Come to think of it, you might try a Golf. There is a lot of room for legs and heads and other body parts, as it’s a boxy hatchback.
Of course, if he fits, he’ll want a GTI…
Day-um, boy, what’s in the water where you are???
BTW, came across this statement on a VW forum I frequent:
“I really stumbled upon the GTI because I had never thought that I would actually fit in one, being that I’m 6’8 and 275pds. But once I heard that Jeremy Clarkson fit in one and he loved it, I knew I had to try it out. Now I’m hooked. It’s the only car I’ve ever looked forward to driving.”
As I said, look at the Golf!
Thanks for this - I did check into this and it looks like it would work like a charm, but the problem now is these things are pretty expensive for a kid and his first car. It’s nicer than my car for one thing! Though I have a 2005 so that’s not maybe saying much at this point. I’ll toss the idea around and see if there are some deals to be had in my area. His (normal sized) sister just got her learner’s permit, so we’ll need another vehicle in a few years anyway.
Oh, I’d be right there with you in not wanting to spend $30k for a first car! They are nice, though. The non-GTI Golfs, same size and room, are about $21k for a base model with an automatic, about a grand less with a manual, though, which is fairly competitive.
There should be a ton of used Golfs including GTIs, though, as they get leased by young’uns who can’t make the payments to buy them, and get returned after a couple three years. Gotta be careful they aren’t tuned out the yin-yang though.
The Corolla is pretty American-sized these days, could get a 2011 pretty cheap and it will run great for years and have the same or better safety features than the Lincoln.
Corollas are solid, Boring as hell, yeah, but solid, and for a first car, boring isn’t the worst thing to get. Not that I felt that way at 16, but, yeah.
Nah, this wouldn’t help. It’s basically the same amount of room as the Continental (42.3 inches legroom, 38.3 headroom). I tried sitting in one and immediately crossed it off as too small for comfort. By contrast, the Hyundai Sonata, which is the current frontrunner for my own next car, has 45.5 and 40.3 respectively. Not to mention driver knee airbags specifically for those wheelchair concerns.
That’s pretty cool, that airbag.
I’m still waiting on the styrofoam stuff from Demolition Man
The cheapest solution would be to have a mechanic move the seat rails back an inch or 2… It looks like that would give him more leg room but still be ok for his reach to the wheel.
It would require the mechanic to drill new holes in the floor of the car to secure the rails to…maybe a hour of shop labor.
I know about this not because I am large but I do SCCA autocross, and alot of folk run Miatas. Including some bigger folks who have to move the seats in the little cars.
My son is also big however, 6’4". He fits perfectly in a MINI. :)
Googled a bit and came across this from 2014.
I’m 6’4" /260lbs and absolutely love my Honda Fit. I couldn’t stand sitting in the rest of the Honda lineup due to feeling compressed and not having room for my knees, but the Fit is just perfect.
I’m 5’11" 190 lbs (still carrying some winter weight, though I expect skateboarding will solve that shortly) and fit in absolutely everything so it’s hard to relate, but redrilling the seat seems like a decent idea if you can find someone you really trust to do the work.
I’m coming to this thread late, but as a 6’6" guy myself (with a lot of that height in my legs), that pic just looks like “driving” to me. :)
Road trips and flying coach are so much fun!
I’m only happy to be 5’6" when driving, because most of the time any car is ok. Except reaching the clutch pedal can be challenging in some configurations…
Now if someone would just pony up the $140k for my Carrera S…
All I can think of is that scene in Police Academy where Hightower rips out the front seat of the small car.
My wife and I bring that scene up frequently.
So what was the final decision Scott?