Buying guides

Fit Guides

Data-backed answers to what actually fits you.

Short, data-backed answers to “what actually fits me?”, built from published spec sheets rather than forum anecdote.

Shorter drivers

Telescoping wheels, seat height and visors, trim by trim from the makers' sheets. Most women fit here too.

• What a Shorter Driver Can Adjust, Trim by Trim
  Telescoping wheels, seat height and sliding visors for 571 trims of 71 current Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla and Toyota models, straight from the makers' own sheets and sites. The base trim is usually where the gaps are. Older years are on the Compare page.

Older drivers

Crash ratings from IIHS and NHTSA, and what makes a car easy to live with.

• The Safest New Cars for Older Drivers, by the Crash Tests
  IIHS awards and NHTSA star ratings for 115 current cars, SUVs, minivans and pickups, side by side. 66 earn five stars overall from NHTSA, but only 22 also take the IIHS's top award.

Tall drivers

Front headroom and legroom, ranked from the manufacturers' own sheets.

• Cars That Actually Fit If You're 6'4"
  Every other guide quotes legroom and ignores sunroofs. Both are wrong. Here is what the spec sheets actually say.
• The Best Sedans for Tall Drivers
  Sedans are the hardest segment for a tall driver — and the ones tall drivers actually recommend are not the ones that measure best. Here's why.
• The Best SUVs for Tall Drivers
  Seventeen SUVs measured, ranked by real front headroom. A $30,000 Ford beats a $75,000 Audi by up to 4.4 inches.
• The Best Pickup Trucks for Tall Drivers
  Every truck here has more front headroom than every sedan we've measured. If you're 6'4" and tired of compromising, this is the segment that just solves it.
• Minivans for Tall Drivers
  Everyone assumes a minivan is the roomiest thing on the road. For the driver's seat it depends entirely on one option, and we had to correct this page to prove it.
• Wagons for Tall Drivers
  One wagon clears 40 inches of headroom. Every European wagon we could measure sits between 37.4 and 38.7, and most of them lose more to a glass roof they come with as standard.

Families

Room in the back for car seats, kids and everyone else.

• The Family Car With the Most Room in the Back Isn't a Minivan
  Back-seat legroom for 53 cars, SUVs, vans and trucks, straight from the manufacturers' spec sheets. Size on the outside tells you surprisingly little about room for car seats and kids.

Students and new drivers

What a first car really costs to run, and whether you fit in it.

• The Cheapest Car to Buy Isn't the Cheapest to Own
  Every list ranks college cars by sticker price. For a driver under 25, that is the smallest number in the equation — and picking on it costs thousands.

Motorcycle riders

Seat height against inseam, and what the number leaves out.

• Can You Flat-Foot It? Seat Height by Inseam
  Seat height is the number every listing quotes and the one that misleads most. Here is what it actually tells you, and what it doesn't.