Overall Width

Overall width is the measurement across the widest point of a vehicle's body, taken at right angles to its direction of travel. The figure almost always refers to the body alone, excluding the door mirrors, because mirrors fold and vary in projection and so would make comparison unreliable. Manufacturers frequently publish a second figure, width including mirrors, which is the more relevant one when judging whether a car will pass through a gateway or sit comfortably in a narrow lane, since unfolded mirrors can add 30 centimetres or more to each side.

The widest point is usually the bulge of the front or rear wheel arches, the door skins, or a flared shoulder line, depending on the styling. Because the measurement is taken to the outermost sheet metal or plastic, accessories such as side rubbing strips and wheel-arch extensions on off-road models are included where they are fitted as standard. The body width should not be confused with track width, which measures the distance between the wheels on an axle; the body always extends beyond the wheels, so overall width is the larger figure.

Width shapes the cabin experience as directly as length shapes the boot. A wider body allows more shoulder and elbow room across the seats, which is why broad estates and executive cars feel airy and can seat three adults abreast in the rear without complaint, whereas narrow city cars can feel pinched. Width also lowers the proportion of the car's height to its footprint, and a wider track that usually accompanies a wider body improves cornering stability and grip by resisting the weight transfer that causes body roll.

Those handling and comfort gains come at a cost in confined spaces. Britain's older streets, multi-storey car parks with tight bays, country lanes and width-restriction barriers all favour a narrow car. A vehicle approaching or exceeding 1.9 metres across the body, common among large SUVs and premium saloons, can be awkward to thread through traffic and leaves little room to open the doors in a standard parking bay. The mirror-included width matters here too, as it determines the real clearance between a car and oncoming traffic or fixed obstacles.

Width is therefore a balancing act, and it is best understood alongside the other dimensions rather than in isolation. It contributes, with height, to the frontal area that governs aerodynamic drag, so a wide car tends to need more power to overcome wind resistance at speed. Manufacturers weigh the appeal of a roomy, stable cabin against the everyday usability of a slimmer body, and the chosen figure, read together with overall length and track width, tells an informed buyer a great deal about how the car will feel both inside and on the road.