QuestionMy wife has recently suffered neural damage from cancer. She will be in a wheel chair most of the time. Right now she has limited mobility. She can get to the bathroom, in and out of bed, get to a chair.
Now I may need a vehicle with wide front doors, so can can stand back to the open door, sit down and swing in her legs.
The trunk needs to be big enough to accomidate a wheel chair.
I need a car for a big man, six foot tall. For example I rented a Lincoln Continental. It met her needs but I found in order to see I had to lower the seat and my hips hurt after driving for a while.
An SUV which is off the ground won't work because my wife can't step up.
An SUV/minivan/wagon which does not have high clearance would work, she must be able to sit down into the seat or slide into it ... she could not climb up.
I may have to add a class 2 hitch for a platform if she need to move into a motorized scooter.
If it is possible, I'd like to lease this for a short term. The doctors don't have a happy prognisis for my wife.
Thanks
Bill Blalock
AnswerHi Bill and thanks for the question, but not the circumstances. I am handicapped myself, but not a wheelchair so far, just a walker. I tried a lot of vehicles since I can no longer drive and my wife has to do all the driving. We also tried many makes and models. We ultimately selected a 2001 Toyota RAV4L which has exceeded out expectations. Tremendous amount of headroom, very comfortable, room in rear for walker or wheelchair and perfect height for me to get in and out. Disadvantages are lack of power, only comes in 4 cyl. That it is, all else is great. We live in Florida so have no use for 4wheel drive or great power so works fine for us. I understand you can add a class 2 hitch with no problem. I would suggest you go to your local Toyota dealer and see how it fits your needs. We have over 40,000 miles on ours and have had no expense other than normal maintenance and have averaged between 27 and 29 MPG since it was new. Best of luck, Bud
