Big Retro Cars vs Modern Cars - times have changed!

[minininjarob]

Hi All,

I've been discussing with friends I know about buying a Volvo 940 Estate. They all say they are HUGE and start making jokes about where am I going to park it etc etc....

I don't really care to be honest but as we all know cars have gotten bigger over the years so did a little research....

940 Estate is 4.84m long with a 9m turning circle (according to Parkers). Thats pretty big. However my friend who was one of the joke makers has a new Passat estate - so I checked the numbers. His car is 4.77m long (10cm shorter) with a mahooosive 11m turning circle!!!!!!! 

I saw the thread with Felix's 924 parked in a car park next to some modern cars and it looked tiny - I shared this with my friend who had recently taken a pic of an older Mini next to a new Range Rover......

YOWSERS!!!!



So I wondered how a NEW Mini (one of those 4dr faux-offroader monstrosities) compared with a Mk1 Range Rover.....

My friend (who is a photoshop expert) came back with this, using some dimensions he found on the internet.........
It is very accurate as he does computer animation and 3D design for large building products.

 

Eye-opening stuff!

Anyone got any more examples?

[stevecrx]

BMW F20 1 Series Hatch = 4324mm length
BMW E30 3 Series Saloon = 4325mm length

[minininjarob]

Shamelessly stolen from Felix's thread - mods please correct me if this is wrong on here.



Looks almost like a toy car - although I think every one would agree its the one we would climb into in that pic most of all!

[R3TR0_R0B]

Agreed! Thought of this when I saw this pic in the other thread.

[HARDCORE]

[thorne]

My daily drive is a 940 Volvo, it's big but not that big, I think the square-ness of it makes it look bigger, and the turning circle is actually quite tight (apparently something Volvos lost when they went fwd) much tighter than the mondeo I had previously

[Onne]

RWD tends to have a smaller turning cycle. No drive shafts on the front after all!

[mylittletony]

I used to be able to swing my 940 into our parking space at our old flat in one go. Xantia, fail. Rover 45, fail. Peugeot 107, pass. Puts it into perspective!

I also had the preconception that the 940 was a weighty old beast, but actually trips the scales at something like 1420kg, mine had the boost upped to give ~190bhp.

Compare this to my previously owned Audi S3, which was 1430kg and 210hp. Pretty even pegging once you factor in quattro losses.

And you can't get a sofa in the back of an S3

[mexicansteve]

I remember as a kid thinking my Capri was huge and probably difficult to park, nowadays it can get lost in a car park amongst the fiestas and pug 306's.

Although this shot makes it look almost flat!

[thorne]

I think the proportions make older cars look bigger, people see a picture of a capri and think its a big car due to the long bonnet but compared to something like a Ford focus the modern stuff is a lot chunkier in general

[joem83]

Taken a few years back, Mini's make everything else look big lol.

[Copey]

interesting topic, got me thinking about the car i own against the cars it replaced and the car that replaced it

so, start with the car the Sierra replaced, the Cortina:

The mk1 Cortina

Wheelbase: 98 in (2,489 mm)
Length: 168.25 in (4,274 mm) (saloon)
168.5 in (4,280 mm) (estate)
Width: 62.5 in (1,588 mm)
Height: 56.5 in (1,435 mm) (saloon)
57.75 in (1,467 mm) (estate)
Curb weight: 1,736 lb (787 kg) (De Luxe)
2,072 lb (940 kg) (Estate)

the mk2 is very similar, so not much point in stats

mk3 gettin a little bigger

Wheelbase: 101 in (2,565 mm)
Length: 167.75 in (4,261 mm) (saloon)
171.5 in (4,356 mm) (estate)
Width: 67 in (1,702 mm)
Height: 52 in (1,321 mm)

mk4/5 are very similar to the mk3

then the Sierra replaced the Cortina and got a bit bigger

Wheelbase: 102.7 in (2,609 mm)
Length: 178.4 in (4,531 mm)
Width: 68 in (1,727 mm)
Height: 53.8 in (1,367 mm)

then the mk1 Mondeo replaced the Sierra, again, getting bigger

Wheelbase: 2,704 mm (106.5 in)
Length: 4,481 mm (176.4 in) (saloon, hatchback)
4,631 mm (182.3 in) (estate)
Width: 1,747 mm (68.8 in) (saloon, hatchback)
1,745 mm (68.7 in) (estate)
Height: 1,372 mm (54.0 in) (saloon, hatchback)
1,391 mm (54.8 in) (estate)

skip along about 20 years and the new mk 5 Mondeo (out this year)

