Garage squeeze: best selling cars just don’t fit

• UK’s top-selling cars leave 10cm or less clearance on each side to manoeuvre through garage doors –the width of a toilet roll
• Over a third (37 per cent) of drivers with garages never use them to park their car, with 42 per cent saying their cars do not fit
• Garages have been repurposed for storage (79 per cent), home workshops or studios (14 per cent) and gyms (8 per cent)

New research¹ from Churchill motor insurance reveals over a third (37 per cent) of drivers with a garage never use it to park their car, with more than two fifths (42 per cent) saying they are unable to do so as the car does not fit. Drivers may find parking in their garage even more challenging in future, as the size of the average car is growing wider at a rate of 1cm (0.4in) every two years², due in part to the addition of new safety features.

One in six (17 per cent) people who don’t use their garage have a car that is too wide to fit through the garage door and 16 per cent, cannot open their car doors enough to get in and out once parked. One in ten (11 per cent) have cars that are too long to fit their garage, so can’t close the door.

A standard single garage door in the UK is 213cm wide³ and the UK’s best-selling car this year, the Ford Puma⁴, is 193cm wide (including wing mirrors)⁵, leaving just 10cm of clearance each side when parking – the equivalent to the width of a toilet roll. With the average shoulder width for men around 46cm and women around 41cm⁶, this makes it very difficult for people to get in and out of their cars.  Other bestselling models such as the Kia Sportage (208cm including mirrors) leave just 2.5cm of clearance each side, and the Tesla Model Y is 213cm from mirror to mirror, so won’t fit in the average British garage.

Table 1: Space available for drivers of top-selling cars to manoeuvre into garage 

Source: Churchill Motor Insurance 2024

It is no surprise given this research that many garage owners are using them for alternative purposes than parking their car. More than three quarters of drivers (79 per cent) who never or rarely park their car in the garage, use it for storage and 14 per cent have transformed it into a home workshop or studio.

Table 2: Most popular ways UK drivers have repurposed their garages

Source: Churchill Motor Insurance 2024

Nicholas Mantel, Head of Churchill Motor Insurance, said: “As the cars we drive get ever bigger, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to squeeze them in to our garages. While a car may physically fit it, for drivers getting in or out of the vehicle it can feel like they need to be a contortionist as there is so little space.

“As a result, many people are forced to park their vehicles on driveways or public roads, leaving them more exposed and making security even more important to reduce the risk of theft or damage.”

The limited space for Brits to manoeuvre into parking spaces is also a trend, with research⁷ by Churchill revealing that drivers of the UK’s most popular cars have just 30cm to get in and out of their vehicle when parked next to another in a public carpark. This left one in five (22 per cent) resorting to climbing into their parked car via the boot and more than half (52 per cent) via the passenger door.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors

1.      Research conducted by Opinium with a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults – 8^th October-11^th October 2024

2.      https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240207-are-cars-getting-too-big-for-the-road

3.      https://www.wessexgaragedoors.co.uk/news/garage-door-dimensions/#:~:text=Standard%20one%20door%20and%20two,)%20x%207ft%20(2%2C134%20mm

4.      https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars-vans/94280/best-selling-cars

5.      https://www.automobiledimension.com/model/ford/puma

6.      https://gitnux.org/average-shoulder-width/  

7.      Car-tortion – the 30cm squeeze on motorists getting in and out of parked cars - Direct Line Group

For further information please contact:

Unni Henry

PR Manager 

Email: unni.henry@directlinegroup.co.uk  

Ellie McGarahan

FleishmanHillard

Tel:  07734 438211

Email: DirectLineGroupMedia@Fleishman.com

Churchill

Founded in 1989, Churchill is now one of the UK's leading providers of general insurance, offering car, home, travel and pet insurance cover over the phone or on-line.

Churchill general insurance policies are underwritten by UK Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. 

Churchill and U K Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.  

Customers can find out more about Churchill products or get a quote by calling 0300 200 300 or visiting www.churchill.com.