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I don’t know why this is exactly, but it seems useful interior space is decreasing across all vehicles as dashes get bigger and curvier and more surrounding. I’

I don’t know why this is exactly, but it seems useful interior space is decreasing across all vehicles as dashes get bigger and curvier and more surrounding. I’ve driven my 2008 Honda Fit for 10 years, but the second and third gen models, while bigger and heavier, have less driver legroom due to big curvy dashboards and controls bulging in towards the driver. I can’t drive the ‘09 or later Fits, it’s physically impossible (I’m 6’8”). Similarly my 2002 Tahoe (same vehicle as Silverado, Yukon, suburban etc in most aspects) has a ton of room for repositioning myself in the drivers seat, I can and have driven it 8+ hours in a day with no discomfort whatsoever. However my father in law has a suburban of a generation after mine, and while I still could drive it comfortably, there is only one available position for me, even with the addition of a telescoping wheel in the later year models. I would be exhausted after two hours from the inability to reposition myself.

StillBored 8y ago
I'm tall too, and noticed the same thing. I drove a fox body mustang in the early 90's, but every styling change since has reduced the amount of interior head/leg room. A couple years back I had a hard time even as a passenger in one. I couldn't even get my legs under the dash due to the angle it was positioned at relative to the seat. I suspect at least part of it has to do with fuel economy standards which are partially being met by reducing the frontal area of the car. The easiest way to do that is to take a couple inches off the height of the vehicle. Safety standards similarly are affecting the driver position and the crash test dummies aren't 7' tall. I noticed this a few years ago when the headrest standards changed and I now have a piece of headrest that doesn't raise high enough but sticks forward 8" pressing into the middle of my back in cars that would otherwise be ok to sit in. (I have the same problem on airplanes).
- Infernal 8y ago
  Interesting theory re: reduced frontal area. In college I drove an E28 ('82-'88 5-series) BMW, which were pretty darn small cars, and I actually was fine in it for over a year before I even realized it had a telescoping steering column, which made it even better! As my height is mostly in my legs, I don't notice the head room issues as much, but I notice across all three vehicles I've mentioned, they all have very minimalist dashboards, basically a flat slab sloped away from the cabin as you descend with some knobs on it. I could hang my right knee out in that space in front of the controls and over the gear shift if I wanted to stretch or twist, and all that is taken up by super tall consoles, or climate control panels that jut out and tilt toward the driver now. Since you mentioned Mustangs though, I had this same issue in the '96-'04 generation of Mustangs, but on the driver side. The way the door handle assembly curved inward toward the driver to meet the dash made actually quite a small space between the door and the steering wheel. If I put my left hand at 9 o'clock on the wheel, it was physically impossible for me to raise my left leg high enough to work the clutch, as the combo of wheel/hand/door blocked my knee from coming up as high as it needed. I wonder if this is some sort of "perception of safety" design, as all these spaces I'm talking about would normally be empty and useless with an average driver, and so these big interior panels are growing into those spaces, perhaps to enhance the feeling of being cocooned and secured by the vehicle? Similarly center consoles keep getting taller as well. Just a thought.
  - StillBored 8y ago
    I think the summary here is that, the head/leg room numbers rarely are indicative of whether the car has been designed/tested for taller people. As you mentioned telescoping steering, I have to point out the toyota FJ, which I would have purchased because sitting it in was incredible... OTOH, the steering wheel didn't telescope, and the pedals weren't positioned particularly deeply, so while the seat slid backwards with incredible range, to drive it without leaning forward to hold the steering wheel required having the seat so far forward as to cramp my legs.. Just a couple inches of telescope would have made all the difference.

StillBored 8y ago

I'm tall too, and noticed the same thing. I drove a fox body mustang in the early 90's, but every styling change since has reduced the amount of interior head/leg room. A couple years back I had a hard time even as a passenger in one. I couldn't even get my legs under the dash due to the angle it was positioned at relative to the seat. I suspect at least part of it has to do with fuel economy standards which are partially being met by reducing the frontal area of the car. The easiest way to do that is to take a couple inches off the height of the vehicle. Safety standards similarly are affecting the driver position and the crash test dummies aren't 7' tall. I noticed this a few years ago when the headrest standards changed and I now have a piece of headrest that doesn't raise high enough but sticks forward 8" pressing into the middle of my back in cars that would otherwise be ok to sit in. (I have the same problem on airplanes).

Infernal 8y ago
Interesting theory re: reduced frontal area. In college I drove an E28 ('82-'88 5-series) BMW, which were pretty darn small cars, and I actually was fine in it for over a year before I even realized it had a telescoping steering column, which made it even better! As my height is mostly in my legs, I don't notice the head room issues as much, but I notice across all three vehicles I've mentioned, they all have very minimalist dashboards, basically a flat slab sloped away from the cabin as you descend with some knobs on it. I could hang my right knee out in that space in front of the controls and over the gear shift if I wanted to stretch or twist, and all that is taken up by super tall consoles, or climate control panels that jut out and tilt toward the driver now. Since you mentioned Mustangs though, I had this same issue in the '96-'04 generation of Mustangs, but on the driver side. The way the door handle assembly curved inward toward the driver to meet the dash made actually quite a small space between the door and the steering wheel. If I put my left hand at 9 o'clock on the wheel, it was physically impossible for me to raise my left leg high enough to work the clutch, as the combo of wheel/hand/door blocked my knee from coming up as high as it needed. I wonder if this is some sort of "perception of safety" design, as all these spaces I'm talking about would normally be empty and useless with an average driver, and so these big interior panels are growing into those spaces, perhaps to enhance the feeling of being cocooned and secured by the vehicle? Similarly center consoles keep getting taller as well. Just a thought.
- StillBored 8y ago
  I think the summary here is that, the head/leg room numbers rarely are indicative of whether the car has been designed/tested for taller people. As you mentioned telescoping steering, I have to point out the toyota FJ, which I would have purchased because sitting it in was incredible... OTOH, the steering wheel didn't telescope, and the pedals weren't positioned particularly deeply, so while the seat slid backwards with incredible range, to drive it without leaning forward to hold the steering wheel required having the seat so far forward as to cramp my legs.. Just a couple inches of telescope would have made all the difference.