Why do so many good cars become bad fits at home?

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Testing a car’s real-world fit starts at the garage door.

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You glance at length, width and height on a spec sheet, think “sweet as,” and sign the dotted line. Then delivery day arrives and you’re crab‑walking into a 2.4 m garage door, mirrors squeaking past the jamb, and the tailgate can’t open because the shelving nicked 20 cm you forgot about.

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I’ve seen it play out dozens of times. One Auckland family swapped a compact hatch for a mid‑size SUV “only 12 cm longer.” It fit on paper. In practice, their driveway turn needed a two‑point shuffle every single time and the roof box made the local mall off‑street car park a no‑go at 2.1 m clearance. Small numbers, big pain.

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Here’s the counterintuitive bit: the dimensions that determine daily happiness aren’t the headline length/width/height. It’s the mirror span, turning circle, door opening, and your real‑world buffers.

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What measurements really decide whether it fits?

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Most buyers assume: “If it’s shorter than my garage and narrower than the door, I’m fine.” That’s like judging a pair of boots by the sole length and ignoring ankle height and the laces. The fit you care about is operational fit: how the vehicle moves through and lives in your space.

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Start asking different questions:

What’s the width including mirrors and with mirrors folded?
What’s the kerb‑to‑kerb turning circle, and can I actually swing into my driveway?
How much breathing room will I have either side of the doors, above the roof, and front/rear once parked?

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Key terms, decoded quickly:

Overall length: bumper to bumper. Matters for garage depth and street bays.
Overall width: often quoted excluding mirrors; including mirrors is what scrapes door frames. Note folded‑mirror width if available.
Overall height: roof to ground. Roof rails, antennas, roof boxes and bikes add height.
Wheelbase: centre of front axle to centre of rear axle. Affects interior space and turning geometry.
Track width: distance between wheels on the same axle. Influences how “plant‑wide” the car sits.
Overhangs: bumper beyond each axle. Long overhangs add length but don’t help turning.
Ground clearance: lowest fixed point to ground. Matters for ramps, gutters and parking blocks.
Turning circle: diameter needed for a U‑turn (kerb‑to‑kerb or wall‑to‑wall). Critical for tight approaches.

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How big are Aussie and Kiwi garages and parking bays, really?

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The built world here has its own “spec sheet,” and it’s not always friendly to bigger SUVs and utes.

Off‑street parking bays: Australian/New Zealand practice typically uses about 2.4-2.6 m wide × 5.4 m long for standard 90° bays (AS/NZS‑style guidance). End bays next to walls need extra width.
On‑site residential bays: many councils work with 2.5 m × 5.0-5.4 m. Aisles are tight in older buildings.
Public car‑park height: 2.1 m is a very common posted maximum in covered facilities. Many utes with racks, or SUVs with roof boxes, get caught out.
Single‑car garage footprints: a comfortable internal size is roughly 3.0-3.6 m wide × 5.4-6.0 m deep. Tighter than that and door‑opening room disappears fast.
Garage doors: typical single door openings are 2.4 m or 2.7 m wide; heights are commonly 2.1 m, with 2.4 m available.

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Now layer in vehicles:

A typical mid‑size SUV can be 1.85-1.95 m wide at the body, 2.10-2.20 m mirror‑to‑mirror. Through a 2.4 m door, that leaves 10-15 cm per side. Any skew and you’re on the paint.
Utes and long‑roof wagons run 5.3-5.9 m in overall length. A 5.4-6.0 m garage depth gives only 10-35 cm at either end after safe buffers.
Roof boxes often add 30-40 cm. Bike racks and rear‑mounted spares add length and height.

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The costs of getting it wrong aren’t just cosmetic. Expect:

Dings and scuffs that can easily top a few hundred dollars to repair.
Lost time every day shimmying into place.
Stress, noise, and the creeping regret that you “bought too much car” for your space.

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What does a misfit feel like in real life?

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Picture this: it’s bucketing down. You nose up to your 2.4 m garage door. Mirrors out, you’ve got two hands on the wheel and one eye on the downpipe. The reversing sensors are shrieking even before you cross the threshold because your shelving nibs 200 mm into the bay. You edge forward, the roller door closes, and you can’t open the driver’s door wide enough to lift the pram out of the footwell. Later, you drive to a hospital appointment and hit a 2.1 m height bar with a sickening thud because you forgot the bikes were on the roof.

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Now flip it. The same car chosen with operational fit in mind glides through a 2.7 m door, has 700 mm spare on each side for door swing, 600 mm at the nose for the workbench, and 250 mm above the roof rails. You park once. You exhale. That’s the difference you’re buying.

