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June 04, 2010

The Headroom

I ran a comparison of the several headroom specifications, and it looks like the number is not as meaningless as I thought... Behold (inches):

Toyota FJ Cruiser : 41.3: - I fit comfortably
Toyota RAV4 (3Gen) : 40.8 - I fit ok
Toyota Yaris (3D) : 39.4 - I fit barely
Lexus IS : 37.2 - I am unable to fit no matter what I try, and I tried hard and long (moonroof is mandatory on IS).
Lexus HS : 38.0 - I am unable to fit.

What we see here is that in general these figures give us a rough idea of what to expect, although the number for the HS is a lie, according to my experience: it is not easier on my neck than IS at all. Perhaps some creative accounting was involved.

Just for kicks I went and checked the spec for Mercedes C300: 37.1, BMW 128i: 37.9, Infinity G37: 37.7. The is no hope. I am destined to be confined to SUVs forever. On the other hand, Yaris?

UPDATE: Kazriko pointed me to the database at theautochannel.com that permits to sort by headroom (within a body style, but sedans include Fit). If we discard the cars in which I would not want to be caught dead and too freaking expensive ones, we get:

Honda Accord : 41.4
Infinity G37 sedan : 40.5
Infinity G37 coupe : 39.4
Mitsu Lancer Evo : 40.6
Nissan Sentra : 40.6
Nissan Altima : 40.6
Honda Fit : 40.4
MINI (no sunroof) : 38.8

The winner is clearly G37, because it seems like they make one without a sunroof (unlike Lexus, Benz, and BMW -- for shame, guys). The one I listed above is probably a sunroof model. That is of course only if we discard Accord for being HUEG, which appears to be the right kind of big. I remember testing them and being suitably impressed. I tested Fit too, and it's really nice, terrific actually.

Now, Nissan also has a few consumer cars that I forgot about. Poor Nissan, nobody likes you. Although strange, where is the Z? Or non-Evo Lancer, for that matter. And finally, MINI's number is suspiciously low, but I know that I can fit in it, although as tight as in Yaris. But perhaps it was my sheer willpower and self-delusion.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 05:09 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 389 words, total size 2 kb.

1 If you don't mind ugly cars, you could try the Nissan Cube. It claims 42.6 inches of headroom. It looks like you'd have trouble with roughly half of the SUVs out there too. Like the Xterra that I'm planning on picking up.

Posted by: Kazriko at June 04, 2010 11:24 PM (kLB6m)

2 Ohh. Just found this site. http://db.theautochannel.com/db/newcarbuyersguide/rank_car_criteria.php?stylename=Sedan&titleid=105902 Pick a style of car and a stat, and it gives you the specs sorted by that stat. Maybe you could use that as a starting point? For sedans, it claims that some Honda Accordions (LX and LX-P) have 41.4 inches.

Posted by: Kazriko at June 04, 2010 11:32 PM (kLB6m)

3 The Cube isn't just "ugly", it's a Lovecraftian horror.

Posted by: Mitch H. at June 07, 2010 12:24 PM (jwKxK)

4 Some people really are that shallow, huh.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at June 07, 2010 04:13 PM (/ppBw)

5 Yeah, heh. It really is awful isn't it? But it's not an SUV and has the headroom, but that's the only redeeming quality about it.

Posted by: Kazriko at June 08, 2010 11:41 AM (pH05c)

6 42" by the datasheet.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at June 08, 2010 03:31 PM (/ppBw)

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