The Right Car for Me: Comfortable Bliss

Comfortable Bliss

Member5728

I live exactly 1/4 of a mile from where I work. Unfortunately, it is in FL, and that is a very hot walk in a suit each day. I also have a bad back that prevents me from walking that far. My current vehicle is a 2015 Chevy Sonic. It is excellent, suprisingly roomy, and sits fairly tall. This helps keep my back from hurting due to ingress/egress. Unfortunately, it drives a little rough, and has no lumbar support. My familiy lives 5 hours away, and if I had a more comfortable ride, my back would be able to handle visiting them more often.

I'm 6'3'' and 320 lbs. I am a serious weight lifter, and even my tailer (who is a former professional bodybuilder) says my shoulders are extremely wide. This becomes a problem with width. In a lot of cars, I have the seat all the way back and slightly reclined to use all the head and legroom. This means my torso and shoulders are parallel with the b pillar, which in most cars sticks out due to safety hardware. I had a GLK for a while, and finally got rid of it because of this. The only car I haven't had this problem with is a full size truck. Which brings me to the next problem.

There office I work in has extremely small parking spaces. I'm talking I have about 3" on each side of my Sonic, which is by no means a large car. This is why I don't want a big SUV or truck. The benefit of extra room is taken away by not being able to get my door open.

I've looked at the MB GLA, which is good but it gets terrible mpg for premium (hopefully diesel will be an option soon. A 3 series is the right size on the outside, but too small. A 5 series would probably be doable, but they sit too low. Don't like the seating position of the Encore.

Priorities: Front seat room / Front seat support & comfort / Ride smoothness / Reliability & durability / Fuel economy

Preferred Bodystyle(s): Sedan / Hatch / Wagon

Car Needs: Daily commuter / Errands about town / Long trips

Primary Driver(s): Tall driver

Need minimum of 2 seats

Will consider new cars only

Maximum price: US $ 45000

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Narrow exterior + roomy interior = boxy.

You've already ruled out the Buick Encore.

See what you think about the Scion xB, Kia Soul, and Ford C-MAX. The last can be purchased as a plug-in hybrid, in which case you'd never use gas on your normal commute. Even the standard hybrid might leave the engine off for some of those quarter-mile runs. Beyond fuel economy, this helps long-term reliability, as it's hard on an engine to always make very short runs.

The new VW Golf might also work for you. It doesn't sit as high, but a surprising amount of space up front for a compact and comfortable seats.

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Comfortable Bliss

Member5728

Response from mkaresh

11:17 am August 1, 2015