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I think you should definitely be looking at MUV kind of vehicles which have a 3rd row and hence will offer you more flexibility. With that in mind, apart from the Innova from the list above, 2 other vehicles that come to mind are the Renault Lodgy and Chevrolet Enjoy. If you felt the Evalia met your needs, then the Lodgy/Enjoy should work. Not sure of the height factor though.

You can also look for the Evalia in the pre-owned market.

All the best.

Edit: Just saw the thread the post got moved into. Lot of useful info.Maybe the better option would be to contact people who do such customizations and they can recommend the best vehicles suited to your needs.

A very close friend's brother needs a wheel chair and they were similarly looking for a vehicle that met their needs, automatic being a major condition.

But, in his case, they needed a vehicle that could accommodate a wheelchair in the boot and have 6 seats. Ertiga was in contention, however the rear space was insufficient even for the non motorised folding wheelchair. Also, they found that the seat height from ground is very high. Currently they use a GT TSI. They booked the BRV for now.

But during the research for the car, Innova turned out to be the best except for one drawback - it's large size. So I would definitely recommend you the Innova. Also, do contact Ferdinand of http://www.handicappedpeople.com


Edit - if you don't mind TATA winger, they offer a high roof version that would be very spacious from the inside. I didn't mention it before as didn't see it in your choice. Also, it has rear doors, making entry easy. You would just need to add fitments to hold your wheelchair secure once inside.

I am really happy that my topic has been merged or moved to a correct section.

@ Rajeev
Thanks for your valuable inputs and wishes.

May i know why have you excluded following cars ?

Mahindra NuvoSport
Honda Mobilio
Mahindra TUV300

I think all these three cars has 3rd row.

@ Blackwasp
I am not sure whether your close friend considered removing seat to accommodate the wheel chair.
But i am considering to remove a bucket seat in the second row to accommodate the wheelchair.

I am just need your help in having an idea about the middle door width in these MUVs.

Is Tata Winger has good suspension ? I feel these kind of vehicles may not have that well.
Moreover Tata Winger also comes with the same toppling risk as Maruti Omni,, please correct me if wrong.

If I am not wrong, the 3rd row in both TUV and Nuvosport are side facing jump seats. Mobilio has a proper 3rd row.

My thought was that these all fall under a 'compact MUV' and are not as spacious (wide or long) as a full sized MUV like the Innova or Lodgy. So felt that they may not be as comfortable as a proper MUV considering your needs. Of course, just my thought. Maybe wrong also.

Isn't there a feasibility to directly enter the middle row via the middle door ?
One middle seat would be removed.

The middle doors of MUVs you have mentioned won't give you a comfortable space to enter the vehicle in your wheelchair. It'll be a tight squeeze as the doors will not be wide enough.


I've been on 3-4 trips where we had hired wingers for local sightseeing in Mt Abu, Rajasthan and Agra trips. The Winger was quite powerful and didn't feel troubled at all on the ghats (Mt. Abu). Seating is also nice and the floor is completely flat. Suspension was good enough, not very soft, but ride was comfortable.

I'm not updated about Winger variants, but they come in short and long wheelbase ones with optional high roof version. The side doors are sliding and very big compared to MUVs. You can use this or the rear doors as per your preference.

Hi Blackwasp

I can understand that Tata Winger might be compatible and comfortable for me.

But i feel Tata Winger is too big for my needs, our family is not very big and I am also concerned about the safety as it is another large Maruti Omni.

So, if Tata Winger is not considered then are you saying that i can park my wheelchair only in the 3rd row even after removing a bucket seat in the second row ?

No, I was so far imagining a ramp at the rear of the vehicle rather than at the side.

Problem won't be parking the wheelchair, but rather getting it inside comfortably. And I can agree with you that Winger is probably not the safest vehicle out there, but I think we will need to scout some other vehicles. Let me check out the Ertiga in my dealership and get back to you tomorrow. Personally I think that Ertiga has big doors which might be suitable for you.

