My husband and I are considering purchasing a new or used vehicle in the upcoming year but need some advice. My husband is almost 6'5" and until we had kids with car seats, he could put his seat all the way back and tilted down without issue. Now that we have two car seats behind us, his height is presenting real problems for adjusting either front seat to his comfort level. Our current family car is a Chrysler Pacifica and we were hoping to downsizing if possible since we are done having children. One daughter is in a booster seat and is five, my other is almost 3 and in a full size car seat. Are there other tall parents who can suggest a family car? Thanks.
My parents have a Hyundai Sonata which is just great. My daughter and I recently took it on a 6000 mile car trip. I could sit in the front and stretch my legs out perfectly straight while my five-foot daughter could sit in the back seat and stretch *her* legs out straight. I have never been more comfortable in a car.
I also have a tall husband, we have a Chrysler 300 and it's plenty of room for him.
My husband is 6'6" and for comfort and proper posture, we have had a Jeep Wranger, a VW Passat without a sunroof, a Ford Expedition without a sunroof and our next vehicle will be a Chevy Suburban without a sunroof.
We started out at a car show and had him sit in every vehicle we thought he might fit in. He did fit well in one of the Land Rovers, I think it was their biggest one.
When trying out the cars, make sure the seat is all of the way down towards the ground. We rent cars for the weekend and see what we think, rather than buying a vehicle and hating it.
We found that the Toyota Landcruiser, etc had barely enough room, but not enough room for the kids legs in car seats behind him, let alone a full-sized adult.
My SIL is 6'4" and drives a Passat with a sunroof.
Our neighbor loves his Dodge Sprinter and there is PLENTY of room in there. We considered getting one, but we take lots of road trips and when it gets windy, we didn't want that extra height to contend with.
I second the Mercedes. That is all we drive. They are very safe and roomy.
My suggestion would be a sedan starting in the E class for more room. We use the E when we have teens to drop off at movies, etc and we do not have to adjust seating in the front for everyone to have room. We also have a CLK which is very roomy in the front but it is not a family friendly car. It is more sporty and although it will seat 4, it is best for 2 comfortably.
You could probably get a good used one if you choose not to buy new. We love ours and we won't ever drive anything else. Never an issue, the yearly service is all we have ever had done.
Good luck.
We rented a Sonata on one of our family vacations and I was SHOCKED at how much room was in there! My husband is 6'3 and I am 6'1...I didnt even have to have the seat all the way back, which is odd for me. The kids were all in booster seats, and it was fine. Check it out!
You could always put your 3 year old in the middle so that no one is behind the driver. My husband drives a Jeep Cherokee which is fine with the seat all the way back. When he has two of our kids in the car one sits in the middle and one behind the passenger. If we have to have all 3 kids in his car for any reason it's doable, but he prefers to not have anyone behind him. I drive a Buick Enclave which is the one we usually take with all 5 of us, but since you're downsizing I don't think that would be an option for you.
Good luck,
K.
HI D.,
My husband is 6'7" and I'm 5'2". The only cars that we both have been able to be comfortable in are Toyotas and Mercedes. Our Honda CRV works for us as well now that it's old enough that the seat has "compressed" a little. It still fits me fine too.
We usually opt for an older Mercedes because they're so safe....
M.
My hubby is 6'4 and we just got a Hyundai Sonata... We sat in a lot of cars before this. It gives him enough leg room, head room and elbow room. Highly recommend it.
Also in our search we went to the local car max one day just to "sit" in different car models -- to determine which one was most comfortable for him first. This really helped narrow down our choices. And because we were only at one location --- we didn't have to go to multiple dealerships and could do a direct side by side comparison.
My husband and I just had our first child 4 months ago. We thought we had the car situation figured out with a Mercedes S500, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Chevy Silverado. Boy, we were wrong! He is 6'4 and his seat is all the way back. Here is the problem, the S500 was very roomy but not an everyday car for hauling strollers and baby stuff around. The truck was a joke trying to get her carseat in the back and the Jeep is way too small, not a chance of him sitting in front of her carseat. We just purchased a GMC Yukon and LOVE IT. This is the perfect car! The size is perfect and it is very nice inside. I know you are looking to down size but do take into consideration hauling strollers and soon to be friends to parks and sporting events. Good luck!
My husband is tall, not this tall, but has a long torso. This was our first concern.
Here is a link that helped to guide us..
http://www.thetallstreetjournal.com/group/cars
