[BobInPa]

Recent events have made the need to carry a wheelchair around a necessity for some time. I can manage to get a transport wheelchair with folding handles in the trunk of my BMW 330 convertible, but in no way can a large wheeled chair fit back there. Of course my Passat wagon takes the big one with ease with all seats in place. So, since the VW is the car we are planning to replace with a Q3.

Will a large wheeled wheelchair fit in the back with the seats up? Or worst case with the rear seats down?

Thanks,
Bob

BTW: I was much happier asking about bikes and canoe accessories.

 

[BobInPa]

Bob-

The width is 39 inches. With the back seats up, the length is approximately 28 (top) to 33 inches (bottom) when taking the slope of the seat back into consideration.

Thanks!
That would be really close. After asking the ambiguous question, I measured the Big wheelchair. It measures 30 inches front to back and 39 inches floor to top of the handlebars. The folded depth when lying on it's side is not a concern.

Out of curiosity, what are the dimensions of the floor panel that can be removed to expose the spare?
At the Philly Auto Show I kind of remember that it was squarish since the sales people were taking it out flipping it over almost at random to show a completely different type of surface on the other side.

 

[BobInPa]

Hi Bob-

The dimensions of that cover are approximately 38" x 32". Please note it is not a perfect square and somewhat curvey.

Putting the larger rear seat down, it leaves a 24/25" opening; that's not going to help you.

The measurement of 39" that I gave you is actually 39 and a fraction but it's still going to be tight. Seems your only option with a Q3 is to put the seats down.

If your wagon is running well with no major repairs in sight, why not keep it for the time being?

Again, sorry to know of your recent misfortune.

John,

Thanks for the measurements and advice. The measurements are very helpful and much more useful than the usually stated cubic feet.

Our 2003 B5.5 Passat wagon is really a stretched A4 platform with Audi running gear and a VW badge. It is a really classy looking car and is in like new condition. It has the 1.8T 5 valves per cylinder engine and now has 118K miles on that sometimes fragile engine. So any minute now, who knows.
The Q3 would replace it and would be my wife's car with a much better height for our ancient bodies. But, she has never driven one and with her severely broken right foot she won’t be test driving anything for at least a few months or more. My wife loves driving (we met on a rally) and enjoys downshifting our BMW 5 speed, so there is no way I would make that kind of decision without her input. So we will be hanging onto the VW for a while longer.

Thanks again,
Bob