Do you feel less safe or less comfortable driving cars with long fronts/hoods/bonnets?

Ohh man. One time I went to an old corvette dealership dressed in really nice clothes pretending that I had money so I could test drive some of them. I drove a 1969 Stingray. Hands down one of the least fun cars I have ever driven. It felt like the hood extended a mile in front of the car. I was always afraid I was going to rear end the car in front of me :P

Nope, but I am used to vehicles with long hoods.

Define “long”. Given some of the current cars, even my ‘86 Corolla has a relatively long hood. I find the new short hoods disconcerting to drive.

Personally, I can’t stand most American cars. The power steering is so jacked up and the suspension so mushy that there’s no road feel; it’s less like driving and more like a video game. That’s almost killed me a few times, especially on snow.

I prefer smaller cars like my old Corolla or the VW Golf. They respond to the controls immediately, and it’s easier to judge things like speed, skids, etcetera, and just feel more in control. I like control. I like knowing what the car is doing. It’s not a lounge or a living room. While I like comfort, I don’t like being so comfortable that I forget that I’m in a large, heavy object moving at high speed. Many people do, and those are the people that force me out of my lane to avoid a collision.

The longer the front, the more red hot shit winds up in your lap in a head on.

I am the same. I like smaller cars like my PT Cruiser.

@anniereborn The PT Cruiser is a few inches longer, many inches higher, and nearly a half-ton heavier than what I’m used to. By my standards, they are not small.

I think a big factor is how high up off the ground the driver sits. If you’re basically sitting on the ground (ala @El_Cadejo‘s Stingray) the hood is going to look really long. (I had a Dakota truck, and I know exactly what @anniereborn is talking about.)

I think, @JLeslie, you just need to find a balance between height and length that suits you.

I won’t say what I drive, but it is a larger luxury model vehicle, not an SUV and I LOVE the extra “driver survival space”. lol
My vehicle has one of the best DSS ratings there is, good thing as I am a left handed, right brained blonde.
I have had it 10 years now and while it’s getting a little on the older side, I love my “Silver.”
“He” has taken great care of me for a long time and I am going to be really sad when he goes.

I drove my ex bosses Smart car a few times and I HATED that freaky little chopped off toy car. I considered, breifly, buying a small car but It was SO weird, I would never buy a tiny vehicle, you’re toast if you take a big hit, even a not so big it.

When I was married my husband and I owned a 1948 Vauxhall at one point. Although the bonnet doesn’t look particularly long in this photograph, when you’re driving it seems really long, I loved driving it with its big steering wheel and leather seats, from the inside it felt like something the Queen would be chauffeured around in.

@Coloma Safety is a matter of design, not size. Having been in collisions while in an older 3300-pound car, a later-model 2400-pound car, and a 2200-pound car of in-between age, I can tell you from experience that age (modernity of design) means far more. Of the three, only the large car injured any occupants; I was the only one who didn’t break a bone. The other two, not a scratch.

I dunno, when I sit in my PT Cruiser I don’t see any hood at all. It might not be a “small car” but, the hood is low and curved and not long.