty pushfit tabs that are now common and hard to get spares for.

Furthermore, a lot of modern humans would find it a problem getting into and remaining comfortable in an original Mini or Fiat 500 these days.....

Whaddya mean "these days"?

 

[Alex H]

2006 Focus Estate = 4.470m x 1.839m x 1.495m
2017 Focus Estate = 4.556m x 1.823m x 1.505m

So no, the new one isn't noticeably smaller - 8.6cm longer, 1cm higher and less than 2cm narrower.

Sorry, should have been a bit more clear - the car in the showroom was a hatchback (can't expect them to have one of every model)

Even so, the inside is definitely more cramped. When we were comparing ours with the car I mentioned above in the supermarket car park, the owner came back and wondered what we were doing. I explained in my best French and he insisted on me trying his car as he didn't believe it was smaller. Even with the movable steering wheel, the seat back and down, there was less space.

 

[Globalti]

Cars are definitely getting lighter; my Passat B8 is 80 kilos lighter than the previous B7 and you can tell as well, with 10ps extra power you can squeeze past pesky cyclists and shoot off up the road before they recover and get your reg.

 

[snorri]

Safety regs are only a small part of the whole picture though. The rest is down to design/aesthetics 'luxury materials' extra sound proofing, more electronic gizmos, yadda yadda.

........................and a failure of motoring journalists and their like to deplore the excesses of the car manufacturing industry.

 

[Fab Foodie]

........................and a failure of motoring journalists and their like to deplore the excesses of the car manufacturing industry.

Exackerly.

 

[Jody]

........................and a failure of motoring journalists and their like to deplore the excesses of the car manufacturing industry.

Because people want progress. If there was an appetite for basic tin cans with poor performance and no luxury they would be selling them. But people want more luxury, quieter cabins, more economy for the same MPG or better etc. Why should the motor industry deplore them?

 

[lutonloony]

Maybe you grew because of the nicer weather in France?

 

[Drago]

Looking at some old 1960s 8mm vintage porn the other day...

FTFY.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

........................and a failure of motoring journalists and their like to deplore the excesses of the car manufacturing industry.

How can you use journalist and motoring in same sentence.

 

[Big Andy]

but I can't get in an Auris.

Blimey how big are you?? I'm 6'6" and have an Auris tourer, I fit in it easily, bike fits in the back too! Are you sure you weren't trying to get in to an Aygo??

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I had a lift in an Audi Q7 (a CycleChat fave auto, see brokenflipflop et al...) a while back and was amazed that for a hulking great beast of a vehicle it seemed tiny inside.

 

[Crackle]

I had a lift in an Audi Q7 (a CycleChat fave auto, see brokenflipflop et al...) a while back and was amazed that for a hulking great beast of a vehicle it seemed tiny inside.

In proportion to the owners privates on the inside and ego on the outside: Clever stuff.