[Evyas]

Hi, I’m 6 ft 2 and found the Kushaq and Taigun to be quite good. I’ve driven both sunroof and non-sunroof versions and both were ok, with a little seat adjustment that is. They are surprisingly roomy and spacious even in the rear seats.

Based on your query, other cars I’ve TDriven and felt ok with the space which you can check out were :

XUV300, Renault Triber, Nissan Magnite, XUV700 & Tata Harrier & Nexon.

XUV700, Creta and Harrier are OK space wise in height but you’ll have to check how your feet(mainly knees) are placed since torso and limb length variations & how you sit while driving can make a huge difference even with people of similar height.

Like I had a bizarre experience in that my head kept touching the roof in a ScorpioN!! Might be the seat adjustment knobs were malfunctioning. And knees kept knocking into centre consoles in all Tata cars I drove!

Nexon also might be a bit difficult for the rear passengers - for taller people especially elder ones who can’t bend too much - for ingress due to the sloping roof design towards the rear.

Context : my entire family is tall and my dad is 6ft so every test drive I sit in the back seat and measure it based on my driving position as a worse case scenario of him having to sit right behind me.

[Small Bot]

I concur that the headroom situation in the Grand Vitara was such a disappointing factor. It even made me run from Nexa to Arena and book the Brezza instead.

The cars which I'd like to suggest for you, and in that order of priority are:
Honda City:
Massive space inside, I'm 189 cms myself with a large circumference too, and the seats just engulfed me, they were so comfortable. You get acres of leg room. But you might need to embrace a laid-back driving position and a low centre of gravity. If you're used to a sedan, driving the City might not be an issue. Also, the CVT has been slightly improved, and nowhere near as sluggish as the 4th Gen City's.

Mahindra XUV3OO:
The car almost feels like they sacrificed the boot space to give you more cabin space. Probably the best cabin space in a sub-4m crossover. Also, the new XUV 3OO TurboSport seems to be a brilliant driver's car by all accounts. Almost explosive in the way it performs, the only drawback is that this best variant of the car comes only with a Manual transmission currently.

Maruti Brezza:
This will always be a head-over-heart decision. It's the jack-of-all-trades car with a reliable AT, which will be a solid workhorse for the next decade or so. Great headroom and legroom, as it is an unusually tall and wide car for a sub-4m Maruti. Parts and service are easily available and it will be relatively fuss-free. It's not even close to an enthusiast's car, but it never claimed to be one.

If I recollect correctly, you could get all three at or around 17 Lakhs on-road.

Please test drive each of these to see what would suit you. I'd advise taking your family with you for those test drives too, as sometimes they might point out stuff which you might not notice from the driver's seat.

[AdB1991]

Originally Posted by BrabarusMark

It's also a perfect fit for my height (6ft3in) and is feels open inside for my mom to not feel claustrophobic.


Do provide any insights (especially if you're a tall driver) as well as any additional cars I should check out. Our budget is strictly locked to a maximum of 17 lakh and the car should be a petrol.

There are already a lot of suggestions that would fit your purpose, so thought of adding a new option that will definitely be fit for your height and won't be claustrophobic at all. Do take a test drive of XL 6 / Ertiga (whichever more suitable for your use case). I'm 6'1+ myself and had Ertiga as my daily car for about 5 years. Never ever I felt any shortage of headroom and knee room, and the seat can be set easily to a position where there would still be headroom left for you. This might not be an exciting driving option, but purely from your height and roominess requirement, it's a good bet and is well within your budget.

[lpudr]

Have you considered MG Hector? I'm not sure about the features your looking for but the base variant would be in your budget. Oh man! The room that car has, would put a smile on everyone's face.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by AdB1991

. Do take a test drive of XL 6 / Ertiga (whichever more suitable for your use case). I'm 6'1+ myself and had Ertiga as my daily car for about 5 years. Never ever I felt any shortage of headroom and knee room, and the seat can be set easily to a position where there would still be headroom left for you.t.

The XL6/ Ertiga is a severely under rated vehicle. My friend has one and it is absolutely comfortable and spacious. More than enough headroom and legroom. Im 6.2 and find it super comfy.
So much so that we rented one with a driver/ guide for a full week’s touring in Sep 2022 - Chandigarh and Simla and all. I was very happy with the choice.
No need to squeeze into the back or the front. Doors open nice and wide. Huge amount of luggage room.
Etc.

