Car recommendations for small car with large enough boot for wheelchair & boot hoist. (&motability?)

Snowbelle

Hi everyone,

I have just got a manual wheelchair with powered tricycle attachment, but I'm struggling to lift them into my car myself, and so looking into getting a boot hoist.  However the boot in my current car is small (Hyundai i20) so I'm considering switching cars.

Can anyone recommend small-ish cars with boots large enough for mobility equipment & boot hoist?  (or signpost me to a good place for recommendatios & information).

Is it worth using Motability, or is it better to buy outright if able? (To avoid stress of whether car may be taken away if PIP award reconsidered, and I'm wondering if it's cheaper in the long run to buy the car yourself (~£3000/ year on Motability for car lease, insurance, breakdown cover & servicing seems more than it would cost without Motability over long-term)).

Thanks very much!

Snowbelle

April2018mom

What can you afford to purchase? I tend to buy outright because then we don’t have to return the car after 3 years. I use my son’s DLA money to buy a medium sized family car my partner drives. Our car can safely accommodate a wheelchair.
Have a look on the Motability website and then make a decision on cars. I suggest thinking about your needs and priorities as well. Take them into account. Is it possible to visit your local dealership and test drive a few cars or not?
Don’t be scared to ask questions. Do your research. Pay attention to car specifications as well. Pick a car that fits your lifestyle and needs as much as possible. Good luck! I know this is a long winded process but hopefully this helps you.
How big is the wheelchair? What kind is it? What are the dimensions of it? 

Snowbelle

Thanks April2018mom,

I could afford to sell my current car & buy a new one, or a second hand car outright, so would be keen to do that if it works out cheaper in the long-run than using motability.  Ironically, I had just bought a new car almost 3 years ago, just before I realised I might need to fit a wheelchair in it!  (I had been hoping I would get at least 10 years out of it.  I haven't even managed to get 7,000 miles on the clock as I've had long periods unable to drive it or unable to drive it and work before I was off sick).

I had looked on the motability website, but can't filter cars on it by my needs, so finding it difficult to navigate through.  Most motability dealers I can find seem to be particular car makes - I think I'd be better finding someone independent from specific car makes to advise me if I can, as there may only be a couple of cars per make that might suit.  But maybe I'm wrong?

I have a Kuschall ultralight fixed front frame folding manual wheelchair ( 10kg; 83cm long x 29cm wide x 80 tall)
& a Rio Firefly powered tricycle attachment (13kg, 90cm tall x 80cm wide x 30cm deep).  So I need to be able to fit those in the boot & a boot hoist.

I have a lot of features on my current car that make it easier for me to drive (but aren't specific adaptations) e.g. automatic transmission, automatic lights, autommatic wipers, parking sensors, heated seats & steering wheel, climate control, cruise control & lane deviation sensors.   All of them are really helpful with my health condition so I'd be keen to try & get a car that still has those features. 

I wouldn't have been well enough to get out & test drive for the last 8 months, but am just starting to get some improvements so might be able to soon.  

Thanks again for your help and advice,

Snowbelle

April2018mom

Snowbelle said:

Thanks April2018mom,

I could afford to sell my current car & buy a new one, or a second hand car outright, so would be keen to do that if it works out cheaper in the long-run than using motability.  Ironically, I had just bought a new car almost 3 years ago, just before I realised I might need to fit a wheelchair in it!  (I had been hoping I would get at least 10 years out of it.  I haven't even managed to get 7,000 miles on the clock as I've had long periods unable to drive it or unable to drive it and work before I was off sick).

I had looked on the motability website, but can't filter cars on it by my needs, so finding it difficult to navigate through.  Most motability dealers I can find seem to be particular car makes - I think I'd be better finding someone independent from specific car makes to advise me if I can, as there may only be a couple of cars per make that might suit.  But maybe I'm wrong?

I have a Kuschall ultralight fixed front frame folding manual wheelchair ( 10kg; 83cm long x 29cm wide x 80 tall)
& a Rio Firefly powered tricycle attachment (13kg, 90cm tall x 80cm wide x 30cm deep).  So I need to be able to fit those in the boot & a boot hoist.

I have a lot of features on my current car that make it easier for me to drive (but aren't specific adaptations) e.g. automatic transmission, automatic lights, autommatic wipers, parking sensors, heated seats & steering wheel, climate control, cruise control & lane deviation sensors.   All of them are really helpful with my health condition so I'd be keen to try & get a car that still has those features. 

I wouldn't have been well enough to get out & test drive for the last 8 months, but am just starting to get some improvements so might be able to soon.  

Thanks again for your help and advice,

Snowbelle

No problem. I could literally write a article on this subject. 

Matt_Scope

@snowbelle These aren't recommendations based on having driven either car, However on Motability, based on a low down payment, relatively small car and useful boot size, I would have thought the Skoda Fabia estate (which is a small estate) has the boot size while the Ford  Tourneo and Fiat Cubo have the extra height that might be required.  Golf SV also has a huge boot for its size, pretty sure I could easily fit all my own sport kit I require in that boot with my fixed frame chair.

MobileRyan

Mobility stores are fantastic if you want to go and have a proper look and get a feel of the right scooter or powerchair for you, but online stores offer much lower prices. If you need to have a go on the scooter/powerchair before you buy, you can go into a mobility shop and see what's right for you, then proceed to buy online. One cheap online store is Great British Mobility, they also stock a huge variety of scooters from popular to the less common ones. There's different types of scooters to suit your needs and they even offer mobility scooter finance so you don't need to pay in one big chunk: https://greatbritishmobility.co.uk/mobility-scooters.html . So if you're looking for cheap scooters, have a search around, there are plenty of stores out there.

exdvr

@snowbelle.....I have a Motability Citroen Multispace with hoist fitted which allows my 108cm scooter to sit sideways so I still have the use of all 5 seats.  Don't know if it's really classifiable as a small car but 55mpg from an automatic can't be bad.