Wheelbase: 2,850 mm (112.2 in)
Length: 4,869 mm (191.7 in)
Width: 1,852 mm (72.9 in)
Height: 1,476 mm (58.1 in)
Curb weight: 1,507–1,554 kg (3,322–3,426 lb)

so bascically Fords mid range Saloon has grown from 4,274mm long to 4,869mm so its 595mm longer and 1,588mm wide to 1,852mm, so 264mm wider!

in contrast, the Granada which was a BIG car back in its day is 4,572mm long and 1,791mm so still substantially smaller than the current Mondeo!

its also funny to look at the Capri as at 4,262mm its still a similar length to some of todays Coupes

couple of quick examples
Nissan 350Z - 4,303mm
Toyota GT86 - 4,240mm

[Jizmondo Scrotmondo]

Modern Hatchbacks are massive compared to their old school counterparts. I remember when I was a kid, thinking that the Mk2 Golf was huge. The Golf is a good example of a car swelling over time. I think the latest Golf looks smaller than the Mk4 but according to the figures, it's bigger.

Mk1 - (H) 54.9 inches (L) 145.9 inches (W) 63.4 inches

Mk2 - (H) 55.7 inches (L) 156.9 inches (W) 65.6 inches

Mk3 - (H) 56.2 inches (L) 160.4 inches (W) 66.7 inches

Mk4 - (H) 56.7 inches (L) 163.3 inches (W) 68.3 inches

Mk5 - (H) 58.2 inches (L) 165.5 inches (W) 69.3 inches

Mk6 - (H) 58.2 inches (L) 165.3 inches (W) 70.0 inches

Mk7 - (H) 57.2 icnhes (L) 167.5 inches (W) 70.8 inches

So the Mk7 is about a foot and half longer than the Mk1.....

[Deleted]

I was talking to a transporter driver the other day and he said the latest Astra takes up more space than the first vectra, .so I think they all make them bigger these days.

[Del]

Feb 26, 2014 18:00:13 GMT Copey said:

in contrast, the Granada which was a BIG car back in its day is 4,572mm long and 1,791mm so still substantially smaller than the current Mondeo!

I knew it! I was convinced my Granada was smaller than my Mum's Mondeo but she wouldn't have it
I know for sure that it has a lower roofline than a lot of modern cars, even superminis.

[minininjarob]

The height of modern cars seems to hide their length well, plus they tend to be more "stumpy" in their styling.

The seating position is therefore higher, the current focus feels very high (getting one soon!).

Give me a long bonnet and a long flat saloon boot any day!

If we didn't have tall AND heavy cars now they would probably be more aerodynamic and handle better too.

[minininjarob]

I knew it! I was convinced my Granada was smaller than my Mum's Mondeo but she wouldn't have it

My dad had a mk2 Granada back in the day and I thought it was HUGE. 

Saw a very nice one round Huddersfield recently and it looked TINY next to other cars!

[Copey]

Feb 26, 2014 19:15:41 GMT Del said:

Feb 26, 2014 18:00:13 GMT Copey said:

in contrast, the Granada which was a BIG car back in its day is 4,572mm long and 1,791mm so still substantially smaller than the current Mondeo!

I knew it! I was convinced my Granada was smaller than my Mum's Mondeo but she wouldn't have it
I know for sure that it has a lower roofline than a lot of modern cars, even superminis.

those figures are for a mk1, but the mk2's and 3's are still shorter at 4,720mm

[93fxdl]

I learned to drive in a mk4 zephyr which was huge, back then, my friends called it the zephiac, on a friends stag night we got 14 in it, which was a touch cramped. Just wondering how the zephyr/zodiac compared to modern motors
Ttfn Glenn

[gazzab1978]

stolen from a member on e21net, a e21 3 series next to a moden 3 series