[inwester]

Originally Posted by BrabarusMark

It's also a perfect fit for my height (6ft3in) and is feels open inside for my mom to not feel claustrophobic.

Only issue is the low ingress that won't be too friendly for my aging parents.


Do provide any insights (especially if you're a tall driver) as well as any additional cars I should check out. Our budget is strictly locked to a maximum of 17 lakh and the car should be a petrol.

None of the cars you have shortlisted will fit tall people in all 4 seats. In your budget the only two cars are Kia Carens and XL6.

I bought a Kia Carens 2 weeks ago and passenger who is 6'4" can sit comfortably in first and second row. Passengers who are 6 and under can sit comfortably in the 3rd row. I bought the Diesel automatic, and while it's not going to set the charts on fire it's capable enough to ferry around 5-6 people in town and can touch 90-100 easily on highways. It won't make the inner baby driver in you happy but I "felt" the car was reasonably well put together (yes 3 stars GNCAP) inside out. The ingress and egress is super easy. It has all the features one needs. The cabin feels nice, is roomy and airy. For whatever reason the car made me happy (maybe because it's only 22 lakhs OTR in a sea of overpriced and under-featured luxury market) and doesn't feel cheap from inside. The last 3 cars I bought (US) were Audi A5, Volvo XC90 and a Tesla, so take it for what's it's worth.

Give it a try.

Btw I also own a Honda City gen 5 CVT and won't recommend it for you. In 1 year we've had it (8k km) there's so much rattling and noise plus you won't be able to fit in it on any seats. I'm just under 6' and can barely sit with 1 or 2 inches of headroom. The engine gearbox combo is very lethargic and fuel efficiency in the city is 9-10.

[BrabarusMark]

UPDATE:

Thank you to everyone who shared their insights. Really helped shortlist a few more cars we weren't considering earlier. Over the weekend, I got a chance to check out the Kushaq and Mahindra SUVs. I'll share my experience with these cars below.

Skoda Kushaq:

We were initially dismissing this car because it looked more compact than the Grand Vitara and the Creta. Visited the showroom as we were close to one.

First impression: It's like stepping into a TARDIS!

Immediately felt more spacious than the Grand Vitara and felt on par with the Creta. The boot felt deeper compared to the shallow-feeling, but wider boot on the Grand Vitara. Ergonomics appeared to be similar to the Grand Vitara with overall better headroom for me in the front and back. Under thigh support was also slightly better on the Kushaq. Overall I would say the test seating has changed my opinion on the car. The test drive will be a different matter and I'm interested to see what differences I feel between the 1.0 and the 1.5.

Mahindra XUV700:

This is a huge car and it feels like it, inside and out. I test seated on the AX3 display car and wasn't able to use the telescopic adjustment to get into my ideal position. Apart from this, the car really feels spacious, as it should. However, the large size makes it an overkill for my mostly city commute. The high ground clearance is another concern for my parents. My mom enjoyed the space inside but she did have trouble getting out of the car, which I foresee becoming a major problem for her later.

The major issue with the XUV700 is the price that is pushing right on the limit of my 17 lakh budget for the AX3 variant.

Updated Testing Schedule:

1. Maruti Fronx: Have to see if the Baleno dimensions translate into a compact SUV.
2. Maruti Jimny: This might get rejected by my mother, but it's worth checking out the ergonomics of the car.
3. Volkswagen Taigun: This will be more for an exterior comparison with the Kushaq.
4. Kia Carens: Recommended by quite a few folks here and it does look spacious from the outside.
5. MG Hector and Astor: Apart from the fuel economy, these two do appear to have good amount of space inside.

I'll try to keep this thread as active as possible to help other tall drivers shortlist their cars.

[appupandya]

Considering your preference driving style and height i think you should seriously consider MG hector.

XUV is the roomiest of all the cars considered as options here. It's got the best under thigh support as well. It's got a fantastic engine as well. But roomiest doesn't mean it's rommier from all sides. The seats of the car are already quite high up so head room for driver can be an issue specially models with sunroof.

[Evyas]

I concur with a lot of the others who have mentioned it. The MG Hector is REALLY roomy. The only car I sat in where I had room to stretch my legs a little in the back seat when the front seat was adjusted to my driving position!