[ACM]

The visibility of the bonnet (from the driver and co passenger seats) is to some extent a function of the drivers height and the seat height adjustment (if available). So in some cars a short driver by sitting low can make an otherwise visible bonnet disappear.

Visible in
Tata Safari,
Merc EClass W124 / W210 / W211
Fiats 1100 - 1956 to eternity.
Cielo
Fortuner
Endy

Not Visible in
Aria
Matiz, Spark, Beat, Wagon R,
Versa, Echo, Omni, Venture

[kavesh55]

Fiat 1100 undoubtedly
Scorpio
Mahindra Thar

[kaynmantis]

If it only means visibility of bonnet, then many cars bonnet are visible. But if it means the edge, then, very few. Most bonnets are gently curved or sloped so its difficult to precisely judge the edge and sometimes poses difficulty parking in tight spaces. I drive Ikon now, though the bonnet is clearly visible, its hard to judge where precisely it ends unlike some other vehicles I have driven. Here are some list of vehicles that have driven where edge of a bonnet can be judged easily.
Maruti Gypsy
Mahindra jeeps (various models)
Ambassador
Padmini
Maruti 800 (old model)
Tata Sumo

There are some more cars but I have not driven them.

Old cars mostly have boxy design with angular edges so visibility + judging were easy. Also the angle of the windscreen against the bonnet are close to 90 degrees. Modern design are more rounded and the angle of windscreen against bonnet are quiet extreme.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Dieseled

Ford Ikon, I know because I drive one.

Dieseled, Certainly not the Ikon.

Hyundai Accent
HM Ambassador
Premier Padmini

[misquitas]

If I can recall well, my dad's Tata Estate too had excellent visibility of its huge bonnet. None of the tall-bodied hatches have bonnet visibility, but this Tyre-Tarmac visibility rule is really a great piece of advice, as it will give you some judgment of the distance between your car and the one ahead of you. Will try it on my I10 ASAP. If I am not mistaken, the Alto K10 has some bonnet visibility.

By the way, what about the vehicles "without" the bonnet? I can think of the Omni, Tata Ace, Tata winger (to some extent), Tata Venture, etc. It this view "better" than the one with the bonnet?

[JJames]

Originally Posted by tushky

Maruti 800, Alto. any more?

I drive an Alto. No, it doesnt show the bonnet.
But, I learned my driving (at Driving school) mostly on a Tempo trekker. It easily showed the bonnet long & clear

[theexperthand]

HM Ambassador, Mitsubishi Lancer.

@misquitas: Omni offers excellent visibility, but because of the absence of bonnet, I kind of feel naked when I drive one.

[n.devdath]

Mahindra Commander, Marshal, Bolero and Scorpio, Tata Sumo, Safari and the Nano are amongst the vehicles that I have driven which have nice bonnet views.

The amount of confidence that bonnet visibility gives you, especially in bumper to bumper traffic is huge. It also is a bid aid to parking and steering into sharp corners/gullies etc.

[klassics45]

So if we exclude the SUVs, Jeeps and pre-90s vehicles then this is the list of vehicles i get.

Hyundai Accent
Ford Icon
Skoda Laura
Lancer
Figo
OHC
Fiesta (to an extent)
Linea
Esteem
Old ZEN
Octavia
Baleno (to an extent)
Ambassador

Also what about Hyundai elantra?

[karpusv]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Why is it necessary to look for the bonnet? It may be difficult for a beginner, but I don't think its best practice to drive based on bonnets visibility. We should be able to make own judgement without looking at the bonnet.

+1 to that.
Got an opportunity to drive a Rolls Royce 2 weeks ago, back-to-back with a 7 Series.
Now while the bonnet really IS visible from the driver seat of the RR, for those who want to know, it really is of no help.

Judgemental driving with respect to cars dimensions is more important IMHO.

[naga.sid]

Hi,

This is an area close to my heart. I bought a Indigo-LX in 2004 thinking that bonnet visibility would be a non-issue. It wasn't so. I tried everything from having two plastic antennae (the car looked like an angry goat) to using a pillow (I looked like a giraffe) to finally giving up (actually looking up to the sky - navigation using stars).

When I bought the Santro Xing, a slight visibility of the bonnet was increased by my using tougherart-leather seats.

When I traded in the Indigo for a Ford Fiesta in 2011 (thanks to Team-BHP's forums for all the info I needed on that), one of the main triggers was the lovely view of the bonnet.

My opinion is that fatigue levels of the driver are possibly reduced with a bonnet view. No access to any survey on that.

Final scoreboard: (I am 5 ft 11 inches tall)

Premier Padmini - Awesome 360 degree view
Tata Indigo LX - No view
Santro (old) - No view
Santro Xing - Partial view
Ford Fiesta - Lovely view, especially when the seat height adjust is not used much

By the way, this is my first post in Team-BHP and I am delighted being here.

Regards,
NS

[pramodpk]

Here is my list

1. Ambassador - Good all round visibility
2. Toyota Qualis

[vivek0418]

I have seen drivers adding vertical rods on the hood corners, to help them judge the extents of the car while turning and especially to avoid hitting pedestrians.

[CowlFlap]

This became a huge issue for me when I made the transition from our Ambassador to the Dzire. I wasn't very sure about the edges, till I scraped (lightly ) a wall in the garage. That, plus visual cues obtained by parking repetitively in the same location everyday, gave me some idea about the edges.

[sary]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I'm 6'2" and I've been able to see the hood of every car that I've sat in, apart from a Nano

How about Omni sir?


On a different note: I am more of a "judgemental" driver and anything that comes between me and road is "No, No"