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How should you choose? Use the CAR‑FIT framework

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C Clearance: Aim for practical buffers, not “just fits.”\n
- Side: 600-900 mm each side once parked for comfortable door opening and passage.
- Front/rear: 450-900 mm at each end to protect bumpers and access the boot/bonnet.
- Vertical: 150-300 mm above the tallest point you’ll actually run (rails, box, bikes).
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A Approach: Will it physically swing into place?\n
- Compare the vehicle’s kerb‑to‑kerb turning circle with your driveway geometry and garage set‑back. Long wheelbase + big turning circle = wider swing needed.
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R Roof: Know your true height.\n
- Include rails, antennas and any accessories. Keep 2.1 m public car‑park limits in mind.
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F Footprint: Go beyond body width.\n
- Mirror‑to‑mirror width is the real number at doorways. Note the folded‑mirror width if you’ll rely on it.
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I Interfaces: Door openings, pillars, shelves and utilities where you park.\n
- A narrow 2.4 m garage door can be the pinch point even if the garage is roomy inside.
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T Test: Always do a real‑world trial.\n
- Replicate your approach at the dealer, or test fit at home with chalk/masking tape.
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Questions to ask sales staff or in the spec sheet:

Is the quoted width including or excluding mirrors? What’s the folded‑mirror width?
What’s the kerb‑to‑kerb turning circle for this wheel/tyre package?
Exact height with roof rails/antenna? Any factory roof‑box options and added height?
Overhang lengths and ground clearance at the front for steep driveways?

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What’s the step‑by‑step to check fit before you buy?

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Tools: 8 m tape measure, laser distance measure (nice to have), masking tape or chalk, and a helper.

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Door opening width and clear height at the narrowest point. Measure the nibs/jambs, not just the panel.
Internal width and depth, wall‑to‑wall and door to back wall. Subtract anything that sticks out (shelves, meters, hot‑water cylinders).
Ceiling height along the path the tailgate will sweep, and note any beams or openers.
Driveway approach: distance from kerb to door, fence lines, and any tight turns.

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Get the right vehicle numbers:

Overall length; overall width including mirrors; folded‑mirror width; overall height including rails/antenna; wheelbase; kerb‑to‑kerb turning circle; front and rear overhangs; ground clearance.

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Do the maths with safe buffers:

Width check: vehicle width + 2×(600-900 mm) should be ≤ your internal garage width.
Depth check: vehicle length + 2×(450-900 mm) should be ≤ your garage depth.
Height check: vehicle height (with accessories) + 150-300 mm ≤ your door and internal clear height.

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Tape‑out tests replicate the car’s footprint and buffers.

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Tape it out and test:

Mark your garage floor to the vehicle’s footprint plus buffers. Open your current car doors to the widest position you typically use; is there still walk‑by space?
At the dealer, fold/unfold mirrors, open all doors in a tight space, and simulate your driveway approach. If you can, take the demo car home for a fit check.

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Special situations to factor in:

EVs: Battery packs can lower ground clearance; watch for steep ramps and wheel stops.
Utes/long wagons: Bed length, tow bars and rear‑mounted spares add critical centimetres.
Roof gear: Boxes, bikes and ladder racks frequently add 300-400 mm and can breach 2.1 m car‑park limits.
Older buildings: Narrow bays and low beams are common; measure, don’t assume.

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If it’s close, here are your mitigation options:

Choose factory power‑fold mirrors and confirm folded width.
Upgrade to a 2.7 m garage door or trim back intrusions like shelving.
Install wheel stops and wall protection to park precisely without crunches.
Reverse in if it improves tailgate clearance; use laser parking aids to repeat a perfect stop.

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Are vehicles getting too big for our spaces?

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Short answer: many are. SUVs and utes now dominate Aussie and NZ sales, and their mirror spans and bonnets run higher and wider than the small cars many garages were built around. Urban planners are split between widening bays for comfort and keeping stalls lean to preserve capacity and encourage other transport modes. Safety research also flags that taller bonnets and reduced sightlines can increase pedestrian risk, especially for children near driveways - another reason to value manoeuvrability and visibility, not just size.

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The bottom line

Don’t buy by brochure. Buy by how the vehicle lives in your space.
Prioritise mirror‑to‑mirror width, turning circle, true height with accessories, and realistic buffers over headline body dimensions.
Use CAR‑FIT, run the measurements, and do a real‑world test before you commit.

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Do this once, and you won’t be second‑guessing every park for the next five years. Measure, allow sensible buffers, and choose the car that fits your life - not just your wish list.

Will Your Next Car Fit? CAR-FIT Checklist