Mrs J wants a car that isn’t too big, but has a high driving position – 4wd isn’t necessary, but could be a possible.
So far I’ve come up with
Kia Soul
Toyota Urban Cruiser
Skoda Yeti
Fiat Qubo

Owt else I’m missing?

Ta

Citroen Picasso.

Are we talking only new, or 2nd hand too: Ford C-Max & Golf Plus

qashqai
2wd freelander
BMW X3/X5 (although totally horrible but dirt chep second hand)

personally I’d go for teh yeti in you position. great little cars.

I like that Kia Soul styling, and the Nissan Juke is also growing on me 😳

berlingo?

Cheers guys – probably looking at 1 year old or ex demonstrator area.

Nissan Juke is a bit of an outsider, but I suspect it is making a lunge for the lead 😯

FYI you can get 3 bikes and 3 people in a new shape berlingo without taking the wheels off, if that influences the decision 😉

Roomster more spacious and cheaper than Yeti, maybe not high enough for you though.

really!? the juke!? bloody awful thing.

Isn’t too big – the Yeti is pretty large. A guy at work has one and it’s a pretty big wagon – particularly wide.

How about something like a RAV4?

one some words: SEAT Altea Freetrack 4.

Stupidly cheap for what you get, cheap to insure, fast in either petrol (200BHP, Golf GTi engine) or diesel (170BHP + lots of torques), more toys than you can shake a stick at as standard (electric everything, cruise, bluetooth, tv in the back, auto lights, wipers etc etc), part time 4WD and raised ride height and it actually handles well too – £10K will get you a last of the line 18 month old one. Might be a bit bigger than you want, but it does have parking sensors on the back. Only about 60 in the UK. I got one to replace my X Trail and I love it.

Ford Fusion?

Oh yeah – Seat Altea is a good shout.

Dont buy a demonstrator car! They get thrashed for 30 seconds x 2 a day as they are moved around the forecourt. Also they get people driving them who will wear the clutch etc etc.

Just buy a 1 year old off Autotrader etc and you will save more money.

Oh and I’d suggest an Altea. We have an Altea XL (bigger version) and Mrs FD likes the high driving position, Ok not as high as a 4×4 but still ok.

Just been through the same with the Mrs Car, we went with an Altea XL, V nice.

in-laws have a Suzuki Ignus (sp?) which is a small car with high seats

Ford Fusion?

My wife has one. Driving position is quite high (higher than The Mighty Vectra) but not 4×4 high. Visibilty is very good and there is a fair amount of space for the kids and their junk.

Lip-less boot opening makes getting stuff in and out very easy.

It drives OK too.

I had a Kia sportage, which where surprisingly ok on 4*4 was one of the most pish cars I’ve ever owned. Not old, and reasonably well looked after, had one fault after another and would never touch another Kia with someone else’s bargepole.
Currently Honda CR-V, great but dull, although maybe a bit on the big side.

What about that Nissan Queequeg thing? Mate of mine’s got one and rates it.

I saw a nice Mitsubishi yesterday no idea what model but looked pretty good as far as soft roaders go.
ASX apparently.

Finally, Seats are mentioned or car threads. I second an Altea or Altea XL, we had both mainly due to the high driving position, excellent cars! Got both as ex-Seat-owned cars, their website lets you search for the best deal all over the country.

Mrs J wants a car that isn’t too big, but has a high driving position

not trolling as I’m 6’1″ but why does she want a high driving position

not trolling as I’m 6’1″ but why does she want a high driving position

She likes the better visibility of being higher up, making it easier to park etc.

The Altea isnt the easiest car to park, mind you most modern cars are not that easy to park….

She likes the better visibility of being higher up, making it easier to park etc.

Definitley no offence to your wife but she may need to leave a larger gap to the vehicle in front to aid visibility.

Sorted for a fraction of the cost.

geoffj – Member

not trolling as I’m 6’1″ but why does she want a high driving position

She likes the better visibility of being higher up, making it easier to park etc.

Err, no offence to your wife but wouldn’t she be better off learning how to park first before blaming the vehicle / seat position?

And as already said there is a lot more to ‘being easy to park’ than a high driving position.

BTW Tell her, if she can’t park a vehicle safely and properly (or reverse, hill start, etc etc) then she shouldn’t be driving.

You div^. 🙄

My wife is 5’2″ and is much happier in the Fusion because the higher driving position allows her to see out of the rear side and quarter(?) windows which the low seat and higher doors on my Vectra don’t.

We have a c-max. Good to drive, high position, loads of room, but the rear visibility is awful. Make sure you get one with parking sensors.

We have a vauxhall zafira, quite high and great visability (yep, its just a box really). Sadly the newer ones are fiat engines (I believe, maybe only the diesels) and nothing but trouble (well even more so than the older vauxhalls, bless em, great cars but sometimes the dash will light up like a christmas tree!).

So I would not get one of the newer ones, even thought we love our 04 one.

My friend has the toyota urban cruiser, really lovely car and its a toyota so will be fine…

Good luck
Simone

She likes the better visibility of being higher up, making it easier to park etc.

A cushion might be a more satisfactory option. Cheaper too which is important in these dark times.

Err, no offence to your wife but wouldn’t she be better off learning how to park first before blaming the vehicle / seat position?

And as already said there is a lot more to ‘being easy to park’ than a high driving position.

BTW Tell her, if she can’t park a vehicle safely and properly (or reverse, hill start, etc etc) then she shouldn’t be driving.

AnalogueAndy – Member

Err, no offence to your wife but wouldn’t she be better off learning how to park first before blaming the vehicle / seat position?

And as already said there is a lot more to ‘being easy to park’ than a high driving position.

BTW Tell her, if she can’t park a vehicle safely and properly (or reverse, hill start, etc etc) then she shouldn’t be driving.

So, this:

is presumably as easy to park as this?: