Modern cars are bad

So why not buy a car instead? There's thousands of different models and makes. Buy one that's more suitable for you.

It depends upon whether you want an excellent view - or good passenger safety. In the good old days of thin roof pillars - the roof would just collapse down onto the body if the car overturned. Today it wont. Having said that, there are certainly some cars with worse visibility than others. Which? magazine recently did an article on this. The Honda Civic did very badly for driver views out.

You want to try a Vauxhaul Zafira:-) Actually you don't. Although it would appear Which reviewers can't actually use their wing mirrors.

The 'classic' Saab 900 was a strong car with excellent passenger safety, but it didn't have this visibility problem at the front: Part of the problem, I think is the now 'fashionable' flat-angled windscreens which makes the cars look good in the brochures. Obviously, a flatter angle needs stronger pillars to support the roof, and the cab-forward position of the windscreen creates huge problems for the designers. See e.g. Ford S-max.

I seem to remember that a major criticism of the PA cresta was of its windscreen which distorted the view terribly on the bent round bit.

johannes wrote in news:4C137EB6.B02B6251 @sizefi435335353tter.com:

I move my head about to see, just like I do on my motorbike. Is this a problem for you?

Not a problem, only a matter of smaller pleasure.

I'm with you. Any car has plenty of glazing to see out of, all that's needed is a slight movement of the head when looking to join another road etc.

If there's one desirable aspect that modern cars have lost, for me, it's character.

Stu

"johannes" wrote

Because manufacturers are following a fashion that believes crash survival has higher priority than crash avoidance.

As well as poor visibility, there is also a suggestion going round now that, with cars having recently bloated out so much in width, more crashes really are occuring.

some of the modern vehicles have massive blind spots, I was quite surprised by how bad the view is from a Honda thing (Jazz?) I drove a little while ago, it had massive A pillars with a little triangle window, and it was very obstructive. Why anyone would test drive one and then buy one is beyond me, you could miss a bus in that blind spot !! Ford Focus has a large blind spot each side when you look to the rear.

my old cf van is narrower than a mondeo, so I am not surprised at all.

Quite. I noticed this problem once when I hired a Fiat Grande Punto, and then a Vauxhall Corsa (essentially the same car). It felt somewhat claustrophobic with the forward tunnel-vision windscreens, and these cars aren't even MPVs. Style over substance IMO.

Yes - this 'up-sizing' in all sectors is very strange isn't it? It seems that every time a new model comes out, the manfufacturer's boast about how much extra space there is compared to the old model. 'Large family cars' such as the Mondeo and Citroen C5 are now as big as the next sector up were a few years ago. It doesn't seem to occur to them that many people may want a car that is small in physical size for easy manoeuvring.

Exactly, and some drivers obviously don't take enough care. Think bike...

I can remember when you could get a quick glimpse of a car and identify it, now they are so similar in styling that it takes an anorak to I/D them. (Except for the really ugly ones).

In message , DavidR writes

So that's why I have had two starboard side scrapes in the last 12 months, I thought it was lack of concentration. ;-)

The bodywork on my Mondeo (MkIII) has expanded compared with the previous model, and you can no longer rely on side mirrors to act as feelers. Touch wing mirrors and the bodywork gets it, too.

In message , Ret. writes

I'm not buying a new car until the Tardis is on the market.

On Sun, 13 Jun 2010 09:06:05 +0100, Ret. spouted forth:

I was following a new Corsa yesterday. It was bloody enormous!

Mike P

It's driven in both senses, by the modern mother, who wants to keep her children safe, as if previous generations didn't and sod other people's children in the process.

Andy C

Never mind the size, I just wanna car that you don't need to steer all the time; the nice thing with a bigger car is that you can take your hands off the steering wheel and relax.