Car measurement guide (view report contents)
Key measurements: getting a wheelchair in
This section provides information on:
Measurements and trials
Sill height
Width of opening
Height of opening
Floor length
Floor width
Practical tests
Measurements and trials
We collected measurements of the boot and hatch of each car. We tried getting a largish manual wheelchair into the boot or hatch of each car with the car seats folded in different ways. See Practical tests.
For more information about getting a wheelchair into a car, and transporting it, including information about the equipment available to help, see Ricability’s guide Getting a wheelchair into a car.
Sill height
It can be hard to lift a wheelchair over a high sill. We’ve measured the height of the sill from the ground and from the inside of the car.
- ‘0’ means that there was no inner sill to lift the wheelchair over
- Figures in red mean the lower half of the rear hatch door folded down, to form a kind of shelf behind the tailgate.
Width of opening
We’ve measured the opening of the boot or hatch at the bottom, middle and top.
- If the aperture had curved corners we measured from the point just after the curve
- the measurements were of the actual practical width, and took account of any inner moulding that projected into the opening
Height of opening
Two measurements are given:
- Top to bottom. This the height of the opening – measured from top to bottom following the angle of the opening:
- Roof to floor. This is the vertical height of the boot or hatch, taken from the floor to the top of the aperture, at the centre.
Floor length
The length of the boot is the distance from the inside of the rear sill to the back of the seats. This measurement was taken at floor level. The table gives three sets of measurements. These are:
- with back row/s of seats upright - none of the vehicle's seats are folded for this measurement. Some vehicles with three rows of seats have very little space when all three rows are upright. If you would normally travel with the third row folded down, use the measurement below rather than this one.
- back row of seats folded down
- middle and back row of seats folded - applies only to vehicles with three rows of seats.
Figures in blue mean that seats have to be physically taken out of the car, because they do not fold far enough.
Note: In the Motability Price Guide, information is given about whether a typical manual wheelchair can be fitted into the back. The guide tells you if a folded wheelchair will fit in with all car seats upright, and if an unfolded wheelchair will fit in with the rear row of seats folded. Note that with some vehicles with three rows of seat, you can get more space by folding the third and middle row of seats down.
Floor width
This measurement was taken at floor level, at the narrowest point – this was usually the space between the two wheel arches.
Practical tests
The tests
To get a practical idea of how easy it was to fit a wheelchair into a car, testers tried it with
- a wheelchair fully folded
- a wheelchair partly folded (the back folded down and footplates folded up)
- and with the car seats in various positions.
The wheelchair used was the Remploy MSMC1126.
Fully folded, and with the back down and footplates folded
up and swung back, the wheelchair was 735 mm high, 330mm wide and 805
mm long:
With its back down and footplates folded up and swung back, it was 700mm high, 740mm wide and 805 mm long.
Test results: wheelchair fully folded
The factsheets tells you if the wheelchair would fit in with:
The back row of car seats upright ,andt he parcel shelf in place (ie the wheelchair would be concealed by the shelf)with the chair lying flat
- with the chair standing (the parcel shelf removed)
- with the chair lying flat
- with the chair standing
The back row of car seats folded
- with the chair lying flat
- with the chair standing
For seven seaters, with the back and middle row of car seats folded
- with the chair lying flat
- with the chair standing
Test results: wheelchair unfolded
The factsheets tells you if the wheelchair would fit in with:
The back row of car seats upright and
- the parcel shelf in place (ie the wheelchair would be concealed by the shelf)
- the parcel shelf removed
- the back row of car seats folded
For seven seaters, with the back and middle row of car seats folded
Key
yes would fit in
no would not fit in
! tight fit or required special action such as removing
the parcel shelf
nps not applicable—no parcel shelf
forward rear seat had to be in its most forward position
remove seat had to be taken out of the car altogether
FS could only be fitted in facing sideways
FF could only be fitted in facing forwards
FR could only be fitted in facing backwards
Figures in red mean that the parcel shelf folded or was retractable to provide room for the wheelchair.
Report Contents
How to use this guide
Choosing a car - search tool
Choosing a car - all the car factsheets
Key measurements - getting in and out
Key measurements - getting a wheelchair
in
About the research
Back to top
