[Emvi]

The world of automobiles is a fascinating one for an auto enthusiast. We have cars of different body styles- hatchbacks, notchbacks, sedans, SUVs, MUVs, crossovers and so on. Each category of cars further has sub-categories and segments. We have cars that are tall, short, long and wide., WIDE? Really?

In India sub 4-meter cars are classified as small cars and such cars enjoy certain tax benefits (strange rule!). If I am not wrong Tata Indigo CS was probably the first “proper” sub 4-meter car and Mahindra Quanto, the first (im)proper sub 4-meter UV. With the inception of this rule, manufacturers got busy either truncating bigger sedans/UVs or stretching smaller hatches by affixing dickies. The “small” cars those have been conceptualized and built from scratch carry more mature/proportionate design and are indeed really good. Honda Amaze, Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Ford Ecopsort, Kia Sonet are few such notable examples. The manufacturers these days are striving hard to design spacious cars within 4-meter length. One such worthy example is Renault Triber IMO. Renault probably has the best real estate managers in the country! They have managed a 7-seater UV with decent amount of space in a sub 4-meter vehicle, commendable!

As is the norm, most of the manufacturers use a single platform to manufacture vehicles of different body styles, sizes and configurations just by extending or shortening the platform. Of all the different types of cars that have been manufactured till date, 6-seater cars with 3+3 two rows seating configuration are a rarity. Mahindra experimented with KUV 1OO and did not find much success. Outside India, probably Fiat Multipla and Honda FRV are the only mainstream 6-seater cars that have come out of the production line. Not to forget our good old Amby, with column shift transmission could accommodate 6 adults with decent amount of comfort. Just for the purpose of reference and discussion I am listing out a few cars/vehicles and their dimensions (width and length).

List.docx

It is important to note that all the hatchbacks and sedans in the list are classified as 5-seaters in our market. It is understandable and obvious that the comfort levels are incomparable, but, if a small hatchback like a Wagon R can accommodate 2 adults and a kid comfortably on the rear bench and if a bigger hatchback/sedan like a Baleno/Sunny/Ciaz is spacious enough for 3 adults in the second row, why can’t we have a 2-metre wide car with 3+3 or 3+4 two rows seating configuration!? Or even a 3+3+3 three rows seating configuration? What really restricts the manufacturers to design and manufacture WIDE cars and accommodate more seats transversely than otherwise? Is there any regulation that restricts the manufacturers from doing so? With added width, also comes added boot space without comprising the legroom for the occupants. Surprisingly enough, a Force Traveler or a Tata Winger which can seat 3 people transversely in a row are only a wee bit wider than the cars considered for discussion and in fact, they are even narrower than some of the UVs in the list! Make no mistake, I am comparing the dimensions of these vehicles only from the perspective of the space management, not taking into account the purpose, performance or other technical aspects.

Can we have WIDE cars please..!
Your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen.

[ajaiD]

Amby was 1662mm in width Link

Compass is 1818mm but can't fit 3 at back as comfortably the reason is thickness of doors and side body. They do eat into the space a lot and this is what I think the reason may be safety over internal space.

[paragsachania]

Just wide won't do. Following factors matter a lot.

- Shoulder room
- Head room
- Roof line (slanted vs straight)
- Height of the seats
- Recline angle
- Length of the bench
- Design of the door trims (your legs need to rest comfortably)
- Placement, presence and design of head restraints
- Presence of absence of floor humps

To me, there are very less cars where 3 can sit comfortably over long distances for hours together without rubbing their shoulders and thighs. But few do this job quite satisfactorily and hence 3 in the rear seat is better in such cars.

Personally, for my kind of long distance trips, I prefer just 2 at the rear bench. One reason why I even voted for captain seats.

[astrodex]

Nice question, I had actually thought about this when I was looking at 7 seater cars. Especially with all these 6 seaters coming in the market like Hector Plus, Gravitas (I'm sorry Safari) etc. My understanding is that there is not any legal restrictions on width like we have for length, and I've also wondered why they don't make cars wider for that. It seems there are no cars over 2000mm width so maybe that is the limit (Carnival and Gloster are at the cusp).

