Small cockpit, large man.

[slackeye]

Hello all,

I am a 6'5", 250# man and would love nothing better than to buy/drive a Delica. I did sit in one at Silk Road Imports (vendor review?) and found the cockpit barely usable (ie: legroom / I'm not *that* large). I could imagine driving it for a short time but would worry about getting cramped on a longer journey. I will take one for a test drive to check that scenario out.
I would be crushed if I had to deny myself the pleasure of owning a vehicle like this for lack of room, and wonder: is there anyone out there who've modified the transmission (?) hump behind the drivers' seat to accomodate a longer seat slide?

Really really want this to work..
Cheers,
RG.
slackeye.com

[Adam]

Well you got me beat. I'm only 6'2.5", but I found the cockpit not bad for longer distances. You should ask Konadog, he's gotta be 6'4", 6'5", and I htink he owns a lowroof.

[konadog]

Well you got me beat. I'm only 6'2.5", but I found the cockpit not bad for longer distances. You should ask Konadog, he's gotta be 6'4", 6'5", and I htink he owns a lowroof.

Yep, I'm just shy of 6'5" and I drive a low roof - no problem.

[slackeye]

Thanks for the reply guys.

To be real, the cockpit is "snug", but comfortable. It seems to "cup" the body in just the right spots. I'm trying to be wary of 'thinking myself into the sale', just because my heart wants one, my body may reject it eventually .. hahha.

So, Kona, you're tall, and have no problem, huh? even on long trips..I'm sure you feel the need to stretch every so often - as with any long trip?

Cheers,
RG

[mararmeisto]

Hey slackeye! Ya, the Delica's a bit of a snug fit for us big guys, but I love my van too much to let it bother me. For reference, I'm 6'2" and I'm built the wrong way up: my height is in my trunk not my legs. So, I don't find leg room to be an issue, but if I didn't have the high roof, well...

Size aside, it's probably not as much of an issue for me as it may be for others: I spent the last five years of my naval career crammed into our submarines, and let me tell you the British are definitely not as big as North Americans. My head still hurts when I think of all the valves I 'found' in those boats!

[Spearo]

I'm 6'2" and built like marameisto (height-wise at least). Leg room no prob, but the roof body is in the upper half of my vision when I'm driving. This is great for keeping the sun out of your eyes- you'll probably never use the sunvisor! Any taller and it might be an issue.
The hump behind you is where the power steering access is- I don't think there's too much you could do there.
Really you need to get some driving time in one, turning corners, passing etc to see if it's viable. Definitely high-roof for you I think, and a small sporty steering wheel. Drive mine anytime.

BTW cool website! And I love the KTM of course ;)

[joedelica]

Welcome Slackeye,

I am just under 6'7" and 220lbs (a Titan in the Delica world!) and drive a high roof.
The only challenge that I have is that my right knee sits almost right between the signal arm and the driver's side door.
I do angle my seat back one notch back from what may be normal for city driving, and then more upright for longer drives
for better support and less driving fatigue.
The fact that we have such good vision through our windscreen in the Delica eliminates the challenge with seeing out the top of the windshield;
if our vehicles were lower this may be a problem.
I have had my Deli for approx. 2 years and now wonder why I didn't have one sooner!

Best of luck with your decision,

Joe

[DeliTan]

Try an L400

[marsgal42]

I'm 185 cm and am comfortable in a high roof L300. The driver's seat is all the way back and I have to scrunch down to see some traffic lights. The steering wheel is sort of in my lap...

...laura

[jessef]

If you'd consider the L400, if has a lot more leg/head room to stretch out and is very comfortable on long distance trips.

My friend who's 6'6 240lbs said it was a lot more comfortable than my L300.

[mararmeisto]

Here's a thought: how many of the design engineers on the L300 team would be interested to know how popular this 'over-height' demographic enjoy their vehicle?

[robinimpey]

6'5" 190 lbs and no space issues in my 1991 High Roof. Other than a little more padding would be okay on long trips.........either the Delica's seat or mine!

[josh]

I'm 6'4" and drive an L300 lowroof on really long trips a whole lot, comfortably.... of course I am about as skinny as anyone can get.

Josh

[mrdueck]

I'm 6'6", 235lbs and mostly leg. I'm looking at getting a LWB l400 and doing a mod to the seat mount. I have sat in an l400 high roof and it was OK at best. My right leg had no where to go though, literally squeezed by the steering wheel and the door. I'm plan to make tow plates that will go between the seat and the lower mounting frame. In effect it will move the position of the whole seat back two inches or so. I've done this once before on my VW Eurovan and it worked great. I will gain some height due to the thickness of the steel, I'm thinking of using 1/4", but because it is on a downward angle, I should still be OK. The other thing I may do is put on a small steering wheel. I did this on my '71 VW Beetle and it gave me tons of room to move my legs around. Once I get the van (still looking for a LWB in something other than Green) I'll start working on it and start posting. At this point I'm mostly lurking and planning ahead.

I love this forum. Very helpful!
Rudy

[thedjjack]

I am 5'4" no problem for me