It’s not just Chelsea tractors, all cars are fatter

SOME of Britain’s most popular cars have become too wide to fit through width restrictions on roads and in car parks.

Analysis by insurer Direct Line has found best- selling cars have become almost a fifth ‘fatter’ in the last 20 years.

As the popularity of SUVs – so called Chelsea tractors – has boomed, car manufacturers have adapted by widening some of their other, more ordinary, types of car.

The report found that the 20 bestselling cars this year – which included the Ford Focus, the Mini Cooper and the Fiat 500 – had an average width of 6ft 5in, excluding wing mirrors. When these cars were compared with the most popular vehicles in 1998 – including the Ford Mondeo, the Vauxhall Cavalier, the Rover 214 and the Nissan Micra – the average width came in at 5ft 5in.

Britain’s best selling car – the Ford Fiesta – is 6ft 5in wide today, compared to 5ft 10in back in 1998.

The Ford Focus has grown from 6ft 6in to 6ft 7in wide, the Vauxhall Astra from 6ft 1in to 6ft 7in. The Nissan Micra has grown the most, from 5ft 3in to 6ft 5in. But, while bigger cars might make their passengers more comfortable, they also make them easier to bump and scratch.

Direct Line warned that some family cars have expanded to such an extent over the years they cannot fit between the bollards on some of the tightest width restrictions. The narrowest are just 6ft 6in.

Rob Miles of Direct Line said: ‘ This research shows that car shapes have changed dramatically, though roads remain the same width, so it is becoming harder to manoeuvre.’