Thanks for your kindness.
I actually didn't intended to bother anyone to check the vehicles by visiting the showrooms.

I was assuming that fellow SUV/MUV car owners would come forward and provide a rough idea on the feasibility.

But that didn't happen so far, I request you to not take your time off for this.
I'll check the Maruti Ertiga via my source and find out the feasibility.

Also please suggest any similar car which you feel might suit for me, so that, i can check the same.

Mate, first of all, checking our various cars is never a bother, and secondly I work in a Maruti dealership, so Ertiga is always on hand. I tried to send you a PM, but looks like you don't accept messages from others (?). Here are some pics. You will have to remove the 60% split of the 60-40 split middle row. And the floor will require sightly filling up to make surface level. A4 sheet for size.




In the above pic, note the recessed area near the space between the two seats. This will have to be filled brought up to the level of seat rails.

@ Blackwasp

Thank so much for all your efforts and for your inputs.

Please provide clarity for following doubts.

1) Is the middle-door wide enough for my wheelchair to enter inside ?
2) Do the car has 2+2 seating configuration ?
3) Isn't enough to remove one seat in 2+2 configuration to accommodate my wheelchair ?
4) Can i park my wheelchair in the 3rd row more easily than the middle row ?
5) Is Ertiga and Swift share same design platform ?

Please provide clarity for following doubts.



1) yes, the door has sufficient width.

2) car has 40-60 split seat, so you will have to remove the larger seat for sufficient space

3) as point no 2, removing the part middle row seat will be the best option

4)getting to 3rd row is tricky. Best to use middle row

5) Similar platform yes, but not identical.

Hi,

My name is Asif and I am a Quadriplegic(spinal cord injury). I have no movement in my limbs and i use a wheelchair to move around. I currently own a TATA WINGER PLATINUM and I have slightly modified it to suit me. My usage of the car is only for recreational purpose, that is when i am out with my family or friends for drives, dinners & stuff. I hardly go inside restaurants so my Car is like my small RV

When i bought the Winger in 2011 i had done an extensive search and TATA WINGER was the only car in my i could fit in whilst sitting on my wheelchair. In all the other cars i would have to be shifted to the car seat due to the lack of head room(I am 5 10' tall). Currently in my WINGER platinum i have removed the one of the 2 middle seats and this helps my wheelchair to easily fit in. Apart from going out once or twice a week, i do take holidays as well, says twice a years and I prefer traveling by my car as trains are inconvenient, flights are expensive and transportation in the places i go to generally becomes an issue. I travel with a group of at least 7-9 people so space is always an issue

I want to change or upgrade from TATA WINGER to another car but i am not able find a right car. Toyota hiace is not launched in India and even if it is, it is way out of my budget of 10-12 lakhs. I could not find much information about the Renault Master either

Can anyone help me and suggest what i could do?

Hi Asif,

I think you should look for a used Evalia / Stile. The sliding door will greatly help with ingress / egress, and there is lots of space inside. You'll just have to look hard as the model did poorly in the market, but it suits the purpose the best. Since you'll have a couple of lakhs left over, you can use that to customise the interiors. Take the help of Ferdi Rodriques (I've shared his details earlier on this thread).

Among new cars, you can check out the Lodgy.

Would also recommend a used Innova to you. No sliding door though.

I think there's basically 2 requirements for you:
1) You're 5'10"
2) You regularly travel with 7-9 people

Point #2 really limits your choices, and even something like a modified Innova or Evalia probably won't house so many people comfortably.

Instead, how about this as a solution: Buy 2 smaller cars! :)

As shown on the first page of this thread, even a Wagon R seems to do a good job of 2 people at the front + wheelchair passenger at the back.

It's way cheaper than any MPV, so with the left over money you can buy another hatchback (there's so many to choose from these days).

Benefits include:
- You'll now have 2 cars, easier for your whole family on a daily basis
- Redundancy during trips (in case of breakdown, etc)
- Smaller cars = easier to find parking
- Much wider choice of vehicles