Do you drive a small car now that you are a senior?

Ralphy1

Ralphy1

Well-known Member
Elderly women seem to go for small cars while elderly men still stick with the large according to my personal observation. This could be dangerous for both genders, if you get hit in a small car you will probably be taken to the morgue and not the hospital, and if you drive a big car you can do a lot of hurt to others if you hit them...
 

Ralphy1 said:
Elderly women seem to go for small cars while elderly men still stick with the large according to my personal observation. This could be dangerous for both genders, if you get hit in a small car you will probably be taken to the morgue and not the hospital, and if you drive a big car you can do a lot of hurt to others if you hit them...
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In the UK we have generally always driven smaller cars, but there has been a change to a lot of young mothers driving large 4X4 type vehicles known as "Chelsea Tractors" to take the children to school.
Chelsea Tractor Any expensive 4x4 that is driven in an urban environment as a status symbol (typically for the school run) and will never be driven off-road.
Look, that Chelsea Tractor nearly flattened that kid!
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Most seniors drive small cars here, I don't need a large car now my family have grown up, so happily have a small one. I think some older men stick to larger cars for a status symbol, or more comfort perhaps.

 
No, the opposite. I now have to carry a road legal mobility scooter in the back, so need more space, not less.
 

When I first moved here dh bought me a tiny 2 door (Clio) automatic as I couldn't drive a manual. Later we bought a 4 door Citroen Picasso which is not a tiny car, nor a big SUV. We were thinking about trading it in next year and getting a smaller car, but now we have the electric bikes which are too heavy for a bike rack we take out the back seats and put the bikes in the car. So I guess we'll have to keep it.

I was under the impression everybody in Europe drove tiny cars, but I noticed when I was first here that many of our neighbours had Land Rovers. SUV's are much more common although there are still plenty of small cars.
 
Ameriscot said:
And gas is a LOT cheaper!! Not going to do the conversions but we now pay £1.15/litre for petrol. And that's after the price dropped.
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Down to $2.35 down here in Texas..

I once heard a traffic reporter state that he wished all drivers had smaller cars so they could get more into a traffic jam!!!
 
Ken N Tx said:
Down to $2.35 down here in Texas..

I once heard a traffic reporter state that he wished all drivers had smaller cars so they could get more into a traffic jam!!!
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We're going on a very long trip in my sister's car next month. Hope it's cheap there - we'll be in MI, OH, PA, RI, etc.
 
My wife traded in her Lexus this year and bought a new Chevy Equinox. I still drive my 2008 GMC Envoy. No small cars for me because of back issues and getting in and out of the vehicle.
 
I've had my Lexus RX300 SUV since 2003 without any mechanical issues. I just keep up with regular maintenance. It has 150,000 miles on it...and just now has developed a small oil leak. If it worsens it will cost $1200 to fix because they'll have to remove the engine.

So, I may be looking at trading it in eventually but it will definitely be another Lexus because of their stellar repair record and it's comfort. I'm vacillating between another SUV or something smaller. It's just that I have some large art canvases to transport and is great for hauling landscaping items and furniture purchases.

My daughter calls on me when she finds office decor because she has a small Nissan Z sports car. She loves it but not me. It's so low to the ground that I fear others won't see her. I sat in it once and felt like I was sitting right on the highway.
 
Smart cars are cute. This one is electric. Would making grocery shopping very difficult though. Someone on our road drives one and he's so huge I don't know how he gets into the car!

smart-congestion-charge-car.jpg
 
Wife just bought her "retirement" car. Chevrolet Impala. Easy to get in and out of as we age. Plenty of backseat space to take other couples with us. And, it's "sporty". She said she didn't want something that looked like an "old folks car". Got her hair done last Saturday. Came home beaming. Said the lady who owns the shop noticed her "new" car. Told her how good it looked, wanted to walk out and look it over, and said she would be proud to own one just like it.

Not much of a believer in "small" cars. I drive a Ram full-sized truck, 4WD. My wife's Impala is far from a "compact" model. I just feel more comfortable and a lot safer in the larger vehicles.
 
Ralphy1 said:
Elderly women seem to go for small cars while elderly men still stick with the large according to my personal observation. This could be dangerous for both genders, if you get hit in a small car you will probably be taken to the morgue and not the hospital, and if you drive a big car you can do a lot of hurt to others if you hit them...
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We have driven small cars from our first, a used Renault Dauphine, over fifty years ago. A tire blew on that, and we rolled over in it down an embankment into the Bronx river. I had my wife, two little kids, and a friend in the car. We all had seat belts on, which had just come out. The friend was holding our two year old in her arms. Our heads bumped the windshield out. We were covered in mud, but we all walked away with nothing more than bumped heads. After that, all of our cars were VW Beetles, or Rabbits. I was hit head on in one of the Rabbits at low speed, on glare ice. Totaled it, but walked to work that day. No injuries. My wife had a head on, due to sun glare in another Rabbit. Totaled it. The air bag broke her sun glasses, bruising her head, but no other injuries. I am driving what will undoubtedly be the last Rabbit now. The small cars are much easier to manage. I wouldn't want to drive anything bigger at this point.
 
Underock1 said:
We have driven small cars from our first, a used Renault Dauphine, over fifty years ago. A tire blew on that, and we rolled over in it down an embankment into the Bronx river. I had my wife, two little kids, and a friend in the car. We all had seat belts on, which had just come out. The friend was holding our two year old in her arms. Our heads bumped the windshield out. We were covered in mud, but we all walked away with nothing more than bumped heads. After that, all of our cars were VW Beetles, or Rabbits. I was hit head on in one of the Rabbits at low speed, on glare ice. Totaled it, but walked to work that day. No injuries. My wife had a head on, due to sun glare in another Rabbit. Totaled it. The air bag broke her sun glasses, bruising her head, but no other injuries. I am driving what will undoubtedly be the last Rabbit now. The small cars are much easier to manage. I wouldn't want to drive anything bigger at this point.
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Wow! Lots of lucky escapes!
 
Ameriscot said:
Wow! Lots of lucky escapes!
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Oh you bet! The greatest talent I possess is dumb luck.

Funny thing about the roll over. As I watched all of the trees whizzing past the windshield and facing imminent death, the only thought in my mind was "I wish those women would stop screaming!"
:excited:
 
I am 6' 4" & drive a four door 2001 Toyota Camry XLE with 85,000 miles that suits me just fine. I turned 81 on July 12 & got my license renewed for another 10 years.
 
I just can't stop tinkering around with improvements and repairs on my house, so I have to have a pickup to haul in new materials and haul off old. I like sitting up higher off the ground, too. So I have a '97 Ford F-150 8 cylinder (inherited). It has 118K miles. The next vehicle will also be a pickup, until I can't do stuff like that anymore. The only downside is parking in town.

I had the opposite for a while---a Honda Civic 5 speed, 4 cylinder. I was staying in Montgomery, Alabama, and if you've ever been there, there is a high speed loop around the city, but no ramps. The Honda just didn't have enough pick up to get going on that loop and keep up with the southern drivers.
 
I drive a small SUV now, and did before I was a 'senior', my older one is a Jeep Cherokee and the newer is a Dodge Nitro. We drive our full-size truck on vacations, etc.
 
A few years ago I bought a Nissan Versa. I would have preferred a larger car which I was use to. I have had jeeps a couple of times which I loved. But I needed something I could buy outright without making payments. They are not bad. They have a lot more room than they look like they would have.
 

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