Maybe a car for 3+3 seating of 2100 mm width X 3995 length. Will be the length of baleno and still could have enough space and could even provide better head room and leg room compared to the crammed third row. Parking in India is more of a length challenge than width so it must not be that bad.

If WagonR can seat 2 people comfortably in 1620 mm, we should be able to add a comfortable 3rd seat in 480 extra mm of width. Ingress and egress would also be much better than going into the third row and it also would allow us with a much better bootspace.

Citeron Aircross does have something like this in the rear seat where they have actual 3 person row instead of 2+1. I'm guessing the reason it is not there is that like station wagon and estate models, wide cars these days are not considered sexy and probably relegated to mass people movers like Sumo.

[huntrz]

True. When I sat in Ertiga I felt the same. They have added length but not width. The car didn't feel wide enough to me(With all due respect to the car and owners. We all end up developing a liking for our cars in the long run). But in the end a lot also depends on space management and design cues.

[TrackDay]

Originally Posted by Emvi

The manufacturers these days are striving hard to design spacious cars within 4-meter length. One such worthy example is Renault Triber IMO. Renault probably has the best real estate managers in the country! They have managed a 7-seater UV with decent amount of space in a sub 4-meter vehicle, commendable!

Can we have WIDE cars please..!

Originally Posted by astrodex

Citeron Aircross does have something like this in the rear seat where they have actual 3 person row instead of 2+1. I'm guessing the reason it is not there is that like station wagon and estate models, wide cars these days are not considered sexy and probably relegated to mass people movers like Sumo.

I think European cars can be more efficient with space in their cars owing to their tighter roads, whereas American cars need not be bothered. Just get a big SUV like the escalade or Suburban and throw all your XL size supermarket shopping in it!

I don't see wider cars entering our market, at least in that segment below the 15-20 lakh price point. That is the last thing we need to increase traffic jams on our congested roads. If they did bring wider cars perhaps folks in the higher up might bring about another absurd rule, 1.5 m width cars

Another point is lack of innovation. The focus of R&D is somewhere else. Like you said if they combine the Triber's interior space management along with magic seats like in the Honda Jazz, we can get wonderfully spacious cars.

[wrongturn]

Originally Posted by ajaiD

Amby was 1662mm in width Link

Compass is 1818mm but can't fit 3 at back as comfortably the reason is thickness of doors and side body. They do eat into the space a lot and this is what I think the reason may be safety over internal space.

Enter Mahindra Xylo. Width 1850mm, boxy design, 3 can easily share the middle row, even 4 can at times. The 3rd row is comfortable for 3 and better than the 2nd row of most others. Only flaw, it looks ugly, to some.

[gkveda]

Apart from national highways, most of the village roads in India are single roads currently and when a lorry is seen in opposite lane, inevitably one of the two vehicles( either car or lorry) has to get down to left side of the road that is un-paved.

And with the current car width, some times when two cars crosses each other on such roads, both drivers have to be careful to not to hit the mirrors.

If the width increases further, there is all chance that cars have to get down to un-paved roads every time it meets a vehicle in opposite lane.

And no to mention about the cars that are parked on roads. Today 40% of the cars are parked on roads covering 20% of the roads. If the car width increases further, vehicles are bound to brush up the parked cars while crossing in narrow lanes.

This increases the probability of accidents further. Hence I am happy with the current width of the cars with the current situation of infrastructure.

Definitely will be happy to see wide roads first and then wider cars as well but don't see possibility in near future

[hellmet]

We're on the market for a replacement car for my dad. He's driven a M800 all his life. We want to stick with a narrow car as he's used to the 800's dimensions, plus our apartment parking is slightly cramped.

When we did our research, we were surprised how wide new cars are. The M800 is 1440mm wide, whereas almost all new small-car hatchbacks are 1600mm+. The S-Presso, at 1520mm, is the only car that we're left with. Alto is off the table due to lack of AMT and low slung seating. I'm sure some of the added width is due to newer safety requirements, which is always a win.

