Big cars, narrow lives

The first Volkswagen Golf that hit the roads in 1974 was 3.70 meters long and 1.61 meters wide. Today's Golf has reached approximately 4.28 meters in length and 1.79 meters in width. The car, which bears the same name and is seen in the same class, has grown by more than half a meter and widened by nearly twenty centimeters. Moreover, the Golf is not an exception to this transformation. Many model families, from the Clio to the Corolla, and from the 3 Series to the Range Rover, have grown in a similar way over the years.

At first glance, this growth might seem like a natural evolution. However, the fact that vehicles are constantly getting larger while families are shrinking, and while cars are often used by only one or two people, is not a simple design choice. We are transporting fewer people inside a larger mass of metal and plastic. The contradiction begins right here.

Moreover, this is not just an optical illusion. According to research by Transport & Environment, new cars sold in Europe are widening by about one centimeter on average every two years. The hood height of new cars also increased from an average of 76.9 centimeters in 2010 to 83.8 centimeters in 2024. In other words, the car is not just getting longer; it is widening, getting taller, and becoming heavier.

One reason for this is, of course, engineering.

Today's cars have to meet much stricter crash standards than models from a few decades ago. Crumple zones, reinforced body structures, side-impact protection, airbags, sensors, and driving assistance systems create space and weight inside the vehicle. Added to this are comfort expectations: wider seats, better sound insulation, panoramic roofs, electric mechanisms, large screens, and advanced climate control systems make the car both larger and heavier.

Electric vehicles have added a new and heavy piece to this equation: the battery. Placing the battery pack in the floor, providing sufficient range, and protecting it in the event of a collision requires serious packaging engineering. That is why weights exceeding two tons are no longer surprising, especially in long-range electric SUVs.

But equating safety with size is not correct either. Thanks to high-strength steels, smarter load paths, advanced simulation, and active safety systems, a smaller vehicle can also demonstrate high safety performance. The task of engineering should be to provide safety not with the largest possible body, but with the most efficient structure possible. Otherwise, the "safety" justification turns into an easy explanation for unmeasured growth.

In any case, explaining the growth of cars solely with safety standards and battery technology is incomplete. Where the need for engineering ends, marketing begins.

SUV and crossover body types sell the consumer a high seating position, a spacious interior, a powerful appearance, and a sense of safety. The "sense" here is important. A person sitting inside a large vehicle may feel more protected; however, this does not mean that a safer transportation order has been established for everyone.

Because when everyone buys a larger vehicle, the safety race is taken to a new level. Those who use small cars appear more fragile; they, too, turn to a larger vehicle in their next choice. Thus, the individual search for safety turns into a collective growth spiral.

For manufacturers, the appeal of large vehicles is also clear: SUVs and high-end models usually offer higher profit margins. The gradual withdrawal of small cars from product ranges is therefore not just a decision made spontaneously by the consumer; it is also the result of the options offered and the desire created by advertisements. It is no coincidence that when "family car" is mentioned today, an increasingly larger body comes to mind. Large rims, a high shoulder line, and a vertical front face are now more of a language of power and status than technical features.

The problem is this: The car is growing, but the city is not growing at the same speed.

Streets are not widening. Lanes, apartment parking lots, and shopping mall parking spaces are not being rebuilt in parallel with the change in car design. Even if a new SUV fits into a parking space on paper, it is becoming increasingly difficult to open the doors, leave a safe distance from the adjacent vehicle, and maneuver. Large vehicles consume more public space not only when they are moving, but also for the large part of the day when they are parked.

A few centimeters of widening in a car might seem insignificant. But when millions of vehicles are involved, the result is less parking capacity, narrower viewing angles, more congested streets, and greater pressure on public space. The city's limited space is shared among cars, pedestrians, cyclists, public transport, and green areas. As the car grows, this sharing quietly shifts in favor of the car. Some new and large models sold in Europe now barely fit into standard on-street parking spaces used in many cities.

There is also an environmental bill for this growth. A larger body means more steel, aluminum, plastic, glass, and copper. Higher weight requires more energy to move the vehicle. An electric motor may be much more efficient than an internal combustion engine; however, the laws of physics do not change. The energy required to move a two-and-a-half-ton electric SUV is greater than that of a smaller and lighter electric car. While a large battery increases range, it also increases the need for raw materials, production-related emissions, and vehicle costs.

This does not mean opposing the electric car. Electrification is necessary to reduce transport-related emissions. However, only changing the engine type and not questioning the fact that the car is constantly growing means seeing only half of the transformation. Being electric does not automatically make a vehicle sustainable; its size, weight, battery capacity, usage pattern, and lifespan must also be taken into account.

The safety issue cannot be evaluated solely through those inside the vehicle. Euro NCAP draws attention to the crash incompatibility between large, heavy vehicles and small cars. High and vertical hoods can lead to more severe consequences for pedestrians and cyclists. It is important for a large car to protect those inside; however, good engineering should not provide this protection at the cost of causing more harm to the other party.

The trend is even more visible in Turkey. According to the January–June 2026 data of the Automotive Distributors and Mobility Association, 64.6 percent of the cars sold were of the SUV body type. In other words, the SUV is no longer a special preference on the edge of the market; it constitutes the mainstream. In contrast, a significant portion of our cities consists of narrow streets, old building stock, and limited parking capacity. Our car preference is changing, but the physical space we use remains the same.

The point is not to tell people which car they should buy. But we can no longer ignore the fact that vehicle size has consequences that cannot be explained solely by personal taste or purchasing power. Taxation, parking fees, safety standards, and manufacturer strategies must clearly take into account the increase in weight and size. Manufacturers should also measure efficiency not only by engine consumption, but by the ability to do the same job with less material and lower mass. Otherwise, what we call "free choice" will be nothing more than a fancy name for narrowing streets, decreasing public space, and risks imposed on others.

Now the question is: Will we continue to expand the garage, or will we redesign the car according to our real needs?