New tow car needed but headroom is a big problem

[Peri_5109318]

Due to age and mileage of our existing tow car, we have decided to upgrade to a newer vehicle. We are looking for a vehicle that can carry four persons, family labrador, plus usual caravanning kit. The important issues are that it must be capable of towing 1740kgs (MTPLM of our caravan) and MUST have minimum drivers headroom of 1030mm. Our budget does not stretch to a new car, we have about £10k to spend.

The Discovery 2 had sufficient headroom but the roof 'drops down' onto the windscreen that severely limited forward vision to dangerous levels.

I sat in a Discovery 3, purely to check out headroom and my head just brushes the roof lining when the seat is in the lowest position. I know that this vehicle is out of our price range but it may give some of you guys who have owned/driven different vehicles the sort of headroom I need.

As our budget does not stretch to new vehicles, trying to find headroom specifications on older vehicles is not easy.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

Regards

Defender

 

[RogerP]

Hi Peri

I guess from your question that you are fairly tall?

I'm 6ft 2ins and alot of cars pose similar problems for me.

I've got an 05 Merc ML270 , there's plent of head room and good forward visibility. The cars got electric memory seats so its very adjustible , and , unlike alot of my previous cars , I've got the driving position near perfect.

Not sure if you'll get one within you budget but there are plenty of early models out there they may come close.

 

[DavidW1]

I am 6ft and interested by your question have just sat in My Shogun GDI and measured above my head. It is about 4 inches from the roof lining.

I guess the answer for you is to test sit in several models and gauge things for yourself which of course you may have already done.

One model that looks "tall" from the outside is the Hyundai Terracan and a 2 to 3 year old one should be circa your budget.

If you look at Shoguns,

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Peri,

Dont just consider 4x4's. There are several MPV's that offer both good headroom, and of course internal space for passengers and luggage. Many also have the technical capacity to tow your weight of caravan, They still offer a good visibility advantage over other cars.

The seating and ride can be more comfortable than a highly sprung 4x4. With less mechanical parts, reliability and running costs are also better.

There are models with large engines with plenty of power, though I find my 2.2 diesel Renault Espace is quite capable even with heavy loads.

Some people have concerns that a 1700Kg caravan is very close to towing 100% ratio. Personally I have not found that to be a problem - as always you have to take care when driving, and be aware that the added load of a trailer/caravan will affect the performance and handling of any car.

 

[MikeJE]

Peri,

Have you looked at the Kia Sedona? Kerb weight - of mine anyway - 2220Kg. Remove rear seats for bags of room for awnings etc. Rear view mirror tends to obscure centre top of windscreen - otherwise maybe what you want.

 

[MikeJE]

Also see the comments under "New shape Sedona Automatic" elsewhere in this forum.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi i would have a kia sedona. lots of head room huge boot if you take the back row of seats out and can tow im sure approx 1810? fully loaded. i bet with 10k you could get a decent 04 sedona for that from a kia dealer. now is the time to have a look as the 57 plates have just come out so the px's will be in.

we do have the new kia sedona 07 plate and its a fantastic car and just pulls no problem. i do prefer the old shape front with the bubble bonnet but i prefer the back end of the new one.

we have a staffordshire bull terrier and she travels in a cage we dont even take the rear seats out we just fold them up and there enought room. the old shape sedona has a bigger boot i was told.

hope ive helped

jo-anne

great towcar and family car you will get alot of sedona for 10k.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

just had a quick look on auto trader and you can get 2003/2004/2005/54/55 some with leather, dvd, side steps, tow bar so much car for you money.

jo-anne

 

[Peri_5109318]

Thank you everybody who has replied to my initial e-mail. In short (pun intended!) I'm 6'03" and a bit, but my legs stopped growing when I was young, so only have a 29" inside leg. :-(

This makes finding a car to fit in extremely difficult and as for headrests? forget it! They're more like neck/shoulder rests.

I did try a Landcruiser but found that my head was tilted to one side because the roof was so low. I had not considered a Mercedes as i thought 'Mercedes?' 'Obviously too expensive' but I'll take a look. The Kia Sedona looks promising, there seems to be a favourable response on this thread about it, so I'll look at that as well.

Kind Regards

 

[Darce]

Peri

A bit drastic I know but it is possible have a seat lowered or the seat rails extended on some vehicles.

You can for example have the metal box that a Discovery/Defender seat sits on reduced in height. You can also buy longer seat rails than standard for those who have long legs - not your problem it seems, but mentioned just to give you an idea.

On my discovery the only thing under the drivers seat is the CD changer and there is a good 3 inches spare space on top of that.

My only concern is that as far as I know the only vehicles I have seen this seat lowering done on were vehicles used in RTV trials. Quite what the legal position would be for a normal vehicle I am not sure.

 

[Timothy_374244492]

I'm not sure of weights but how about a Subaru Forrester?

My dads one is a lovely car with plenty of headroom and space for the passengers and dog.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

peri, my partner is 6ft 3" and had lots of headroom in the sedona and im 5ft and i have no problem with touching the pedels. i dont think you will have a problem with this.

we have also had two 4 x 4's before and diesel or not you just cant seem to get away from the fact that you need rather deep pockets to run them.

good luck

keep us posted

jo-anne