But take the example of the the WagonR. The pre-face lift WagonR was perfect at 1475mm, but they had to make it a fat duck. It now has more space at the rear and a bigger boot, yes. And, I'm sure Maruti did a survey and found out people wanted a wider WagonR or more space, or something. But, why change a wonderful car?

You probably know how easy it is to drive a car like the Alto or the M800 on a narrow street, and how you can just chuck it in a corner and walk off without blocking off significant road space.

For our road conditions and road-space constraints, I'd hate to see wider cars on our roads. The ongoing trend of big cars is one I do not like because it eats into our already poor road space and its management.

I've seen first hand, the SUV-ization of North America and how they're barely able to park themselves into parking spaces that were designed decades ago. When I walk into a parking lot, just 5 years ago, I used to be able to walk between the cars with ease. Now, I cannot without brushing against cars, so I don't.

[Gurgaon_lyon]

As others have also pointed out that though widening cars looks like an easy solution to get more space but has its own problem:

1) as others pointed out driving on our roads (especially the narrow City or rural roads). Hell, even overtaking would need more planning on our unorganised Highways

2)parking would be tricky both on road as well as designated slots and those tight bending entry in to malls/hotels parking basements.. you would scrap those everywhere.

3) turning circle would be more and blind spot would be wider (I know it won't be significant.. but still). Remember that even your all flaunting Elon Musk had to agree on downsizing the Cybertruck because it's becoming unmanageable


4) and last and in my view most important.. it would effect the most important parameter in our market "kitna deti hai".. fuel efficiency.. because of wider frontal surface area aerodynamics would hamper greatly and would effect performance as well as fuel efficiency.

So making cars longer is more preferable than widening them.

[justwheels]

I guess the question will be, how much wide is wide enough.
My earlier celerio could sit 3 people easily on the rear bench, but my current ecosport is not the most comfortable for 3 abreast. The reason being hefty doors of the ecosport and scooped seats, while celerio had thin doors and flat bench.

When B-RV was launched by Honda, I loved the design etc., but the actual product looked too long and narrow. Same with Mobilio. So yes, narrow cars are really not 5 seaters, but then wider cars dont always mean 3 can sit abreast either.

[Raghu M]

The XUV300 is 1821 mm in width making it the widest in the segment. It is even wider than the Creta and Seltos. Seating 3 adults in the rear seat is not a challenge at all. I had a drive to Vijayawada last month and had 5 adults on board with none complaining about shoulder/head and leg room. Everyone was comfortable to the length of even being able to sip some juice without brushing each other's shoulders.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

The XUV300 is 1821 mm in width making it the widest in the segment. It is even wider than the Creta and Seltos.

Owner of a 1835 mm wide TUV 300 reporting for 3-seats-in-the-back duty sir!

To quote from the official team-bhp review of the TUV 300:

At 1,835 mm, not only is the TUV300 wider than the Scorpio and Innova, it's just 5 mm slimmer than the Fortuner!

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Owner of a 1835 mm wide TUV 300 reporting for 3-seats-in-the-back duty sir!

To quote from the official team-bhp review of the TUV 300:

Superb! good to know. The M&M has been a different league in various aspects. Yet, I feel it has not got it's due yet. I am sure with the line of vehicles and the focus on build quality, it will pick up pretty well. I loved the TUV but did not opt for it as it had no petrol engine. I loved the rear seat comfort of the TUV.

[mmxylorider]

Originally Posted by wrongturn

Enter Mahindra Xylo. Width 1850mm, boxy design, 3 can easily share the middle row, even 4 can at times. The 3rd row is comfortable for 3 and better than the 2nd row of most others. Only flaw, it looks ugly, to some.

I owned one for over 5 years (yes, my handle says it all!!). Before even taking the test drive at my home, I had the driver park it in my slot in the apartment. A tight fit, though the front row cleared the slot walls and it was easy for front passenger to exit. The back rows had to exit before parking though.
While wide cars are welcome, such practical problems need to be factored in.