2011 Nissan Quest
  Nissan Quest. Click image to enlarge |
The new, totally redesigned 2011 Nissan Quest is a major improvement over the last generation Quest and offers many great features that people with disabilities can benefit from. These include the available power lift gate and the very useful one-touch power side sliding doors. With the rear lift gate open and the rear seats folded down the 2011 Nissan Quest is fully capable of transporting large scale mobility devices such as power wheelchairs and scooters. With the rear liftgate opened I was amazed to see how large the opening is to the rear cargo area which is huge.
The interior of the Quest is quite impressive and features many of the same options as its competitors which many people with disabilities will find beneficial. This includes steering wheel-mounted controls, push-button start, rear seats that fold flat and even an optional back-up camera.
However, the new Quest suffers from a major design flaw which seemed to have been overlooked during its redesign. The issue concerns the placement of the front seats which are positioned a little too far into the interior making it a harder to climb up into the cabin when compared to its competitors.
2012 Honda Civic Coupe
  Nissan Quest. Click image to enlarge |
The 2012 Honda Civic Coupe is an amazing car for those with disabilities who require the use of a manual wheelchair. The first thing I noticed about the 2012 Civic was that the driver and front passenger doors opened at a 90-degree angle which really helps give users of manual wheelchairs easier access. Another plus is the Civic’s low ride height which makes it a lot easier to slide from your wheelchair into the driver’s seat. The whole process of taking apart or placing a manual wheelchair behind the front passenger seat is a very easy task especially in the 2012 Honda Civic Coupe. All you have to do is slide the front passenger seat all the way forward which helps to give you plenty of room to lift and place your wheel chair behind the front seat.
The interior of the new Civic is well laid out and easy to use and I actually really liked the two tier dash configuration which features digital display. The dash of the Civic now features a five-inch monitor which displays useful information to the driver which can be easily accessed thanks to the steering wheel-mounted controls.
My time spent behind the wheel of the new Civic was an enjoyable one: handling was great and when it came to acceleration it performed well. Now while the looks of the base 2012 Honda Civics aren’t what you would call sporty or ground-breaking, I think the new Civic is still a great looking car – it all depends on the colour you choose! The Dyno Blue Pearl colour of the Civic Sedan I was test driving really helped make the car stand out a bit better than the typical old grey or silver Civics we have all become use to seeing on our city streets.
I would suggest opting for the Honda Civic coupe since its door openings are a bit larger than the sedan’s and in the long run the coupe is a better choice since it offers buyers a bit more access to the interior of the car. In my opinion, this is the best car for people with disabilities who use manual wheel chairs.
