SUPERSIZE BRITAIN: CAN OUR ROADS COPE WITH EVER-GROWING CARS?

• Online car-changing marketplace Carwow compares today’s cars with older models to analyse just how fast our cars are growing
• Chief Content Officer Mat Watson investigates how Britain’s infrastructure is struggling to accommodate ever-bigger modern cars
• New video sees Carwow team squeezing modern cars into tight parking spots – with penalty charge notices likely for those that don’t fit

Each time a car manufacturer updates a model, it tends to gain in size. It’s a trend that’s not slowing down, and Britain’s roads and car parks are increasingly squeezed.

The growth spurt: how much bigger are cars getting?

Online car changing marketplace Carwow has carried out some new analysis comparing today’s cars with their older counterparts – uncovering that modern vehicles are growing at an alarming rate.

Take the BMW M3 coupe: the newest model is a full 10 centimetres wider and 30 centimetres longer than one of its predecessors from 20 years ago. And it’s not all about incremental gains over the years.

The new Land Rover Defender has bulked up by 21 centimetres in width compared to the previous version, and the latest BMW X5 has put on six centimetres of extra width versus the one that came before.

But while modern cars have grown, parking spaces have not. Multi-storey car park bays, for instance, remain stuck at a maximum width of 2.4m. That’s barely enough for two modern SUVs parked side by side. Reversing into a bay can feel like threading a needle – and good luck wriggling out of the car once you’ve parked.

Why are cars getting bigger if it makes them more awkward to drive?

According to the experts in Carwow’s new video, cars getting bigger is about maximising profits. Studies reveal that automakers earn up to 60 per cent higher margins on large SUVs compared to smaller cars.

Bigger vehicles are marketed as symbols of safety, comfort, and status – and consumers are buying into the trend. But this growth comes with its own set of challenges.

Current regulations cap vehicle width at 255 centimetres – a limit originally set for trucks and buses in the late 1990s. While most cars remain under this threshold, some of the largest SUVs are edging closer and closer, raising concerns about practicality in real-world settings like car parks, tunnels and narrow city streets.

Safety versus size: the compatibility challenge:

Mat Watson, Chief Content Officer at Carwow, said: “I’ve been challenging myself to take modern sports cars into multi-storey car parks known for being tricky. And it’s fair to say I’d have struggled even more without onboard tech like parking sensors and cameras.

“Generally speaking, you do feel safer and better protected in a bigger vehicle with more metal around you. And bigger cars are sold as status symbols, which is another key selling point for many buyers.”

Even compact cars can achieve a full five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, but it’s important to understand what they’re being compared against. Ratings should be considered category by category.

In a collision between a five-star SUV and a five-star hatchback, the SUV’s size advantage means its occupants are better protected. That’s why Carwow is advocating for manufacturers to consider compatibility between vehicles of different sizes, keeping everyone safe on the roads, regardless of what they drive.

Mat Watson added: “At the rate we’re going, we’ll need a rethink of Britain’s infrastructure, or we risk a future where even a quick trip to the supermarket feels like navigating an obstacle course. Parking spaces in the UK are already too small for most cars – in multi-storey car parks and on the street.

“You can be given a penalty charge notice if your car’s too big for the designated on-street bay that you’ve parked it in, especially if it’s causing an obstruction to the highway.

“At some point, there’s going to have to be a conversation about how big our cars can actually get before our infrastructure really struggles to cope – and parking challenges are the first sign of what’s to come.”

Check out Mat’s latest video below: