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i ahve a year to go on the lease of the nissan juke hybrid.
but i am almost at the point of needing a chair of some discription.
not a scooter type as i would probably only use it at destinations so to speak, supermarket, garden centre or even contry park. may even get me out more. theres nothing here locally so i wouldnt be going from home in it to somewhere and back. it would be taken sonewhere to be used if you see what i mean.
theres a carbon fibre very lightweight one around 1k and a not so lightweight slightly 2nd hand for half that.
i was thinking a saloon or estate would be easier to deal with than lifting into something like an suv. but then getting down into a lower seat would be harder.
an experiences much appreciated as i think i may have to suck it and see prior to changing the car.
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There’s such a huge variation in sizes of SUVs these days, and all those available through Motability are the small to medium ones (even though they insist on classifying some of the mid size ones as large 🙄), I should think that your best bet is one of those. We have a mid size SUV (Tucson) and I find the boot height fine for loading my wife’s collapsible manual wheelchair plus, of course, you have the benefit of the slightly higher seating position. An estate will obviously have a lower sill height, but you then have a normal car height seating position. There is a 3rd category, which is estates that are very marginally raised, but I’m out of touch as to which models exist these days and whether or not any are on Motability. I’m thinking of cars like the Volvo ‘Cross Country’ estates that were very slightly hiked up. I think there’s a Focus Active but I’ve no idea whether that’s higher or just a styling thing to make it look like it is. Hopefully others can advise.
My mum has a Hyundai Kona, which quite easily fits a folding scooter in the boot and room for shopping bags ontop!
I believe, you are on your own, so you don’t need nothing too big and if necessary you could always fold all or part of the rear seats down, which would give more than enough room. If the chair will go in sideways strapped agains’t the rear seats, it gives a bit of room in front for shopping bags.
Nissan Qashqai, Renault Austral or even another Juke/Toyota CHR with the rear seat possibly folded.
From the sounds of your requirements an MPV would have suited you best, high seating, low boot sill, they are mostly van derived now and the scheme is not exactly flush with choices as manufacturers have switched to SUV’s. There’s the Stellantis Peugeot Rifter, the Berlingo, Vauxhall Combo and Toyota – all much the same car seating & boot wise (sadly, mostly electric only). Then the VW Caddy/Ford Tourneo Connect – same car but different…I think the VW Touran is still available, the last of the very flexible MPV’s that every manufacturer flooded the market with not long ago.
Lifting into an SUV has not been an issue for us as long as there is no lip to the sill. Lowering into and lifting out of a boot is not something you’ll be wanting to do. As Glos Guy said, there’s so many choices and sizes, it will really depend on your own comfort choices with regards to seating/controls.
The raised estates are largely gone in favour of SUV’s. The Focus Active is 30mm higher than standard, I think it’s the only raised estate on the scheme & not long now till the Focus is discontinued entirely by Ford.
In life, it's not who you know that's important, it's how your wife found out.
i could do with renting a chair for a while to see how it works. the berlingo type vehicle may appeal, wont have to lift too high which is a major appeal given the lower back issues. and the drivers seat pretty much where i am.
i may look at something like the qashqai it being a bit longer than the juke a chair may fit behind the drivers seat which would be less height to lift.
kezo i think the chairs i am looking at will do exactly what your suggesting sat up against the back seats maybe secured with a bungee. the only thing i am a bit worried about short of getting a hoist is getting it up and in the back aint great at the moment. the jukes boot is fine it has the flat load thingy that you can drop to gain height but at the cost of loading over a lip. but the space behind rivers seat isnt great. as you say it would be jst me and the chair so something lower and smaller with the back seats down would be doable. wheres the suzuki jimny when its needed lol.
I think Berlingo derived are overkill for your needs imo and I don’t think it comes with a walk in ramp as standard (might be mistaken), plus the Petrol/diesel are manual, which may not suit you. The rest in the group, Combo & Rifter are electric, which is pointless, as you can’t charge at home.
As estates go for example on WPMS:
the SEAT Leon starts at £0 or £239 (auto) + total allowance for the SE with driver assistance pack and the Leon FR
Suzuki Swace (Toyota Corrola) 1.8 hybrid motion auto £643 + toal allowance or 1.8 hybrid Ultra auto £1643 + total allowance.
Vauxhall Astra 1.2 turbo £1193 + total allowance.
However are you going to struggle getting in/out af a typical car derived hight, when perhaps putting too much priority on lifting a chair in and out. I know you can get a grant from WPMS for the additional cost of auto but, won’t they meet the extra cost of having a hoist fitted, then at least your covered with ride height and getting the chair in and out! @BigDave is the one to ask here, as he’s aware of all the in and outs 🙂
ah thats a left field sugestion i like the corrolla so the swace would be interesting.
yes, i think i have a lot of testing to do to work out what to prioritise.
i think i need to find a suplier with stock of each wheelchair that will let me try and load them.
I am also looking for the best car on Motability scheme for my needs – we all vary on what we need and what we prioritise. I save up between lease terms to afford the extras (like the safety packs or hoists) but the advance payments have rocketed for the car specs I need. Previously only ever paid nothing in advance or £500 at most. Now it’s around £3000. But I have to find the money or my life would be restricted and my independence would be lost.
– mostly drive alone
– need automatic transmission
– have folding powerchair
– need powered tailgate (having struggled with boot strap fitted to current Citroen Aircross)
– need auto lift hoist so boot space and angle of boot door is important.
– need wide opening passenger and driver door.
– no driveway – so street parking (blue badge) has been a bonus due to “resident parking” or restricted parking. So need good parking assistance with the bigger cars.
– can’t manage with plug-in electric as do lots of long drives but would like to try hybrid this time.
I get annoyed with changing availability of cars and makes and this year asked for extension (which I was given). Have been in Motability Scheme for past 20 years and it’s been great – but never had the same car twice as best ones we’re not in the scheme the next time)I would prefer not to have a big car but it seems I need one as even with the smallest of hoists the boot space needed is “4-5 suitcases” + a horizontal clearance to the floor for hoist arm and another horizontal clearance for the floor fixings. But end up using back seats as my boot as my powerchair “lives” in my boot.
I find it all a nightmare! On top of that there’s the comfort (or otherwise) of getting into a seat with those “comfort lips” around them making it harder to get in and out! or the lack of holding straps/bars to get in and out.
I think I am going for a Ford Kuga ST Line (coping with seats in favour of boots size and shape) and will take one for a test drive next week. But the suggestion of a Suzuki Swace in a previous post has made me think again (I used to love my Toyota Corolla!). I am also thinking of the Nissan Qashkai.
Does anyone have any suggestions or comments about any of these three? Or others? Thank youHi and welcome to the WMC forum. As this is your first post here, can I point out that instead of posting on someone else’s post, it’s considered good form to create your own post which is specifically for your question.
Thanks
joss
Joss
Current car: Peugeot 308 GT Premium 1.2 Pure tech Petrol.
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