Buying guide · Garage doors

Will my car fit in a garage? Britain’s best-selling cars measured against the garage door

The figure that decides it is the door’s clear opening — the gap you actually drive through — not the door size on a brochure. Measure your car, not the brochure, and compare the two in writing.

Figures read October 2026 · ~6 min read · General guidance.

The short answer

Whether a car goes in comes down to two numbers: the car’s width at its widest point, and the clear opening of the door. Makers publish the first in different ways, and door sellers often quote a size that is not the second — so measure the car yourself and ask for the clear opening in writing.

Below are the UK’s ten best-selling new cars of 2025, in the order the SMMT published on 6 January 2026 (2,020,520 cars registered in the year), with each maker’s own published width and height, and the space left each side through an average door and through each of our clear openings.

The ten best-sellers against the door

Indicative. Widths vary by trim, year and mirror type — measure your own vehicle.

Maker-published width and height of the UK’s ten best-selling cars of 2025, and the clearance each side through the RAC Foundation’s average door and through each VeltHaven clear opening
Car	2025 registrations (SMMT)	Maker’s width (mm)	Mirror basis (maker’s label)	Height (mm)	Clearance each side (cm) through the RAC Foundation’s average door, then through each VeltHaven clear opening — mirrors folded or excluded, as the maker states
Car	2025 registrations (SMMT)	Maker’s width (mm)	Mirror basis (maker’s label)	Height (mm)	2.1 m average door (RAC Foundation)	250 cm (8′2″)	300 cm (9′10″)	350 cm (11′6″)	390 cm (12′10″)	450 cm (14′9″)	500 cm (16′5″)
Ford Puma	55,488	1,805	not stated	1,550	14.8	34.8	59.8	84.8	104.8	134.8	159.8
Kia Sportage	47,788	1,865	not stated	1,645	11.8	31.8	56.8	81.8	101.8	131.8	156.8
Nissan Qashqai	41,141	1,835	“Overall width (excluding mirrors)”	1,625	13.3	33.3	58.3	83.3	103.3	133.3	158.3
Vauxhall Corsa	35,947	not published (with mirrors 1,960)	Width (with mirrors)	1,433 GSE 1,426	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Nissan Juke	34,773	1,800	“Overall width … (without mirrors)”	1,593 with shark fin antenna	15.0	35.0	60.0	85.0	105.0	135.0	160.0
Volkswagen Golf	32,478	1,789	“Width excluding door mirrors”	1,483 115/150 PS; R 1,454	15.6	35.6	60.6	85.6	105.6	135.6	160.6
Volvo XC40	30,404	1,873	“Width” also “Width (mirrors incl)” 2,034 also “Width (mirrors folded)” 1,938	1,652 at kerb weight with one person	11.4	31.4	56.4	81.4	101.4	131.4	156.4
MG HS	30,191	1,890	“Width – excluding mirrors (mm)” also “Overall width – including mirrors (mm)” 2,066	1,664 including roof rails; hybrid 1,663	10.5	30.5	55.5	80.5	100.5	130.5	155.5
Volkswagen Tiguan	29,857	1,859	“Width excluding door mirrors”	1,660 VW’s technical-data pages say 1,658	12.1	32.1	57.1	82.1	102.1	132.1	157.1
Hyundai Tucson	28,613	1,865	“Overall Width (mm) (Excluding Door Mirrors)”	1,650 Ultimate 1,653	11.8	31.8	56.8	81.8	101.8	131.8	156.8

Mirrors folded still add width on most cars. Volvo is the only maker here that publishes the folded figure: 1,938 mm against a 1,873 mm body. Figures read October 2026.

How to read it

Clearance each side = (door width − car width) ÷ 2, assuming the car is perfectly centred. It does not allow for steering in, mirrors that do not fold flat, or opening a door once inside.
⚠ The maker does not say whether this width includes the mirrors.
Ford Puma: Ford lists “Dimensions (L x W x H)” without saying whether the width includes mirrors.
Kia Sportage: Kia’s dimension drawing does not say whether the width includes mirrors.
Vauxhall Corsa: Vauxhall publishes a with-mirrors width only, so there is no like-for-like figure to compare and the clearance cells are left blank.
Volkswagen Tiguan: R-Line and Black Edition, the widest trims; Life, Match and Style are 1,842.
Where each VeltHaven opening is used: 250 cm (8′2″) — 6 × 6 m double, 9 × 6 m three-door; 300 cm (9′10″) — 7 × 6 m double; 350 cm (11′6″) — 4 × 6 m single; 390 cm (12′10″) — 9 × 6 m double; 450 cm (14′9″) — 5 × 6 m single; 500 cm (16′5″) — 6 × 6 m single, 7 × 6 m single.

