"5 Economy Cars for 'Big People'"

If you're wanting an economy car but yet not feel "cramped", then this article suggests several roomy models with great gas mileage:  

  http://autos.aol.com/article/are-americans-too-big-to-drive- small/?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl5%7Csec1_lnk3%7C214613

And they fail to consider one major thing. The more weight in a vehicle the lower the gas milage. A 2300lb fiesta if required to carry more than one 230 lbs person (which is already 10% of its own weight) your milage will start to drop dramtically. It takes more to move more weight. Which in turn will wear the engine out faster because it has to work harder than normal. Simple physics tells anyone this.

If you had one 320 lb person in a 2300lb Feista. Split 2300 over four wheels....800/bs per wheel. They base economy on one 165lb driver. So a 320lb person is nearly double. So it changes the function, the car has twice the "evaluated weight" on just one side of the vehicle. Which does cause wear on the vehicle and does effect a streamline nature, also effecting milage. Most are equipped with a small 1.4 (if I remember 4 banger) that isnt meant to deal with too much weight of any kind.

Most heavy folks will actually do best with a mid to large sedan, depending on their weight.

Before surgery, my favorite car was my little Ford Festiva. I must have looked hilarious in that.

My poor Sentra had to carry me and two other pre-ops to our support group every couple of weeks, that was awful. 328, 335, and close to 600 all in one car. Sigh.

Luckily all of us had successful outcomes.

 That reminds me of my pre-surgery days, driving a Mercury Topaz.   One of my friends (not obese, btw) remarked often to me how, "my God, if you ever got in a wreck in that thing they'd have to cut you out!".  

Well, just so you know, even skinny people have to get cut out of cars in bad accidents.  Jaws of life.  Lots of volunteer first responders in my family....