I have a disabled daughter, whose wheelchair folds up. I have had 20 years of minivan, SUV, wagon life, and now am really wanting to drive a sedan. Any ideas? I am thinking Tarus, but not sure if the trunk is right.
The Accord is now a full size car and the Taurus is near as well. Either should fit your needs. The only fool proof way is to arrange a test drive that would include fitting a chair in the trunk accordingly.
You want a big trunk that can SWALLOW a wheelchair or two?? It’s called a “Crown Victoria” Also available as a “Grand Marquis” or a Lincoln “Town Car”…
Nobody under 50 would be caught DEAD in one…Too bad, more great cars for us…
I’m in my mid 20s and love the Crown Vic and it’s brethren. It’s the only full size, six passenger, rear wheel drive, V8, body-on-frame car still being produced since GM killed off the Caprice in the mid '90s. It’s like a relic of the stone age by today’s standards of vehicle design, but has become so refined that you would never know it uses the same basic design of a car from the 1950s. You simply can’t find a simpler, more durable, more comfortable, more powerful, smoother riding car that gets around 25-30mpg. If you would rather have something front wheel drive that doesn’t look like a police car, almost any midsize or full size car on the market should be able to fit a wheelchair in the trunk. The only way to know is to take a wheelchair with you when you go car shopping and see how it fits.
Another note about the Crown Vic: if I remember correctly, the trunk has a very deep well at the back of it that would probably accommodate a wheelchair, folded up, standing up. There is also a parcel shelf in front of the aforementioned well, where the spare tire sits, that has enough room for several grocery bags. A lot of elderly and/or handicapped people buy these cars, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this is sort of a built in feature for this purpose. You might want to check this out.
Accord and the new 2011 Sonota are both “midsized” cars, that are both rated as full size cars (as far as space goes). The Sonota actually has more trunk space, but if you care about the badge on the front, you might want to go for the Accord. I am also in the market for a new sedan and have researched both of these cars, and test drove both. Both have big enough trunks for 4 golf bags, I brought the clubs to test it out. Good Luck!
The best way to find out is to take the wheel chair and daughter with you car shopping. This will give you an idea of how well she likes the ride and how well you can get the chair in and out of the trunk.
I have occasionally helped transport a person with a wheelchair. I have yet to find a car trunk that will not accept a folding wheelchair. I suppose there are a few, possibly a Mazda Miata or some convertibles or other small sports cars.
Some vehicles, including some hatchbacks will require that the folded wheelchair is stored vertically, not horizontally. This, you might find, makes it easier to place and remove the wheelchair as placing a wheelchair horizontally in a trunk requires fairly substantial upper body strength as well as a good backbone. Check out a Pontiac Vibe, for example. Chrysler PT cruiser and VW Golf are others but the Golf might have a high transom to clear.
I am highly impressed with the amount that we can put in the wife’s 2009 Camry.
I agree with the comments that you should take the wheelchair shopping with you. If it doesn’t fit, move on. If the salesman doesn’t let you fit the wheelchair in, take your business elsewhere.
W140 series Mercedes Benz S-Class sedans.
Twotone
Both the Sonata and the Accord have considerably less trunk space than the Taurus. The Taurus and Crown Vic are both listed at 21 cubic feet. The Sonata comes in at 16 and the Accord at 14. Further hurting the Sonata and Accord is the fact that both of them use gooseneck trunk hinges, whereas the Taurus uses compact ones with gas struts that don’t intrude into the trunk (like the 2010 Sonata used).
Ford also brags that the 2008+ Taurus holds eight golf bags. Great, but it only seats 5. :S
For pure trunk space, the Taurus and CV are the clear winners - but how well a wheelchair fits may vary even with the same volume in the trunk.
On this one , you really will have to try each one for fit.
I’ve see far too many LARGE volume trunks with horrendous access.
Trunk lid opening size and dimensions are EVERYTHING when having that constant and particular need.
There’s just something about me, and as I’m walking through the WalMart parking lot, I am very often approached to assist in loading for total strangers.
Bikes, vacuums, grilles, TVs, and 50lb bags of dog food are just a few of the items I get asked to load and I am quite taken aback at the un-accessability of some of these trunks.
On this one , you really will have to try each one for fit.
This is 100% correct. You can’t mess with this.
When we bought our Lexus…we also looked at the Accura TL (basically a Accord). The trunk size on both had about the same cubic inches. HOWEVER…wifes golf clubs and pull cart couldn’t fit in the trunk of the TL EASILY…At 55 she doesn’t want to be be messing around trying to muscle golf clubs in and out of a trunk.
Moral of the story…You’ll have to check around. I know it may be a pain…Bring the chair with you and see what fits…and what’s easy for you.
A mini-van or SUV may be the best choice.
Don’t go by cubic feet…Yes the Taurus is probably bigger…but it may NOT be configured correctly for the wheelchair. A couple of the vehicles my wife looked at…trunks had more cubit feet then the lexus…but the configuration was such that my wifes golf clubs wouldn’t fit…One was too narrow…the other the trunk wouldn’t shut over the bag and her pull cart. And I’ll admit the truck IS bigger then the Lexus’s…but it’s bigger by being deeper (which didn’t do us any good).
New or used? Older full-size designs from GM will equal the Lincoln. A Cadillac DTS, Buick LeSabre, Buick 98 will all hold a lot. The DTS is still built, but it will set you back over $46,000 new (MSRP).
I regularly put the loaner wheelchairs from my mom’s nursing home in the trunk of my '91 Camry during the last years of her life. That car having been small by today’s standards, I suspect most sedans today would work. The best way to tell is to bring the chair and try ot on the demo vehicle.
I never had any trouble putting anything in the trunk of my '64 Buick Wildcat.