Why the door size on the brochure is not the gap you drive through

A garage door is often sold by its nominal size — the hole in the wall, or the frame. Once the frame, guides, seals and any motor brackets are fitted, the gap left for the car is smaller. That gap is the clear opening, and it is the only width worth comparing with your car.

A — nominal door size (the opening in the wall). B — clear opening, between the frame and guides. C — clearance each side of the car body. Diagram, not to scale.

We publish the clear opening of every door we install, per garage size, on our garage doors page — those are the widths in the table above.

Cars have grown: the 2021 research

In 2021 the RAC Foundation’s “Standing Still” report found that the five best-selling cars of 1965 averaged 1.5 m wide and 3.9 m long, while the most-bought models of 2020 averaged 1.8 m wide and 4.3 m long — a footprint that had grown by 32%. It put the average garage door width at just 2.1 m, leaving some popular vehicles with 15 cm of clearance each side.

Separately, the RAC’s own poll for RAC Home Insurance, of 2,138 drivers, found that 53% of drivers with garages say they never put their car in it, and 30% say their car is too big to get through the garage door.

The trend has not stopped. Transport & Environment reported in 2024 that new cars are getting 1 cm wider every two years: the average new car was 180.3 cm wide in the first half of 2023, against 177.8 cm in 2018.

The three checks

Measure the car. Width at the widest point with the mirrors folded, and height including roof rails or anything you carry on the roof. Use your own tape, not the brochure — trims, wheels and mirrors differ.
Compare it with the clear opening, in writing. Ask the seller for the clear width and clear height of the door once fitted, not the nominal door size, and get it written down before you order.
Allow room to open the doors inside. Getting the car through the door is half of it; you also need space to get out once it is parked. Our metal garage sizes guide sets out what each footprint leaves around a car, and single vs double garage weighs up the extra width of a double.

To check whether it will fit, measure, compare, and leave room — in that order.

Height: our three height builds

Width is only one of the two numbers. Our garages come in three height builds, each with a published clear height under the open door:

Standard — 200 cm (6′7″) clear
SUV — 220 cm (7′3″) clear
VAN — 300 cm (9′10″) clear

Compare your own measured height — with roof rails, a roof box or a bike rack if you use one — against the clear height, the same way as the width.

If you are weighing up a new garage, our garage cost guide sets out what an installed garage costs and what is extra.

Frequently asked questions

Will an SUV fit in a single garage?

It depends on the garage’s clear opening, not on the word SUV. Measure the car’s width at its widest point with the mirrors folded, and its height including any roof rails, then compare both with the clear width and clear height of the door in writing. Leave room each side to steer through and to open the doors once inside. Our height builds publish these clear heights: Standard 200 cm (6′7″) clear; SUV 220 cm (7′3″) clear; VAN 300 cm (9′10″) clear.

What is the clear opening of a garage door?

The clear opening is the gap a car actually passes through once the door is open: the width between the frame, guides or seals, and the height under the door when it is fully raised. It is smaller than the nominal door size quoted for the frame or the hole in the wall, so ask for the clear opening in writing before you compare it with your car.

How wide is a standard UK garage door?

There is no single standard. The RAC Foundation put the average garage door width at 2.1 m in its 2021 research, and the door maker Garolla gives a range of 1.82 m to 3.04 m (6 to 10 ft) for single doors. The figure that matters for your car is the clear opening of your own door, measured.

Do I measure with mirrors folded?

Yes, but folded mirrors still add width on most cars. Of the ten best-sellers we checked, only the Volvo XC40’s maker publishes a mirrors-folded figure: 1,938 mm, against a 1,873 mm body. Measure your own car with the mirrors folded, at the widest point, and use that figure.

This guide is general information. Car widths and heights are the makers’ published figures and vary by trim, year and options; door openings vary by product. Measure your own car and your own door before you rely on any figure here.