Will my new car be too wide?
Cars have tucked into the lollies and grown in girth over the years, so which car or SUV will still slip safely into your garage?If you go see an old house you grew up in, chances are it will look smaller than you remember as a child. The same will likely apply to an old family car you grew up with, since it probably really is a lot smaller than most modern family cars.
New cars may well be safer and more comfortable to ride in than ever before, but they are also bigger – and especially wider. This becomes obvious when driving on roads built years ago for narrower cars, such as in Europe, or when parking in newer carparks or estates designed to squeeze as much as possible into expensive real estate.
Battle of the bulge
The growth of cars and SUVs has been significant even in the last 25 years. The original 1997 version of Australia’s favourite SUV, the Toyota RAV4, measured just 1695mm wide, whereas the latest example in 2022 is a whole 160mm wider at 1855mm across.
It might be hard to believe, but the new RAV4 is also 25mm wider than Toyota’s first ‘big’ SUV back in 1997, the LandCruiser 80 Series (1830mm wide). Three generations later, the 2022 Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series is a huge 1970mm wide – up a massive 240mm on the 80 Series.
Of course, if you go back to the small cars of the 1940s or 1950s, the width contrast is enormous. The 1952 Austin A30 looks the size of a child’s electric toy car now, with just 1397mm of width.
Manufacturers don’t always publish the full width of their cars including side mirrors, but they all do quote body width, so that’s the measurement we’re using here. Wing mirrors can add about 150mm of width to a vehicle.
Why are cars so wide now?
The reason cars are getting wider (and bigger in every dimension) is partly because the population is generally taller and heavier than before – especially in Western markets like North America – and safety requirements require bigger crumple zones.
Passing the side pole impact test is helped by strong steel and airbags, but also by wider cabins and doors that put more space between occupants and the outside world.
Lastly, car-makers are not going to keep designing new models exactly the same size as their predecessors while all every other competitor grows in size. Size can also be associated with prestige, or simply the sales pitch of offering more passenger and luggage space than the model before.
Streets are getting narrower
The legal maximum width of a light motor vehicle (up to 4.5 tonnes) in Australia – excluding the side mirrors – is 2.5 metres, while the standard road lane width is 3.5 metres.
As we all know, this might be true of main roads built in recent years, but even main thoroughfares such as Sydney’s Parramatta Road only have lane widths of 2.9 metres.
Many suburban streets, especially in new suburbs, have only to adhere to a minimum width for two-way traffic of 5.5 metres.
The problem is that with many households owning multiple cars, many are parked on the roadway and therefore reduce space for traffic.
Of course, driving and parking wider cars on narrower roads increases the risk of damage to your car.
Defensive passing
When driving on narrower roads where you’re not confident of passing oncoming traffic easily, slow down and even be prepared to come to a stop if the oncoming vehicle seems too close and the driver appears to be on a mission.
It’s better to let them pass when you have pulled over as close as you can to a parked car. Insurance claims for someone side-swiping you are messy enough, but it’ll work out better for your insurance excess if you have taken evasive action and stopped.
If you are not confident of the width of your new car, on a quiet road look how close you are to parked cars in the left side mirror as you drive past them. Then sight a point on the bonnet so that from then on you can better estimate how close you’re actually getting to the roadside or parked cars.
Park with care
Obviously, if you have to park on a narrow street and don’t want your car scraped by passing cars, park as close to the kerb as possible. In fact in most states you’re required to park within 50cm of the kerb.
Fold in the driver’s mirror if possible, to avoid it being knocked by a passing car, and turn out (or in) the steering wheel so that a front wheel protrudes from the body of the car. That may give passing drivers reason to stay a bit further away from your car, and can prevent your car rolling too far if struck.
The width of a parking space can make the difference between others scraping your car or banging a door open on it or not.
Although Australian Standard 2890 lists the minimum width of a parking space at 2.4 metres, not all car parks have spaces this wide. The trick is to park away from other vehicles, if possible, or try to park next to narrower cars.
That, of course, is easier said than done at your average inner-city shopping centre car park just after knock-off time…
If you are buying a new car, measure the garage opening width and check to see if your new car’s width measurements (including an estimation for side mirrors) will allow it to fit comfortably.
Remember that if you have to drive into the garage at an angle (instead of straight-on), you’ll have even less garage width to play with.
Which cars and SUVs are widest?
Of the popular large off-road SUVs available in Australia, the Land Rover Defender is the widest at 2008mm, the 2022 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport the narrowest at 1815mm.
When it comes to family SUVs, the Hyundai Palisade is widest at 1975mm, while the Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace is narrowest at 1839mm.
Meanwhile, among the medium SUVs, the 2022 Ford Escape is widest at 1883mm, while the narrowest of this bunch is the 2022 Mitsubishi Outlander at 1800mm wide.
Of the small SUVs, the Kia Stonic is the narrowest at 1760mm, while the Volkswagen T-Roc has the widest girth at 1819mm.
It’s a similar story for small cars, with the Ford Focus beefiest at 1825mm wide, and the Subaru Impreza the skinniest at 1775mm across.
Of course, if you’re looking at a first car, micro cars and light cars are among the narrowest you can buy without resorting to a motorcycle. While the Volkswagen Polo is relatively wide at 1751mm, the slim Kia Picanto is just 1595mm across.
10 of the widest cars in production:
Lamborghini Aventador SVJ – 2098mm
Tesla Model X – 2070mm
Chrysler Pacifica – 2022mm
Rolls-Royce Phantom – 2018mm
Lamborghini Urus – 2016mm
Land Rover Defender – 2008mm
Volvo XC90 – 2008mm
BMW X5 – 2004mm
Ford Explorer – 2004mm
Mercedes-AMG GLE Coupe – 2004mm
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