Best Cars For Elderly Parents And Senior Citizens In India

If you have elderly parents at home and are on the lookout for a new family car, here are some senior citizen-friendly options you can consider:

Maruti Suzuki Wagon R

The Wagon R is currently one of Maruti’s long-serving nameplates in the country, originally entering production in 1999. Since then, the hatchback has undergone several updates and upgrades, though its core design of a tall-boy bodyshell and spacious cabin has stayed unchanged. The Wagon R makes for a good choice, particularly for ferrying the elderly or senior citizens, thanks to its wide-opening doors and high-set seats that make entry and egress easier – you can essentially slide onto the seat rather than having to lift or lower yourself into it.

The Wagon R is also relatively easy to use from the driver's seat, with a great view out thanks to its large glasshouse, light controls, and AMT gearbox option. The compact proportions also mean that it is very city-friendly as well. The Wagon R now also comes with a swivel seat option for the front passenger seat for easier access.

Tata Punch

Tata’s micro-SUV also makes for a great city runabout that offers easy ingress and egress thanks to its 90-degree opening doors and tall-boy-like seating. This particularly makes it a good car for senior folk as it involves minimal climbing and bending to get into the vehicle, while the wide opening doors will make it easier to manoeuvre any mobility devices right up to the vehicle.

The Punch, in typical Tata fashion, also offers a well-damped ride quality that makes the ride more pliant over our bad roads, allowing for fewer sharp jerks to transfer into the cabin. The compact dimensions and AMT gearbox option also make the Punch an easy car to drive.

Maruti Suzuki Brezza

The Maruti Suzuki Brezza has long been regarded as the safe bet in the subcompact SUV space, and it also makes for a good vehicle to ferry around the elderly. The boxy and upright proportions pack in a decently spacious cabin and a boot large enough to accommodate most personal mobility devices used by the elderly. The seating too is fairly high set, allowing for ease of seating, though, as in a lot of modern cars, occupants will have to climb over the fat door sill to gain access.

As with all Marutis, the Brezza also comes backed by the carmaker’s extensive service network, which makes the ownership experience less stressful, and parts are also available easily enough. The Brezza also features light controls, and the 1.5 petrol engine is tuned ideally for driving in the city, with minimal gear changes required.

Kia Carens Clavis

Kia’s people mover offers a comfortable option for a family car, especially with the elderly at home. Kia offers buyers the option for captain seats in the second row for greater comfort, and with the third row folded flat, you can fit in not just a wheelchair but even any luggage as well for a family trip. The Caren’s seats also sit at a good height, which, combined with the large doors, makes ingress and egress a breeze.

The MPV also packs in a lot of bells and whistles to get people comfortable, including individual roof-mounted vents for rear passengers – the rear cabin also gets a separate blower control and an air purifier system to keep the cabin air clean. Standard fit six airbags, ABS and traction control also mean enhanced safety with ADAS providing an additional safety net on top variants.

Honda Elevate

Honda’s return to the compact SUV segment makes for a good family car, especially with elderly folk in the family. The Elevate features a large and spacious cabin with well-padded and supportive seats that are not too high as to make ingress and egress a chore. While not as feature-loaded as some of its rivals, the Elevate still gets you all the much-needed features, and the ride quality too is good and capable of handling Indian road conditions with ease. The large boot also means you can lug around mobility devices with ease as well, and the 1.5 NA petrol powertrain delivers power in a linear and smooth fashion, reducing any jerks while driving.